cover these campus protests that have turned violent in many cases. We did learn during a news conference moments ago with mayor Eric Adams in New York. that 282 protesters were arrested there on the campus of Columbia University as well as City College as you can see, this is just some of the video provided by NYPD showing those officers as they were approaching the school to take some of the protesters who had taken over and administration building on Columbia's campus. into custody again. 282 protesters. arrested there. do want to talk more about all of this here and the situation there So let's bring in, New York state Senator Robert ortt. He is the Senate Republican leader joining us now live. Thank you so much for taking the time to be here with us today. Well great to be with you. All right so first off we have all seen the videos that have been circulating over the last couple of weeks now showing those protests. Can you break down for me the situation what goes through your mind as you're watching those videos and watching the situation play out? well what goes through my mind is just a it's really a failure of of leadership. It's so many levels. uh, obviously. first and foremost the president of Colombia. that that it has gotten to this point. Um, it's also a failure of administrations. You look across the country. uh many of these protests. had professors. participating in them. Uh, they had raised the flood they had taken down the American flag. uh, and raised the the uh, the flag. uh of Hamas uh, you know, at these campuses uh, the the administration's were negotiating. uh these folks took over. building they they hurled anti-Semitic. comments. It's just a sad Testament. to where our higher education institutions are. and make no mistake. This is a manifestation. of of of many years and decades of indoctrination of teaching the that America is bad that Israel is bad, but the world is separated between oppressor nations and oppressed peoples. Um, and that's what you see played out here. Obviously you had a lot of I think professional agitators and protesters and antifa and whatnot. who sort of made common cause but this is a this is a sort of laying it bare the problem that I think exists. on a lot of college campuses. at a time when they're asking people to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to send your child to an elite school. to have this happen to them. uh to have the police have to go there. and remove college students. Uh, uh, uh terrorist sympathizers. from uh from from you know, school buildings, They they they they've blocked kids from getting an education. Um, they I think many of the uh graduation ceremonies have been have been canceled just a shame what has happened to our institutions of Higher Learning in this country. We've heard from Plenty of Republican lawmakers over the last couple weeks who have called on Colombia's president to resign from her position as these protests have been underway. I want your thoughts on that. What are your thoughts overall on whether she should resign based on what you've seen? I think she should resign. uh for a couple of reasons. 1 that that that it it happened in some way to begin with that that that this uh lasted as long as it did. uh that there were many professors and other Administration officials Who who who were part of these protests. but obviously her handling of this, um has has been uh, I think really really terrible Um, but also, you know, there's been no leadership. no real leadership. from the president on this. from the governor um, you know there the Democrats the Democratic executives. president. governors. Um, have been so afraid. to criticize uh, you know for fear of upsetting I guess. their Progressive their young Bass. uh, who obviously feels who sympathy and more. Uh solidarity. with a terrorist Network. uh a group of people who would in many cases not hesitate to deny these individuals the same right they were we were trying to exercise Um, they feel more empathy with them. than they do the nation of Israel. uh, New York is home to more Jews than any other place except for Israel. So outside of the nation of Israel. the most Jews collectively live in the state of New York. and so to have this kind of anti-Semitic anti-israel. anti-American. Um, uh protests happening, I think the president has to answer she obviously answers to the board I believe. uh, and and so I have no I'm not going to hold my breath that they're going to force her to resign but I think this has been a failure of leadership. and a lot of levels. including hers. What message do you have for these protesters on the Columbia campus specifically the folks who? actually took over that administrative hall and then during a news conference yesterday. we're asking for. the school to essentially provide them food saying that they had purchased a meal plan and were. entitled to it. I want to get your thoughts what you would say to these protesters. I thought that 1 press conference with the 1. young lady. Um nothing sums up this generation. Maybe better or at least these protesters I should say. better than that, press conference, you know. they're they're playing it being. Uh, uh terrorists. They're they're playing it being you know, uh, uh provocative tours and they're going to take over the hall and they're going to resist Oh, but if you would still please send me my my uh, you know, ham and cheese sandwich in my meal plan and my bag of chips and some water that I paid for. nothing. smacks of entitlement and also just a divorced from you know, the these individuals are are playing at this this isn't real if it was real They wouldn't be you know begging for for food, but they would have made those preparations. Uh, these are kids uh, These are young people. Uh, however misguided I may think they are. my real. frustration is less with them and more again with the professors and the administration at Columbia who coddled it. Who? have fostered this who have who have emboldened them and made them feel like you can you get to decide uh, how the school is running you get to decide whether we invest or support Israel. you know when I was 22, I had every right to to feel the way I do but you know what? adults didn't have the the responsibility to listen to me because I didn't have the life experience. I didn't have the the the the uh, the wherewithal or the baseline or the perspective to really you know, uh, offer any constructive, uh thoughts on world matters on global matters, Uh, these are many many of these individuals were born after 911. They don't remember just a few miles from where they are. what it was like and what people who were very similar to Hamas. did on that day. here in New York, So, you know on