Pro-Palestine protesters shout down Jewish college students testifying on the alarming rise of antisemitism on campus and ‘Jew hatred’ taking hold nationwide during free speech hearing

A hearing on freedom of speech was disrupted several times by pro-Palestinian protesters who harassed Jewish students and told heartbreaking stories of persistent anti-Semitism on their college campuses.

The demonstrators, who strongly oppose US support for Israel in its war with Hamas following the bloody Oct. 7 terror attack that killed 1,400 people, stole the show at the House Judiciary Committee panel on Wednesday morning.

Chants of “Free Gaza” and “Free Palestine” rang out in the House of Representatives office building, disrupting the start of the hearing.

“End the siege and occupation now,” shouted another. Most of the protesters had “GAZA” written on their palms and one held a sign that read, “Congress is silencing the Palestinians.”

One protester wearing a distracting pink GAZA crown sat directly behind the student witnesses.

And another protester shouted: “Palestinian students deserve to speak out about the genocide of their families” – before being thrown out by Capitol police.

A male protester who peddled “PRO-PALESTINIAN (does not equal) ANTISEMITISM” accused lawmakers of unfairly censoring Rashida Tlaib.

Tlaib, the only Palestinian congressman, was formally convicted on Tuesday evening after Democrats joined Republicans.

The rebuke came after she defended the use of a rallying cry used by Palestinian militants: “from the river to the sea.”

“You’re not going to silence us,” another protester shouted during the hearing.

House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, promised they would remove “any person who disrupts the committee” as he tried to maintain order.

Capitol Police said about 10 protesters were removed from the hearing room and arrested Wednesday.

After the disruptions subsided, students began telling their moving stories.

One witness spoke of the “Jew-hatred” she feels on her college campus.

Amanda Silberstein, who is currently a student at Cornell University, said the world has “gone crazy” in the month since the Hamas attack on Israel.

“Every day I witness students tear down and copy posters depicting the faces of innocent Hamas prisoners, even babies, and replace our prayers for the safe return of those hostages with anti-Israel rhetoric and accusations of genocide, not the terrorists whose charter calls for Jewish genocide,” she explained.

She talked about anti-Semitic statements her classmates write on their social media accounts and about the graffiti on campus, including “F*** Israel” and “Zionism = genocide.”

Current University of Iowa student Jasmyn Jordan explained that she was hopeful when she entered college that she would hear different points of view.

“I thought it would be a place where young people could come together, disagree, and still be kind or gracious,” she told lawmakers.

A male protester holding up a “PRO-PALESTINIAN (does not equal) ANTISEMITISM” accused lawmakers of unfairly censoring Rashida Tlaib

Chants of “Free Gaza” and “Free Palestine” rang out in the House of Representatives office building, disrupting the start of the hearing

House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, promised they would remove “any person disrupting the committee” as he tried to maintain order

“However, after two years, I have discovered that this is not the case at all and that students with opposing views are often exposed to frequent violent threats and other forms of intimidation without accountability.”

Connor Ogrydziak, a graduate of the University at Buffalo, shared his many firsthand experiences with free speech violations he had during his time in Buffalo.

“It must be universally accepted that no student deserves to be threatened, abused or silenced on campus because of his or her personal beliefs,” he testified Wednesday.