The controversy surrounding protests at three Ivy League colleges relating to the conflict in Israel has been exacerbated by the true intent of freedom of speech.

In its simplest form, freedom of speech allows anyone to speak their mind without limitations. However, if the words of a person lead to violence or are part of an effort to incite violence, some say constitutional rights of speech offer no protection. Therefore, it is relatively clear that if words hurt the feelings of a person, or a group he or she is part of, technically, the words are acceptable. Note: Common decency should temper rhetoric that is offensive even if it is allowed by the Constitution.

The Ivy League presidents were evasive in their responses to questions by members of Congress last week. The questioning was hostile as was the discussion of campus freedom of speech. The academics would not forcefully condemn the hurtful and degrading speeches and threats of violence by supporters of Hamas on Israeli citizens and others.

The protesters are siding with the “oppressed people” of Gaza by encouraging comments relating to Israel’s alleged illegal control of the region and turning a blind eye to the underlying Anti-Semitism that young people are expressing in their rhetoric. The protesters have inspired bigotry and fear for Jewish students on campuses across the country. It is this last point that is most controversial. Protesters have the right to object to Israel’s alleged colonialism, but not with intent to kill or intimidate Jews as a race of people.

The university presidents made the mistake of emphasizing legal issues rather than speaking from the heart. They alluded to context and not the fact that that Hamas invaded Israel and killed over 1,000 people. The simple answer to the question of do you believe students have the right to intimidate other students or not, is students don’t have the right to intimidate other students verbally with violence or the threat of it.

Universities across the country have interfered with the free speech of many conservatives over the years. At Berkeley (where the fight for freedom of speech began), students committed acts of violence and property destruction to stop a right-leaning talking head from expressing his opinions. Universities have always sided with the left against right-wing supporters.

Are our children in college being subjected to some form of indoctrination of liberal and radical ideology? It seems that professors are teaching with a left-wing biased perspective and not allowing responses if they are to the contrary.

But back to the issue at hand. How far to the extreme should we allow students to express themselves? The simple answer is until it approaches violence and outright bigotry. Free speech protection should not inspire violence by any side. If this is not practical or doable under current laws, Congress should propose changes to the freedom of speech powers in the Constitution

The Israeli/Hamas conflict resumed after a respite that enabled the sides to trade prisoners and hostages. Basically, this entails a continuation of bombing by Israel that unfortunately puts innocent people living in in Gaza in harm’s way.

The actions of Hamas are being condemned by most reasonable people around the world, but there is a growing illogical sentiment that Israel is committing war crimes against civilians (even though Hamas initiated the hostilities by kidnapping, murdering and raping innocent Israelis). With this in mind, the actions of some young people in the US, and the world, in support of terrorists is astonishing and, well, disgraceful.

Where is the violence taking us? The people who live in the Middle East must be unnerved by the vitriol expressed by both sides of the current conflict. Hamas viciously attacked Israel from Gaza and committed unspeakable atrocities. Israel’s response was to openly declare its intent to kill all Hamas followers to avenge the crimes of the terrorists.

What’s making the situation that much more disquieting is that Hamas is defying and baiting Israel to kill more Palestinians to stimulate sympathetic responses from around the world. To a degree, the kidnappers and murderers have been very successful. Israel’s is relentless in its search for the criminals, but the cost in terms of collateral damage has been and will be significant. Many Arabs will never forgive Israel for its scorched earth policy.

Worldwide protest in favor of Palestinians was something to be expected, but the slaughter of Israelis cannot be ignored. Why are young people siding with the murders, kidnappers and rapists of Hamas?

There are about 17 million Jews in the world and one billion Muslims. In a world energized by social media and rampant disinformation, it’s not surprising that Israel is losing ground in the court of public opinion. Moreover, the future growth of the Muslim population will continue to be exponentially greater than the Jewish birth rate in Israel and elsewhere.

All this leads back to a conundrum for Israeli leaders. What is their end game? In an extended war of attrition, Israelis are at a distinct disadvantage.

What must Israel do to retain its hold on the State of  Israel long-term? Israel must make peace with the Arab world. It must solicit peacemakers among the Arab community and create a plan to end the violence. The current strategy of Israel trying to kill every member of Hamas may assuage pain in the short-term, but it will make finding peace difficult prospectively.

What is the US role in the long-term? America must live up to its promise to protect Israel and provide it with armaments. Israel must be strong militarily and needs the US to help defend itself. Israel is going to be at war with radical Arabs for the foreseeable future.

The US must encourage the most reasonable and influential countries in the Middle East to work with Israel to end the violence, or at a minimum to fight against terrorism. Also on the agenda is the need to neutralize Iran, the greatest threat to peace in the Arab world. The US must prevent Iran from bankrolling new terrorism and from developing a nuclear weapon.

The US must encourage Saudi Arabia to lead the peace effort and counter efforts by interlopers to play a role. There’s no other way to fight terrorism without  support of the larger Arab countries. Note: These countries are threatened by rogue terrorists as well. The war between Israel and Hamas, and its supporters, has the potential to destabilize the region. It is in Israel’s best interest to end the war soon and start working on a peace arrangement.