Political response to pro-Palestinian protests at UT Austin falls along party lines

Three dozen Texas House Republicans signed a letter Tuesday rejecting "physical and mental intimidation" in reference to the pro-Palestinian protests being held at the University of Texas and at other college campuses around the state, and reiterated their support for Israel as it wages war against Hamas, a militant Palestinian organization that launched a deadly attack on the Jewish state nearly seven months ago.

"We reject terrorism in any form. We reject physical and mental intimidation and all evil iterations of such, including within our own borders of Texas and on our university campuses," the lawmakers said in a three-paragraph letter circulated by state Rep. Carl Tepper, R-Lubbock. "Israel has a fundamental right to defend itself and should use any and all means necessary to destroy terrorism, which includes wiping Hamas from the face of the Earth. We stand with Israel."

The letter came one day after tensions escalated at UT when pro-Palestinian protesters set up an impromptu encampment on the campus' South Mall, leading police Monday to arrest 79 demonstrators, some of whom were heard chanting, "Israel is a racist state" and "Long live the intifada." The protesters are demanding that UT divest from Israeli weapons manufacturers and are calling for a cease-fire in Gaza, where more than 30,000 people have reportedly been killed as Israel continues bombarding the region in response to the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas.

The Republican lawmakers' letter was something of a counterweight to criticism by Democratic officials and rights groups of the tactics Texas Department of Public Safety troopers and UT police officers used to drive demonstrators from UT's South Mall, which they reportedly sought to "occupy."

"The behavior exhibited by state law enforcement was unacceptable and reprehensible, reaching a level of escalation and aggression that demands immediate attention," state Rep. Ron Reynolds, a Houston-area Democrat and chairman of the Texas Legislative Black Caucus, said in a statement Tuesday. "Yesterday's events saw Texas students subjected to stun grenades, pepper spray, and aggressive tactics by law enforcement."

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The reactions to the pro-Palestinian protests that started last week at UT and to law enforcement officers' response to the demonstrations have largely broken along party lines.

State Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston, pushed back with force against complaints that sending heavily armed state troopers in riot gear meant that UT is stifling political speech that is critical of Israel, a longtime U.S. ally in the Middle East.

"No fewer than 17 pro-Palestinian free-speech events have been held on the UT main campus, per the statement (from the university), BUT NO ONE HAS THE RIGHT TO OCCUPY any portion of the campus!" Bettencourt posted on X, formerly Twitter, where he noted that he was among the sponsors of a 2019 bill designed to protect free speech at Texas' public colleges and universities.

"HOWEVER, there will be NO Columbia University style occupation putting students, especially Jewish students, at risk, from outside agitators bent on disrupting University operations," Bettencourt added, referencing the occupation of campus buildings at the university in New York City.

State Rep. Donna Howard, D-Austin, said the heavy police presence at the recent UT demonstrations is not unprecedented. She posted of photo on X showing her husband with a police officer's arms around his neck during anti-Vietnam War campus protest in the early 1970s. Howard said she was hit with Mace, an aerosol-propelled gas, during the protests five decades ago.

On Monday, police also deployed aerosol-propelled gases to disperse protesters.

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Howard told the American-Statesman on Tuesday that though Vietnam-era protests and those of today involve different issues, both go to the heart of the right to express viewpoints that run counter to national and state policies.

"They're the ones that are going to inherit whatever (the nation's policymakers) do," she said. "They should be able to speak loudly about what they're thinking, and it should be a part of the equation."

She said the police show of force from the start of the demonstrations set the tone for what would follow.

"There are ways to do this that can actually de-escalate and minimize the chaos," Howard said. "And there are ways to instigate it, and to elevate it. And having people in riot gear and mounted horses seems way out of hand and is actually worsening the situation rather than making it something where we can actually have some dialogue and a learning experience."

Tepper, an Air Force veteran who served in the post-9/11 Gulf War, said he circulated the GOP lawmakers' letter because he and many of his House Republican colleagues believed the pro-Palestinian demonstrators were being portrayed too sympathetically and no countering message was being offered.

"I think our silence was becoming deafening," Tepper, who was elected to the House in 2022, told the Statesman. "I wanted a message to be sent to the state and the nation at large that Israel is a very close ally of not only the United States but of Texas. A lot of our terrain looks the same. We trade a lot of our agricultural sciences with each other, (along with) engineering, tech, medical.

"Our histories are kind of similar. We were forged in revolution, and they were formed in a similar impossible fight for the sovereign nation after World War II. I want there to be no question that Texas stands behind Israel."

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: What Texas Republicans, Democrats are saying about UT Austin protests