Be it Resolved, campus protesters are on the right side of history.

May 14, 2024

Debate over the justification of pro-Palestinian campus protests, comparing them to past student activism. Arguments for and against the protesters' cause, including complexities of the conflict and accusations of violence and hateful rhetoric. Exploring the intersection of protest and illiberal principles, upcoming debates on anti-Zionism, and analyzing current protests in historical context.

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Introduction

00:00 • 2min

Debating the Justifiability of Campus Protests

02:01 • 23min

Navigating the Intersection of Protest and Illiberal Principles in Conflicts

24:34 • 4min

Upcoming Debate on Anti-Zionism and Campus Protest Concerns

28:24 • 3min

Protests and Historical Context

31:00 • 10min

Closing Remarks and Gratitude for Debate Participation

41:25 • 2min

For the protesters and their supporters, the pro-Palestinian campus demonstrations across the globe are part of a proud tradition of student activism that includes the anti-Vietnam War protests in the 1960s, and the calls to end South African Apartheid in the 1980s. And just as those past protests are now widely accepted to have been on the right side of history, today’s campus protesters are confident that history will prove their cause was just.

Critics disagree. They say the protesters have often downplayed or made excuses for Hamas’ murderous attack on Oct. 7; that the demonstrators fail to consider the complexity of a conflict that cannot be simplified into simple binary terms; and that some of the protesters have indulged in violent and hateful rhetoric towards Israelis and Jews.

Arguing in favour of the resolution is Ben Burgis. He’s a columnist with Jacobin and an adjunct philosophy professor at Rutgers University.

Arguing against the resolution is James Kirchick. He is the New York Times bestselling author of Secret City: The Hidden History of Gay Washington. He’s also a columnist for Tablet magazine, and a writer at large for Air Mail.

SOURCES:

Columbia Jewish & Israeli Students, WPA Film Library, Getty Images, ABC 7 New York, The Hill.

The host of the Munk Debates is Rudyard Griffiths.

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