New York State's last Republican governor condemned President Biden Thursday for his relative inaction on antisemitic protests enveloping college campuses in the Empire State and warned Iran is using images of the chaos as propaganda. Former Gov. George Pataki, who left office at the end of 2006 upon the election of Eliot Spitzer, told Fox News the protests constitute 'acts of anarchy' at this juncture and should have been halted on 'day one.
The longer it goes, the more propensity for violence there is, so it should have been shut down day one,' he said of the unrest. Near 137th Street and Broadway, protesters had taken down the American flag and raised the Palestinian banner at City College on Tuesday night. Pataki said that act should have been stopped cold, praising Democratic Mayor Eric Adams for condemning students who desecrated the Stars & Stripes in that way.
Biden broke his silence on Thursday, condemning the violence that has broken out and saying that 'order must prevail.' 'We are not an authoritarian nation where we silence people or squash dissent. The American people are heard. In fact, peaceful protest is in the best tradition of how Americans respond to consequential issues. But neither are we a lawless country. We're a civil society and order must prevail,' Biden said at the White House.
Shiraz University President Mohammad Moazzeni invited expelled students and terminated professors to transfer to his school, located in Fars, Iran, the paper reported, citing Iranian state-owned Press TV. Meanwhile, at Tehran University, Prof. Foad Izadi reportedly called the students 'our people' and claimed they would side with Iran in any direct conflict with the United States.