To the editor:

On April 17, Congresswoman Elise Stefanik held a hearing to criticize the president of Columbia University for failing to control the students who were protesting Israel’s treatment of Palestinians in Gaza. Congresswoman Stefanik made special mention of the often-profane language used by the student protesters in the chants that they shouted.

I agree that those chants were not helpful, either in describing the Israeli brutality in Gaza or in asking Columbia to do anything specific such as disinvesting from any company that does business with Israel. As bad as they were, however, none of those chants made any specific threat of bodily harm to any Israeli or anyone else for that matter.

By contrast, Congresswoman Stefanik seems to believe that there was nothing wrong with an angry mob in the United States Capitol chanting, “Hang Mike Pence.” Coupled with a makeshift gallows carried by the mob. That is a very specific threat to do serious bodily harm to, not just anyone, but to the second most powerful person in the United States government.

How can Congressman Stefanik not see the complete hypocrisy in her complaint about the language of the Columbia University protesters?

Tony Goodwin

Keene