Patriotism continues to drown out anti-Israel protests at southern schools

Publish date: 2024-08-01

Patriotic student counter-protesters took to Louisiana State University in droves Friday to thwart the efforts of anti-Israel demonstrators, continuing a trend sweeping across southern schools.

Universities have become hotbeds of anti-Israel and anti-American sentiment in recent weeks as protesters rally in support of Palestine. While some of these demonstrations have remained peaceful, others have devolved into violence.

The counter-protesters at Louisiana State University on Friday drowned out a group of masked protesters with chants of “USA!” Another clip shows a caravan of counter-protesters with American flags following a group of people chanting "free Palestine."

Similar events occurred at the University of Mississippi on Thursday, when counter-protesters sang the national anthem to drown out crowds of pro-Palestinians holding signs and flags. A GoFundMe organized for the Ole Miss counter-protesters has earned over $2,000 as of Friday.

“The ‘protests’ at Ole Miss today,” Gov. Tate Reeves remarked. “Watch with sound. Warms my heart. I love Mississippi!”

Images and videos circulating social media this week depicted members of the University of North Carolina’s Pi Kappa Phi, Alpha Epsilon Pi and other fraternities holding up the U.S. flag. The image was taken during a campus protest in which demonstrators attempted to raise a Palestinian flag in its place, according to freelance journalist Bryan Anderson.

The North Carolina fraternity brothers have earned wide-ranging support from lawmakers, celebrities and other Americans from coast to coast. A GoFundMe to throw the students a "rager" raised over $500,000 before being paused.

Many northern schools have experienced a much stronger, better supported contingent of anti-Israel demonstrators with quieter on-campus counter-protesting. Columbia University resorted to calling in local police to clear demonstrators after a group broke into a university library and occupied it as part of the larger pro-Palestine demonstration on campus.

Other northern schools that have faced notable anti-Israel protests include Ohio State University, Johns Hopkins University, Fordham University, Yale University, Syracuse University and Harvard University.

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