Netanyahu Warns of 'Terrible Consequences' if US, World Antisemitism Not Quelled

JERUSALEM, Israel – Pro-Hamas demonstrations that began at Columbia University have spread to a number of other college campuses throughout the U.S.

In Israel, the protests are reminiscent of darker times for the Jewish people.

Police arrested nearly thirty demonstrators Wednesday at the University of Texas, and it's estimated nearly two hundred campuses have some form of anti-Israel protests, including Yale, U.S.C., and Harvard.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu strongly warned against the antisemitic and anti-American rioters.

"Antisemitic mobs have taken over leading universities," he said. "They call for the annihilation of Israel, they attack Jewish students, they attack Jewish faculty. When you listen to them, it's also because they say not only, 'Death to Israel. Death to the Jews,' but 'death to America.' And this tells us that there is an antisemitic surge here that has terrible consequences."

Netanyahu added a caution about this exponential rise in hatred.

"We have to stop antisemitism because antisemitism is the canary in the coal mine. It always precedes larger conflagrations that engulf the entire world."

House Speaker Mike Johnson and several colleagues came to witness the upheaval at Columbia. He called on the school's president to resign if she can't get the campus under control immediately.

He declared, "As Speaker of the House, I am committing today that the Congress will not be silent as Jewish students are expected to run for their lives and stay home from their classes, hiding in fear."

Yet, Columbia's President, Nemat Shafik pledged to combat antisemitism on her campus.

"We condemn the antisemitism that is so pervasive today," she insisted. "Antisemitism has no place on our campus, and I am personally committed to doing everything I can to confront it directly.

Dr. Michael Widlanski, an alumnus of Columbia and a Middle East analyst, told CBN News his former campus reminds him of scenes from Germany in the 1930s.

"It's absolutely, it's Nazi Germany. It starts with delegitimizing somebody, trying to browbeat them into the ground, to scare them, to staying in their home, their holes, their huddles, their caves, so that they won't come out," Widlanski said. "It's the time that my father went through in Europe. His whole family was wiped out by Nazis. We know what Nazis can do. We know what this can lead to."

Hamas released a propaganda video Wednesday showing one of the hostages still in captivity – American Hersh Goldberg-Polin.

In another video, his parents expressed to see their son alive and encouraging him to endure.

 "Hersh, we heard your voice today for the first time in 201 days and if you can hear us, we are telling you, we love you. Stay strong. Endure."

As the Israel Defense Forces prepare for a push into Rafah – the last Hamas stronghold in Gaza – the military is releasing plans to help civilians evacuate the area.

Meanwhile, the UN is calling for an investigation into accusations of mass graves around Gaza hospitals that have seen intense fighting recently. Israel released a statement that the claims are baseless.

Hamas has also proposed a five-year cease-fire if a two-state solution is implemented, but Israel steadfastly rejects the idea of a Palestinian state.

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