One day this fall, while on campus at Brown University, I was met by two students—cellphones raised, cameras recording. They had spun off from a larger group protesting Brown’s decision not to divest from Israel. They recognized me as a trustee of the university and saw an opportunity to take me to task. They followed me for perhaps a block or two, calling me a hypocrite.
For at least one of the students, the war in Gaza was not some cause du jour that he’d picked up from TikTok. He has Palestinian relatives on the ground. I knew this because I’d spoken with him before. That time, he was passionate but measured. Now, in protest mode, he was angry. I’m sure he felt betrayed by the decision, and I was one of the only people he could hold—at least verbally—accountable.
Understandably, some of my colleagues who were singled out by protesters were more rattled by the experience. But in my view, these were students in America…