Updated 13 hours ago - Politics & Policy Trump admin cracks down on pro-Palestinian protests at colleges Rebecca Falconer , Russell Contreras facebook (opens in new window) twitter (opens in new window) linkedin (opens in new window) email (opens in new window) President Donald Trump listens as U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks during a Cabinet meeting at the White House on April 30, 2025 in Washington, DC. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and President Trump at the White House in April. Photo: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the State Department is "reviewing the visa status" of pro-Palestinian protesters who occupied Columbia University's main library in Manhattan on Wednesday evening. Why it matters: Rubio's announcement builds on President Trump's January order, titled "Additional Measures to Combat Anti-Semitism," to remove international students who've joined protests and a direction for institutions and "monitor for and report activities by alien students and staff." The secretary of state's action comes as the Trump administration's Task Force to Combat Antisemitism reviews the University of Washington over a pro-Palestinian protest that saw some 30 students arrested on Monday after they occupied a Seattle campus building. Trump vowed in March to stop the federal funding of any schools or university that allows "illegal protests," and the White House said the president had promised to "Deport Hamas Sympathizers and Revoke Student Visas." The administration's action this week underscores that to enforce Trump's order, it will go after student protesters at individual colleges. Details: "We are reviewing the visa status of the trespassers and vandals who took over Columbia University's library," Rubio said on X. "Pro-Hamas thugs are no longer welcome in our great nation." The big picture: Columbia students were among the first to set up encampments as protests against the treatment of Palestinian citizens during the Israel-Hamas war swept U.S. college campuses last year. The college agreed to increase safety measures in a lawsuit settlement with a Jewish student who felt threatened and their education disrupted by the campus protests. Some Jewish students who've taken part in pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia told Al Jazeera on Wednesday they feel antisemitism is being "weaponized" and said their activism "is driven by their faith." Between the lines: Rubio is citing a rarely used provision in U.S. law to try to remove legal residents for their pro-Palestinian speech. The intrigue: The Trump administration's push to cast pro-Palestinian protesters as Hamas supporters — and then use anti-terrorism and immigration laws to quiet campus demonstrations — was forecast in a little-known plan last year from the creators of Project 2025. That plan, dubbed "Project Esther," was reflected in the White House's moves to arrest Columbia graduate Mahmoud Khalil, a protest leader, and pull about $400 million in federal funding from the university over antisemitism allegations. It was produced by the Heritage Foundation, the conservative group behind Project 2025, and took aim at what it called antisemitism on college campuses. Trump appears to have adopted many of the suggestions in Project Esther.
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QUALITY POST: What the 2025 numbers actually show ADL’s audit still found incidents in all 50 states. Raw totals were highest in New York (1,160), California (817), and New Jersey (687). Those are also the largest Jewish populations. Assaults were concentrated in New York City. National totals fell from the 2024 peak but stayed far above pre-2023 levels. FBI hate-crime data still has Jews as the large majority of religion-based victims. So “low incident count” in a small state can just mean few Jews, not a better civic culture. adl.org States that currently have the better combined reputationFlorida (especially South Florida). This is the loudest “safe to be openly Jewish” brand in the U.S. right now: large community, state-level enforcement posture, and a political class that treats synagogue security and campus disruption as law-and-order, not a speech puzzle. It also ranks well on economy and is in the U.S. News top 10 overall. Tradeoff: culture-war heat, insurance/climate costs, and it still recorded hundreds of incidents (319 in 2025) because the community is huge. vinnews.com Utah and parts of the Upper Midwest (Minnesota, Nebraska, the Dakotas, Iowa, New Hampshire). These dominate 2026 “best states” lists for schools, fiscal stability, crime, and family metrics. Day-to-day life for a generic resident is often calmer than in NY/CA. Jewish life exists but is thinner.
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What about when he gets free of those three placesWhen Christian finally gets free of the Slough of Despond, Vanity Fair, and Doubting Castle, his journey completely transforms. He enters a landscape that is the absolute antidote to the "dark feeling" and the chaotic information overload of the modern world.In Bunyan’s allegory, escaping those dark places leads him to a state of profound peace and clarity that provides a beautiful blueprint for how to find relief in your own life:🏔️ 1. The Delectable Mountains (The View from Above)Right after escaping Giant Despair, Christian reaches the Delectable Mountains. These mountains are full of gardens, orchards, and vineyards, and they are guarded by shepherds named Knowledge, Experience, Watchful, and Sincere.What it means for you: After years of being trapped in the loops of overthinking, Christian is given a safe sanctuary. The shepherds give him a perspective from a higher ground, letting him look back at the treacherous path he survived with a sense of peace, rather than terror.☀️ 2. The Country of Beulah (Rest and Healing)Near the very end of his journey, Christian enters the land of Beulah. In this country, the air is incredibly sweet and calm. The story notes that here, "they were out of the reach of Giant Despair, and from this place they could not so much as see Doubting Castle." The sun shines night and day, and it is a place of total rest where the traveler waits before crossing over to their final home.What it means for you: Beulah represents a mind that has completely disconnected from the noise of the "Vanity Fair" internet and the heavy weight of global politics. It is a state of mind where the background noise finally goes quiet, and you are allowed to just be, safe and rested.🔑 How He Actually Escapes Doubting CastleThe most important part of the entire story is how Christian gets out of Doubting Castle in the first place. He and his companion Hopeful are locked in the dark dungeon for days, being beaten by Giant Despair.Then, at midnight, Christian suddenly remembers something. He cries out, "What a fool am I, thus to lie in a stinking dungeon, when I may as well walk at liberty! I have a key in my bosom, called Promise, that will, I am persuaded, open any lock in Doubting Castle." He pulls out the key, puts it in the lock, and the heavy iron doors fly open instantly.The key was in his possession the entire time; he just forgot he had it because he was so focused on the terrifying walls of the dungeon.
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