Ben Sasse says ‘too little education’ happening on elite campuses, rips reactions to Israel-Hamas war

The University of Florida (UF) President Ben Sasse on Sunday reaffirmed his commitment to protecting Jewish students on campus and criticized other universities for failing to condemn the Hamas terror attacks against Israel emphatically.

During an appearance on "Fox News Sunday," the former Republican Nebraska U.S. senator said it should not be difficult for universities to protect free speech and religious pupils, noting that UF has the most Jewish students of any campus in the country.

"You got so many universities around the country that speak about every topic under the sun, Halloween costumes and micro-aggressions. But somehow, at a moment of the most grave, grotesque attacks on Jewish people since the Holocaust, they all of a sudden say there's too much complexity to say anything," Sasse said. "It doesn't make any sense to us."

Sasse, a graduate of Harvard University, was then asked about anti-Israel comments made by student groups at the Ivy League school. He said that while he could not comment on other universities' specifics, he believes there is "way too little education" happening on elite campuses in America right now. 

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"There's been such a focus on victim ideology for so long and such a little limited focus on actually reading texts when these university presidents want to say these issues are too complex. I mean, we have raped girls, stolen kidnapped grandmas. We have a massacre at a concert. We have intentionally targeted schools and babies. This isn't morally complex," Sasse added.

The UF president also called on other university leaders to stand up and read the Hamas charter on their campuses and grapple with calls for the genocide and eradication of the Jewish people.

He then spoke out on recent comments from Harvard alumni and faculty who said students who signed onto anti-Israel statements should face repercussions. 

Sasse, who described himself as a "zealous defender" of free speech, said the Constitution protects the right of people to make an "abject idiot" of themselves. However, this right, he said, also allows people in the public square to call out "dumb choices" made by young adults. University leaders have offered varying comments on the conflict, with some like Sasse forcefully condemning Hamas while others like Vanderbilt's Chancellor Daniel Diermeier expressing sorrow over the "violence in the region."

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"There are definitely students that are part of groups that didn't know what leadership of their organizations were signing up for," Sasse said. "But for far too long, people have just gotten a pass by saying things like by any means necessary. What does by any means necessary mean at some of these pro-Hamas rallies? It means the targeting of women and children are things that they think are to be countenanced as they try to drive Israel off the map."

The University of Florida president strongly supported Israel on October 11, saying there is "no defense for terrorism" and blasting "elite academia" for issuing anti-Israel statements.

"I will not tiptoe around this simple fact: What Hamas did is evil and there is no defense for terrorism. This shouldn't be hard," Sasse wrote in a statement.

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Sasse also slammed Hamas for its terrorist attacks on Israelis, which killed over 1,000, including children, and wounded over 2,000. The group has also taken upwards of 200 hostages.

"Our educational mission here begins with the recognition and explicit acknowledgment of human dignity – the same human dignity that Hamas' terrorists openly scorn," Sasse said. "Every single human life matters."

Sasse defended free speech but stressed that "violence and vandalism" will not be tolerated.

"If anti-Israel protests come, we will absolutely be ready to act if anyone dares to escalate beyond peaceful protest. Speech is protected – violence and vandalism are not," Sasse said.

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Fox News' Sarah Rumpf-Whitten contributed to this report.