Fetterman 'not wrong' to compare Columbia protests to Charlottesville, CNN host says

CNN's Dana Bash said Monday that Sen. John Fetterman, D-Penn., was "not wrong" to compare anti-Israel protests at Columbia to the White nationalists in Charlottesville. 

Fetterman said in a post on social media that he fully agreed with a statement the White House released on the Columbia University demonstrations. During an appearance on "CNN This Morning," Bash said Fetterman was not far off in his statement.

"Add some tiki torches and it's Charlottesville for these Jewish students," Fetterman wrote. He also called on Columbia's president to resign. 

"I mean it’s not that far off. He’s not wrong. He’s not wrong. Again, this has gone way beyond being pro- or anti-Israeli government, pro or anti the way that they’re prosecuting the war," Bash said on CNN in response. "History shows us that when there is a motivating issue that can allow antisemitism to snowball. It will happen, and it is happening. We‘re watching it real-time."

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Anti-Israel protesters occupied Columbia's south lawn on Wednesday when university President Minouche Shafik testified before Congress on antisemitism on college campuses, but they continued through the weekend. 

Shafik said all classes would be virtual on Monday in an overnight statement. She also condemned "antisemitic language" protesters used and the "intimidating and harassing behavior on our campus."

Bash condemned the "raw hatred towards Jews" earlier in the segment.

"Everybody has a right to disagree with the policies of a democratic government. And that is what is happening in Israel. People in Israel disagree with the policies of their elected government. That does not give people the right to be full-on vile and full of hate," Bash said. "The sort of anti-Zionism, anti-Netanyahu government, that has left the building a long time ago when it comes to what you’re actually seeing. And not all of the cases, but many of these cases, it is raw hatred towards Jews."

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"CNN This Morning" host Kasie Hunt said much of what people have seen at Columbia has crossed the line. She asked former White House communications director Kate Bedingfield about the White House's response.

Bedingfield encouraged President Biden and the White House to keep using the word "antisemitism," but also said they needed to leave room for protest against the Israeli government. She also turned to Charlottesville and said it was a big reason why Biden wanted to run for president. 

"He was incredibly horrified by what he saw," Bedingfield said. "He really put it in a historical context that this is an incredibly frightening and dangerous thing that snowballs, and what we saw on display in Charlottesville in 2017 was a really pernicious and horrible thing, that can very quickly spiral out of control in society."

"So this issue of rising antisemitism and hate across the board as has been, I would argue, fanned by Donald Trump, is personally important to Joe Biden," she continued. "And so I would expect to continue to see really direct language come out of the White House on this."

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Protests also broke out at Yale University last week. Police began removing anti-Israel protesters from an encampment on campus after a week of calling for the university to divest from military weapons manufacturers.

At least 16 protesters were arrested as police looked through tents set up in Beinecke Plaza, where more than 250 agitators gathered Sunday night, the Yale Daily News reported. 

Fox News' Stephen Sorace contributed to this report.