Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton recently discussed the pro-Palestinian demonstrations she witnessed at Columbia University last spring, sharing her concerns in an interview with CNN’s Fareed Zakaria. As students return to campuses, Clinton expects tensions to rise again, with protests likely to reignite.

During the interview, Clinton suggested that these protests were influenced by external forces rather than being organically led by students. “There were already existing groups within our country, and particularly on certain campuses like Columbia, who had talking points. They had a plan for protest and disruption. And I watched it sort of morph into something that was not student-led, even though students participated, but which had outside funding, outside direction,” she said.

Clinton expressed uncertainty about the full scope of these influences, noting that students were often caught up in movements without fully understanding the broader context. “And I still to this day, I’m not quite sure. All that was going on with it. And a lot of students were caught up in that,” she said. She was particularly troubled by the portrayal of the Israel-Palestinian conflict on social media, which she found to be unbalanced and skewed against Israel. “A lot of the videos on social media gave not just a one-sided view of the conflict, but a totally anti-Israel, pro-Hamas, not just pro-Palestinian view,” Clinton added.

The former presidential candidate, who began teaching at Columbia in 2023, also shared her frustrations with attempts to engage in meaningful dialogue with students involved in the protests. According to her, many lacked a comprehensive understanding of the history and complexities surrounding the Israel-Palestinian conflict. “And when I would ask, ‘Well, what about, do you know what happened in 2000 at Camp David? No. Do you know what happened in 1947? No. Do you know how difficult the relationships have been? No. Do you know that there are Arab Israelis and some are serving in the IDF? None of that.’ And this whole chanting of, you know, from the ‘river to the sea.’ What does that mean? What river? What sea? That’s what bothered me,” she explained.

Clinton also expressed concern about the harassment of Jewish students during these protests, labeling the behavior as “nasty” and unacceptable. “This was screaming at students who were Jewish, it was blocking their entry into classes or into club activities. It was nasty,” Clinton remarked. She highlighted the troubling evidence of foreign influence and anti-Israel sentiment spread through platforms like TikTok, and emphasized that universities have a responsibility to protect students from harassment while still supporting free speech. “A university particularly has an obligation to, of course, protect free speech, but also to protect students against harassment and against the kind of behavior that interfered with their learning,” she concluded.

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