some on some sense you know college kids, Uh, I expect stupid things from uh, young people, uh, maybe not to this level, but I do not expect administrators and college presidents and professors who get paid a lot of money and who are adults to sort of coddle it and Foster that and show support. for this kind of thing. again, which was was they were not always peaceful They were violent They took over buildings. that didn't belong to them. Um, they interrupted other people's ability to learn which is the actual reason you're supposed to be there. Uh, and so maybe if they were more uh focused on being educated and learning and listening, rather than trying to tell the world. Uh, what what we and their Infinite Wisdom should do. uh, you know, um, maybe we this wouldn't have happened But again my real eye and frustration. and criticism is directed at the people who we pay to educate these kids. and and in some ways Less on the actual students. Would you say that? anti-Semitism is? a problem in the US and specifically? do you feel it's an issue in New York? I think it's a growing. problem, right? I don't I don't know to what? level. it is a problem across the country. I know. I have seen. firsthand we have witnessed rise. a rise in anti-Semitism even predating. even predating the October 7th. uh, uh attack uh by Hamas on innocent Israelis in the nation of Israel. even before the and I think that is that is an intentional move. um in New York where you have the largest Jewish population. you have organized groups, who are aligned with the with the Palestinian Authority with Hamas with other other. Um, Muslim or um, uh, you know Islamic extremist movements, uh, they get educated. at our universities some of them teach at our universities. Um, and as more these folks commit, I think the goal really is to divide the United States. from Israel. if they can. weaken us support. for the nation of Israel. the nation of Israel then is made more vulnerable and weaker. uh to Nations like Iran, to Hezbollah. to Hamas. or or or whomever. And so that I think is the larger aim here We can't lose sight of that. Um, and and that's why I think it is important that we stand up collectively and say that we're not going to tolerate anti-c. that we're not going to you know. the United States. liberated the death camps in Germany after World War II the United States. was was 1 of the critical nations in the founding. of the nation of Israel in N at the at the end of World War II, so, you know we have a our lineage. in supporting the Jewish. people. in defending the nation of Israel. uh, especially in New York, but across the country is very important. And so I think we have to push back when we see moves from either side. died but right now on the Democratic left on the Progressive left. a push. uh a very anti-Semitic. anti-israel anti-jewish. stance that they are taking and we have to unequivocally uh be critical of that and not tolerate it and and also remind people that the United States stands with the nation of Israel. our only Ally our only Ally really in the Middle East the only sort of modern Western democratic. country. in the Middle East. uh is the nation of Israel and we should not be shy of supporting them. Um, especially after they were attacked on October 7th. My last question here before I let you go. what needs to happen next as these protests have taken over college campuses we have seen. dozens, really? hundreds of arrests that have been made. What in your opinion needs to happen. next. You know, it's it's it's hard to say. Um I guess from a from a governmental or electoral standpoint. What what I would say is that you know, I think students who are participate who go beyond. just peacefully protesting who overtake Uh, uh, buildings who hurl anti-semitic. Uh, uh insults. who engage in violence they should be arrested and I think in in some cases in many cases, they should be expelled they should be expelled This is not this cannot be in keeping with our institutions of Higher Learning I think the federal government. probably more. uh than any other state government, but I'm uh certainly willing to at the state level we need to hold these these uh institutional presidents. accountable whether it's the president of Colombia whether it's the the the heads of of CUNY uh, or the Sunni system here in New York. In fact our conference has written a letter. to the majority leader in the Senate. as well as the heads of higher ed committee and the government investigations committee. to break to to to bring in the president of Colombia. as well as the presidents and heads of the CUNY and Sunni systems to answer about what they're doing. to protect Jewish students, but also, what are they doing? to make sure these kinds of things uh, do not repeat themselves. uh going forward and uh, we need answers. the government should be able to get those answers the elected leaders. on behalf of the public. should be able to get those answers. and I think that's what we need to do. and obviously people need to remember this. uh in November they need to remember that just because it happened 80 years ago. does not mean it cannot happen again and that it cannot happen here. Uh, I think this you know what we've seen is a real cause of concern for the Jewish community and it should be a cause of concern for every American and every New Yorker and I would also like to thank our, New York. Police Department last night for doing a commendable job. in a very difficult situation. They did a a great job uh getting those uh, uh troublemakers and spoiled brats and protesters out of that building I think relatively safely without any real incident, Uh, and I commend their leadership. and uh all the officers who took part in that. all right Senator, or thank you so much for taking the time to join us here this morning. anything else you want to add about? any of this before I let you go. No, I just I appreciate the coverage you guys have been doing on these protests. I'm sure a lot of people look and think what is what the heck is going on? in, New York? state in New York City. Um and and it's really again. it's a failure of leadership. and a lot of levels but I just want to remind people for parents out there. who are thinking about setting their kids to schools. pay very close attention to the schools that are that you're seeing this happening if it was me I wouldn't spend 1 dollar not 1 dollar whether it's my dollar. a public dollar. a borrowed dollar I wouldn't spend 1 Dollar on any of these schools. I don't care how Elite they may be. uh when this is what they're turning out. uh from the administration. all the way down. So I hope parents and would be students. take note. Senator. thanks again for being here today. We
