Leland Vittert on Boulder Attack: Governor Correctly Identifies Terrorism, Police Chief Falters

Response to Boulder Attack

• 🎯 Leland Vittert criticizes the Boulder Police Chief for hesitating to label the assault on pro-Israel demonstrators a terror attack.
• 💡 The Colorado Governor, a progressive Democrat, is praised for correctly identifying the incident as a terror attack in a tweet.
• 🗣️ Vittert highlights the governor's statement: "It is unfathomable that the Jewish community is facing another terror attack here in Boulder on the eve of the Shote holiday, no less."

Broader Implications and Campus Climate

• 🇺🇸 The incident prompts a national conversation about what is acceptable behavior and speech in America.
• 📢 Vittert draws parallels between the chants heard at the Boulder attack and those allowed on American college campuses, which he argues are often explained away rather than recognized as calls for the elimination of the Israeli state.
• ⚠️ He questions the narrative of a famine in Gaza, suggesting that media propagation of false stories and the continued double standard applied to Israel may be inciting such attacks.

Societal Acceptability of Hate Speech

• 🚫 Vittert argues that while hate speech cannot be outlawed, it can be made socially unacceptable, comparing wearing a keffiyeh to wearing a KKK hood.
• 🧠 He believes that until anti-Semitism and the implications of chants like "from the river to the sea" are understood by the broader American public, such incidents will continue.
• 🏛️ Enforcement of existing incitement and hate speech laws, coupled with moral clarity from public officials, is crucial to preventing future attacks.

Focus on Jewish Safety

• 🚨 Vittert emphasizes that the primary concern should be stopping terror attacks on Jews in America, who are currently the targeted group.
• 🗣️ He contrasts the perceived risk to Jewish individuals with the safety of students on college campuses shouting pro-Palestinian slogans.
• ⚖️ The lack of immediate condemnation and clear identification of the attack as terrorism by the Boulder Police Chief is seen as a failure in providing necessary moral clarity.