A New York University Gallatin School class picked a colleague, Logan Rozos, to deliver the graduation speech on May 15. The Cultural Criticism and Political Economy student describes himself as “an actor, artist and gay Black trans man” and is an advocate for LGBT people. There was a lot he could talk about but, as he made his way to the stage, something happening nearly 6,000 miles away was obviously on his mind.

“As I search my heart today in addressing you all,” Rozos began his three-minute address, “my moral and political commitments guide me to say that the only thing that is appropriate to say in this time and to a group this large is a recognition of the atrocities currently happening in Palestine.”

He continued, “I want to say that the genocide currently occurring is supported politically and militarily by the United States, is paid for by our tax dollars and has been livestreamed to our phones for the past 18 months. I do not wish only to speak to my own politics today but to speak for all people of conscience who feel the moral injury of this atrocity and I condemn this genocide and complicity in this genocide.”

Lozos, who sounded nervous, his voice cracking at times, received “a warm response” from the audience, New Republic reported. But NYU, in a statement, accused him of misusing “his role as a student speaker to express his personal and one-sided political views. He lied about the speech he was going to deliver and violated the commitment he made to comply with our rules.”

NYU was therefore withholding his diploma pending “disciplinary actions against him,” spokesman John Beckman announced. “That means Mr. Rozos would not be considered graduated until the matter is resolved.” The criticism did not mention “antisemitism” but that is now the proverbial elephant in the boardrooms of universities.

Rozos thus became the latest victim of the capitulation by several schools to Trump administration demands that they take action against “antisemitism.” It once again raises the question as to whether denunciation at NYU or elsewhere of Israel’s ongoing military devastation of Gaza reflects hatred for Jews, as the pro-Israel lobby interprets the term “antisemitism,” or whether it is rejection of the actions of the state.

Some supporters of Gaza’s beleaguered Palestinians are hurting their case when they equate the actions of the state with the religious tenets of its citizens as they call for the destruction of Israel. They include the Hamas group which rules the enclave, and which launched the current war by invading part of Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, massacred 1,195 people, including women and children, and seized 250 hostages. Israel, as could be expected, reacted swiftly but with devastating force which officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, announced would continue until Hamas was destroyed. That response has resulted in tens of thousands of Palestinians being killed, the majority of them civilians.

Those victims included more than 17,400 children, including infants and teenagers, as of March, Al Jazeera reported, in a population of 2.3 million, of whom one in two is a child. Overall, about 53,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to the Gaza Health Ministry and other sources. Around 1,700 Israelis have died in the war, in addition to the victims of the Hamas attack.

But bombs and bullets are only part of the tragedy being played out in the 141-square-mile territory. “Many of the surviving children have endured the trauma of multiple wars and all of them have spent their lives under an Israeli blockade affecting every aspect of their existence from birth,” Al Jazeera reported.

Israel has also imposed a new blockade of food, medicine and humanitarian assistance, which is taking a particularly heavy toll on children, leaving them severely malnourished and dehydrated, HuffPost reported, citing doctors who have worked in Gaza. They pointed to a “dire starvation crisis” which, HuffPost said, “is helping fuel the genocide that healthcare workers, aid groups, world leaders and human rights organizations have accused Israel of committing.” The blockade has created a food and medical supplies shortage at charitable organizations such as the World Food Program and the World Central Kitchen.

“I’ve seen children who are dying from starvation,” Dr. Mohamed Kuziez, a pediatrician who volunteered in Gaza, told HuffPost. “I will tell you, children who die from starvation do not even cry toward the end, they don’t have the energy. And eventually their heart rate just slows down until their heart eventually gives out.”

Even some Israeli officers admitted in private that Gaza was on the brink of starvation, the New York Times reported on May 13, adding that an assessment by three military officials contradicted Israel’s claim that there was no threat to civilian life.

The blockade itself violates international law, The Times noted, because “it is illegal for a country to limit aid deliveries if it knows that doing so will cause starvation.”

On Saturday, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned in a post on X, “The situation for Palestinians in Gaza is beyond description, beyond atrocious & beyond inhumane. A policy of siege & starvation makes a mockery of international law. The blockade against humanitarian aid must end immediately. This is a moment for moral clarity & action.”

Former European Union policy director Joseph Borrell accused Israel of “genocidal intent” and of “carrying out the largest ethnic cleansing operation since the end of the Second World War.” Amnesty International described it as “live-streamed genocide.”

The United States, which was the first nation to recognize Israel’s sovereignty on May 14, 1948, has provided military and other aid totaling $300 billion so far. In addition, then President Joe Biden provided billions of dollars’ worth of additional military equipment. President Donald Trump had announced that he would end the war as a matter of priority if he won re-election. But his vision for Palestinians is not the two-state solution which the U.S. and most other countries have endorsed. Rather, at least since January, Trump has suggested that Jordan and Egypt should accept the Palestinians. He has also said, according to Time magazine, “The U.S. will take over the Gaza Strip. … We will own it and be responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous bombs and other weapons. We will level it out, create an economic development that will supply unlimited numbers of jobs and housing for the people of the area.”

Trump reiterated the possibility of the U.S. taking over Gaza during his visit earlier this month to parts of the Middle East. He told reporters, according to Time, “I think I’d be proud to have the United States have it, take it, make it a freedom zone. Let some good things happen, put people in homes where they can be safe – and Hamas will have to be dealt with.”

Trump notably skipped Israel on the tour but if that was intended to signal displeasure with Netanyahu, the message went unheeded. Days later, Israel substantially expanded its attack on Gaza and Netanyahu stated, according to CNN, “We are destroying more and more homes, they have nowhere to return to. The only inevitable outcome will be the desire of Gazans to emigrate outside of the Gaza Strip.”

That is the background against which students such as Roxos have been risking their education and possible future careers – and deportation for those from abroad – to take a stand against Israel.

Fifty-five years ago, on May 4, 1970, 28 members of the Ohio National Guard fired 67 rounds in 13 seconds into a student protest at Kent State University, killing Allison Krause, Jeffrey Miller, Sandra Scheuer and William Schroeder and wounding nine others. They were peacefully demonstrating against U.S. involvement in another foreign war- in Southeast Asia. Then, as now, officials may seek to justify their hostility towards students demonstrating against what they perceived to be an unjust war but it is evident that America’s youth continue to be the conscience of the nation.