Syracuse University chancellor says anti-Israel campus protests ‘encouraged’ by Iran

The chancellor of Syracuse University revealed his belief that pro-Hamas, anti-Israel protests were encouraged and potentially orchestrated by Iran while speaking on a panel this week in Washington, D.C.

Chancellor Kent Syverud spoke on a panel Tuesday alongside the chancellors from Vanderbilt and Washington University in St. Louis. He described the protest activity that took place on his college campus as well as other universities across the country.

“When things happened that I really believe were encouraged from Iran,” Syverud explained to the audience. “[The protests] did not have the involvement of very many, if any, of our own students.”

Syracuse’s top official also discussed the difficulty of holding individuals, including students, accountable because of the use of face masks or coverings intentionally used to shield identity.

“People were using masks to avoid accountability for what they were saying and doing,” Syverud added, noting that people in masks could have been “activists from elsewhere.”

Chancellor Daniel Diermeier of Vanderbilt, in Nashville, also pointed out clear coordination and the “playbook” for protests was backed by “organized networks” that could have motivated or directed students and agitators to demonstrate and disrupt campus.

“[Students] were looking at [and] were using the playbook that they had seen at Columbia and other places, and it was the same messaging. It’s more than social contagion,” Diermeier explained. “I think there are organized networks as well. And for sure we saw that.”

Washington University Chancellor Andrew D. Martin nodded in agreement.

“Many of the things that happened on our campus, including an attempted encampment, we didn’t allow it to take place and ultimately had folks arrested to shut it down on a Saturday evening,” Martin added. “Three quarters of those individuals had nothing to do with the university.”

The panel was organized by Alums for Campus Fairness, a group that gathers university alumni and serves to combat antisemitism on college campuses and across the U.S.

The protests which Syverud refers to have plagued university campuses mainly after the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel.

Columbia University faced a significant number of protests that still often occur, though just outside the campus gates as the university has changed rules that previously permitted demonstrations.

Last April, more than 100 protesters were arrested after the NYPD was forced to break up an encampment that was impacting students’ ability to navigate campus. In May, protesters occupied Butler Library on Columbia’s campus, calling it “Basel Al-Araj Popular University.” Officers were once again called to the scene and made multiple arrests. More than 70 students were expelled or suspended.

Similar protests occurred at other prominent universities such as Harvard, NYU, and UCLA.

Syracuse University did not respond to a request for comment.
https://nypost.com/2025/11/01/us-news/prominent-university-chancellor-says-anti-israel-campus-protests-were-encouraged-from-iran/

No kings … including Jesus?

Did you see that a lot of people don’t want Donald Trump to be the king of America? On October 18th, there were numerous “No Kings” rallies across the country, protesting what demonstrators describe as authoritarian actions by President Trump. They claim he acts more like a king than a president.

One protester in San Francisco held a sign that read, “Hey Trump, nobody paid us to be here. We all hate you for free.” Nice. You can find the Babylon Bee’s satirical list of accomplishments by people like those at the No Kings demonstrations [here](#).

The vast majority of protesters were Democrats and leftists (and yes, there is a distinction between the two). Naturally, there were jabs from the right about the rallies, with some calling it “Democrat Sulk Day.” Supporters of the “No Kings” rallies denied this characterization and said they simply oppose the despotic actions of any president who crosses the line of democracy.

But am I the only one calling baloney on that? If the situation were reversed, and a leftist president was pushing their niche agenda onto the nation, what do you want to bet most of these folks would have stayed home?

The good news is that the “No Kings” rallies were mainly peaceful—a refreshing change for that side of the political fence. Usually, when the Left doesn’t get its way, it follows in the footsteps of those in 1780-90s France, who birthed leftist philosophy.

Wall Street Journal writer Jason Willick noted a few years back:

> “The French Revolution, in its moderate phase before 1792, drew on America’s ideals in seeking to overthrow the monarchy. The differences, however, proved fundamental. Whereas the Americans began with the individual as the primary unit of moral and political value, [France] wanted to create a collective will. But in order to create a collective will, you have to destroy all those wills that are counter to your vision of the general will. That’s why America’s revolution ended with constitutional government and France’s in terror and tyranny.”

