My take: Harvard's International Students vs Trump Administration

I'm writing this on May 31, but the thought came to me on May 28, the day after a rally occurred at the Science Center at Harvard University. As of May 29, a federal judge blocked Trump from barring international students.

Trump said he's fighting for Jewish and pro-Israeli students with his attempts to reform higher education. His plan to ban international students from attending Harvard University is one step on his list of strategies to target the school for its approach to handling anti-semitism.

But what about the jewish international students? What about the Israeli or pro-Israel international students? Do these groups get thrown out by the same policy meant to protect them?

These solutions provided by the Trump Administration confuse me as to (1) why they would not think about their supporters who would be harmed, and (2) why they ban all international students.

On the right, some people I spoke to who support the initiative were stunned at my simple questions above. Other supporters rationalized it as a critical step for fighting anti-semitism.

On the left, there is strong opposition. On May 27, several hundred gathered to protest the Trump Administration's attempts to bar international students from enrolling at Harvard University. International students make up more than 25% of the student population, and the action was not taken lightly by students, faculty or administrators.

One speaker who stood out to me was Jacob Miller, a graduating senior at Harvard and former president of Harvard Hillel, who spoke about his great grandmother, who was kicked out of the University of Vienna in 1938 for being Jewish.

"If there is anything to learn from this Jewish history, it’s that pushing people out of our schools because of their identity is the symptom of a morally bankrupt politics," said Miller in his speech. "Antisemitism is a real problem — both at Harvard and around the country. But make no mistake: these actions have absolutely nothing to do with combating antisemitism. They are only aimed at dividing us apart."

Miller brings up a critical point, and I wonder what Trump's actions do to impact anti-semitic stigmas. He also sparked a thought about the Jewish international students in the crowd.

While planning how to write this over the past couple of days, the BBC published a similar take, covering my angle with data and anecdotes. Read it here to get the full picture.

Jewish people have moved and escape throughout history. If the Trump Administration were to be approved, it certainly would be another moment of removal in the history of the Jewish people. I'm struggling to not look at the gaps in Trump's logic with this policy.