US Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) traveled to Israel on a diplomatic trip to reassure Israeli officials of the US’ steadfast support for the Jewish state.
Senator Rubio’s trip comes as sundry pro-Palestine protests have erupted across American college campuses.
Rubio, who is the U.S. Senate's Select Committee on Intelligence Vice Chairman, met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and conducted oversight on the U.S. intelligence community.
Rubio restated his support for Israel and explained the need for the US to counter international efforts to delegitimize Israel’s right to exist.
Some efforts, according to Rubio, stem “from radical groups within the United States.”
In the past few days, anti-Israel protests have erupted across America’s college campuses.
Some protests have been held at internationally acclaimed schools such as Columbia, Yale, and the University of Southern California (USC).
USC most recently canceled its commencement ceremony after protesters clashed with police.
Asna Tabassum, a Muslim student, was set to deliver the commencement speech.
Tabassum has previously called Zionism-the political ideology justifying the creation of the state of Israel- a ‘racist settler-colonial ideology’.
Prime Minister Netanyahu described the flare in anti-Israel demonstrations as anti-Semetic, claiming the behavior “on campuses in the United States is reminiscent of what happened in German universities in the 1930s.”
Anti-Semitism on campuses in the United States is reminiscent of what happened in German universities in the 1930s.
The world cannot stand idly by. pic.twitter.com/oHlwig1vCl
— Benjamin Netanyahu - בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) April 24, 2024
The protests have further polarized American opinion over the Israel-Hamas, war, even inciting Democrat intraparty tensions.
Most recently, Representative Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) traded blows with Representative Alexandria Ocasio Cortez (D-NY) after the former criticized Senator Bernie Sanders (D-VT) decision to vote against Israeli military aid.
Representative Cortez claimed Moskowitz should have also countered sending military aid to Israel, to which Moskowitz responded in the negative.
“My family was…killed in the Holocaust. In Germany and in Poland. My grandmother was in the kinder-transport. They also instilled values in me. It’s why I voted for aid to Israel and for aid to Gaza,” said Moskowitz.