The destruction of “those wills that are counter to your vision of general will” has been carried out countless times, not only during the past five or so years but throughout history. To be fair, it has been done on both sides of the political divide.

This dynamic echoes what Frank Herbert wrote in *Children of Dune*:

> “When I am weaker than you, I ask you for freedom because that is according to your principles; when I am stronger than you, I take away your freedom because that is according to my principles.”

This robbing of freedom and voice has often happened more through mob mentality and political puppeteering than by a single individual. It aligns closely with the spirit of the French Revolution and its disastrous outcomes.

Such tactics have been called out even by unlikely sources, like the rock band Black Sabbath in their song **The Mob Rules**:

> Close the city and tell the people that something’s coming to call
> Death and darkness are rushing forward to
> Take a bite from the wall
> You’ve nothing to say, they’re breaking away
> If you listen to fools, the mob rules
> The mob rules

Mobs that dominate cultural thought demonstrate why, as Winston Churchill famously said, democracy is the worst form of government except for all the others. However, he and the “No Kings” protesters are wrong when it comes to the best form of government.

The best government, absolutely, is a monarchy—but with one very important requirement: it must have the right monarch. And I know of only One who qualifies.

The problem is that any monarch represents ultimate authority—something that clashes with the insubordinate spirit we’re all born with.

Looking at the “No Kings” protests and reading many of their comments reminded me of Albert Camus’ famous quote: “I rebel, therefore we exist.”

The Bible, however, tells us in Romans 13:1-2:

> “There is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God. Therefore whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God.”

This means the spirit of authority-resistance running through the “No Kings” rallies and others like them is aimed every bit as much upward as outward, even if the protesters are unaware of it.

Some have declared that explicitly. The atheist Christopher Hitchens expressed disgust at the notion that we are the property of any supernatural authority:

> “Once you assume a creator and a plan, it makes us objects in a cruel experiment. And over us, to supervise this, is installed a celestial dictatorship, a kind of divine North Korea.”

Thomas Paine speaks for many today with his stance on authority and human worship when he wrote:

> “My own mind is my own church.”

But no matter what Paine’s or anyone else’s mind tells them, the Bible declares everywhere that God is King overall.

Scripture says:

– “The Lord is King forever and ever” (Psalm 10:16)
– “The Lord is enthroned as King forever” (Psalm 29:10)
– And of Jesus, who is coming back as King over all creation: “He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords” (1 Timothy 6:15)

The rebellious spirit of our age won’t accept any king, including Jesus. Just like He spoke about in the parable of the nobleman:

> “But his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man to reign over us’” (Luke 19:14).

It’s both funny and tragic how fickle crowds quickly change their tune. One minute, they were “intending to come and take Him by force to make Him king” (John 6:15), and not long afterward, they were screaming, “We have no king but Caesar” (John 19:15).

Scripture also reveals that the overt kind of rejection Christ experienced in His first coming will happen again at His second appearing. Psalm 2 describes that scene:

> “Why are the nations in an uproar and the peoples devising a vain thing? The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers take counsel together against the LORD and against His Anointed, saying, ‘Let us tear their fetters apart and cast away their cords from us!’” (Psalm 2:1-3)

But they’ve got it all wrong. Jesus isn’t a king who takes and enslaves; He’s one who gives (literally everything) and sets us free. No monarch has ever done that, am I right?

So, if you’re a “No Kings” rally participant, relax and take heart. Trump will never be king. But Jesus is—and it’s best you confess Him as Lord now rather than end up as His footstool someday (Psalm 110:1).
https://www.christianpost.com/voices/no-kings-including-jesus.html

Trump posts fake ‘King Trump’ jet video amid nationwide ‘No Kings’ protests

President Donald Trump has posted a fake video on social media showing him wearing a crown and flying a jet labeled “King Trump” that dumps brown liquid on protesters.

The short video, shared on Trump’s Truth Social account late Saturday, was posted on the same day that protesters participated in a daylong mass demonstration, known as “No Kings,” against the Trump administration. The protests took place in cities and towns across all 50 states, with participants holding signs such as “I Pledge Allegiance to No King” and chanting slogans accusing the president of acting in authoritarian ways.

Set to the song “Danger Zone” by Kenny Loggins, the video depicts the plane dropping a brown liquid resembling feces onto the heads of protesters gathered in a city.

On the same day, the White House posted an artificial intelligence-generated image on social media showing Trump and Vice President JD Vance wearing crowns. The post included a simple message: “Have a good night, everyone,” accompanied by a crown emoji.

Trump frequently reposts AI-generated or manipulated imagery on his Truth Social account. Last month, for example, he shared a meme of Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), the House minority leader, depicting Jeffries with a fake mustache and sombrero, set to mariachi music. Jeffries, who is Black, condemned the video as racist and bigoted.

The No Kings protests followed a massive demonstration in June, when an estimated 5 million people participated across some 2,000 protests nationwide. Saturday’s event was organized by national and local groups, along with well-known progressive coalitions such as Indivisible, 50501, and MoveOn.

Republican leaders criticized the protests, blaming them for prolonging the government shutdown and labeling the event a “hate America rally.”

When asked about the demonstrations, Abigail Jackson, a White House spokesperson, responded briefly via email: “Who cares?”

In an upcoming interview with Fox News set to air Sunday, Trump addressed the protesters, saying, “They’re referring to me as a king. I’m not a king.”

© 2025 The New York Times Company.
https://www.staradvertiser.com/2025/10/19/breaking-news/trump-posts-fake-king-trump-jet-video-amid-nationwide-no-kings-protests/

Trump plans to deploy National Guard in Illinois, governor says

The Trump administration plans to federalize 300 members of the Illinois National Guard, Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker said Saturday. Pritzker revealed that the guard received word from the Pentagon in the morning that the troops would be called up. He did not specify when or where they would be deployed, but President Donald Trump has long threatened to send troops to Chicago.

“This morning, the Trump Administration’s Department of War gave me an ultimatum: call up your troops, or we will,” Pritzker said in a statement. “It is absolutely outrageous and un-American to demand a governor send military troops within our own borders and against our will.”

A spokesperson for the governor’s office said she could not provide additional details. The White House and the Pentagon did not respond to questions about Pritzker’s statement.

The escalation of federal law enforcement in Illinois follows similar deployments in other parts of the country. Over the summer, Trump deployed the National Guard to Los Angeles as part of his law enforcement takeover in Washington, D.C. Meanwhile, Tennessee National Guard troops are expected to help Memphis police.

In response, California Gov. Gavin Newsom sued to stop the deployment in Los Angeles and won a temporary block in federal court. The Trump administration has appealed the ruling, which deemed the use of the guard illegal. A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has indicated that it believes the government is likely to prevail.

Pritzker called Trump’s move in Illinois a “manufactured performance” that would pull the state’s National Guard troops away from their families and regular jobs. “For Donald Trump, this has never been about safety. This is about control,” said the governor.

He also noted that state, county, and local law enforcement have been coordinating to ensure the safety of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Broadview facility on the outskirts of Chicago. Federal officials reported the arrests of 13 people protesting near the facility on Friday. The facility has been frequently targeted during the administration’s surge of immigration enforcement this fall.

Last month, Trump said he was sending federal troops to Portland, Oregon, calling the city war-ravaged. However, local officials have suggested that many of his claims and social media posts appear to rely on outdated images from 2020, a time when demonstrations and unrest gripped the city following the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police.

City and state officials sued to stop that deployment the next day. U.S. District Judge Karin J. Immergut heard arguments Friday, with a ruling expected over the weekend.

Trump has federalized 200 National Guard troops in Oregon, but so far, they do not appear to have moved into Portland. They have been seen training on the coast in anticipation of deployment.

___
Associated Press reporter Rebecca Boone contributed.
Thomas Peipert, The Associated Press
https://ca.news.yahoo.com/trump-plans-deploy-national-guard-191248616.html

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