wow, you get to watch all your favorite stuff. it's to die for. now you won't miss a thing. this is the way. the xfinity 10g network. made for streaming. geoff: good evening. i'm geoff bennett. amna: and i'm amna nawaz in tel aviv. on the newshour tonight. hospitals in gaza are overwhelmed with scores of injured as israel vows not to allow in aid until hamas releases its hostages. we hear from civilians caught in

the crossfire. geoff: republican infighting in washington complicates the process of electing a new house speaker. what frontrunner steve scalise is doing to try to win more support. and judy woodruff visits college campuses that are increasingly becoming the focus of debates over free speech. >> it's important to hear all of these views because when you're out in the real world, i think you hear people discussing things that are not for the good of society, and you have to learn how to react. ♪ >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by -- >> pediatric surgeon, volunteer, topiary artist. a raymond james financial advisor tailors advice to help you live your life.

life well planned. >> the kendeda fund. committed to advancing restorative justice and meaningful work through investments in transformative leaders and ideas. more at kendedafund.org. carnegie corporation of new york, supporting innovations in education, democratic engagement, and the advancement of international peace and security. at carnegie.org. and with the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions. ♪

this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting, and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. geoff: welcome to the newshour. it's the sixth day of war as israel retaliates against terrorist attacks from hamas, with the coastal region under extraordinary bombardment by israeli jets and artillery, and the siege tightening. amna: here on the ground, there are now nearly 3000 dead in less than a week of brutal violence. in israel, more than 1200 have been killed, including 27 americans. the u.s. government now says it will begin operating charter flights tomorrow to evacuate any of the more than 100,000 americans here. and so far, 1500 palestinians have been killed, that includes 45 members of the same extended family all killed in an

airstrike on their gaza home tonight, according to officials there. we begin with our colleague leila molana-allen reporting. >> in the heavily bombarded gaza strip, a frantic effort to find survivors. gazans desperately search mounds of rubble for signs of life with their bare hands. this is the densely populated al-shati refugee camp, hit by one of israel's latest act of retribution. >> you could see the destruction. we have martyrs under the rubble. we pose no danger, we are civilians in our homes. there were children there. what did the children do to deserve this? >> in the nearby al-shifa hospital the horrors of war stream in. the procession of stretchers is never-ending. inside, the hallways crammed with the injured; hospital staff scrambling to treat them. among them, the bloodied bodies of khadija soulieh's children. they were having breakfast when their house was bombed. >> i didn't even see the house, there was nothing left of it.

all of us were injured, my husband, kids. we have nothing to do with any of this, we have nothing at all >> hospital director dr. muhammad abu salima says al-shifa no longer has enough beds for the overwhelming number of patients. >> the hospital is unable to accommodate this large number of injuries. the gaza strip has never seen such numbers under any day, or in anymore. families have been exterminated. >> for the families of the dead there is no hope left. the loss, unbearable, as they mourn in constant fear. humanitarian groups say with the city under siege, its hospitals risk turning into morgues. amidst such carnage, secretary of state antony blinken touched down in israel this morning. >> good to see you, sorry it is under these circumstances. >> his host, prime minister

benjamin netanyahu, renewed his uncompromising warning to hamas. >> hamas is isis and just as isis was crushed, so too will hamas be crushed. >> blinken doubled down on u.s. support. but as israeli forces intensify their military campaign, he delivered a word of caution. >> it's so important to take every possible precaution to avoid harming civilians. >> evidence of hamas' campaign of terror continues to surface. this was kibbutz reduced to ashes. video appears to show bullet holes splintering the walls of a child's bedroom. this afternoon during a press conference, secretary blinken described images of victims he saw. >> an infant riddled with bullets. soldiers beaded. young people burned alive. >> and as hamas' indiscriminate barrage of rockets continues. the fighting has spread far from gaza and the surrounding area. this morning, syrian media reported israel struck

international airports in damascus and aleppo, on the border with lebanon, israeli forces and hezbollah fighters continue to exchange fire. we're heading up to the very northern border of israel with lebanon and things are always tense here because hezbollah dominates the area just across the border. in the last few days, there's been a lot of rocket fire back and forth across this border and last night for a few minutes there was a false alarm where people thought all-out war had started. >> in the town of shomera, just 3 miles from the border, smadar and momi amsalem were preparing dinner when the alarm sounded. >> we received an alert and they told us to go to the shelters and not to leave them. >> as the barrages increase and the likelihood of a cross-border war grows, the israel defence forces have advised everyone in this area to leave; swathes of the residents have headed south to comparatively safer areas. aside from sporadic rocket fire, hezbollah has thus far stayed its hand.

it says its red line to attack israel would be a ground invasion of gaza. prime minister binyamin netanyahu says that invasion is israel's only option. >> yes, there are people who are worried. they have little kids and babies so they evacuated themselves. >> smadar's son was visiting from los angeles with his four kids when the weekend's terror attacks unfolded. the family fled home as soon as they could get on a plane. but momi and smadar have lived through war after war in their 60 years here. momi has worked through every one, delivering the eggs the area is famous for. >> my job is vital. i need to supply the eggs because people need to eat. even under fire you have to continue your work. >> we didn't leave and we're not going to leave. this is our country and we're not afraid of hizbullah or anyone else.

>> but not everyone is so sure. the closer you get to the border, the emptier the streets. here in shlomi, 18-year-old nehorai zeno narrowly escaped death when a hezbollah rocket hit his father's hair salon two days ago. he spends most days there hanging out with friends and helping his father. now, the family's livelihood is gone. >> it feels so strange to know i could have been here, it could have hit me and my family. >> today the family came back to inspect the damage. his mother, shaking with fear and too traumatized to appear on camera, told us she no longer trusts the israeli army or her government to keep her safe. she's desperate to leave as soon as possible and get her children to safety. >> most of my friends have left, some have stayed, and some are really scared. overall i'm ok but my little brothers and sisters and mum and dad are really tense. >> across the north, the same question; to stay or to go? and with the whole country

descending into violence, where to go? meanwhile, coming in the opposite direction are the tens of thousands of army reservists who've been deployed to northern israel in recent days. as hostilities on the northern border intensify, towns and villages here are clearing out. the village of za'rit, just a quarter of a mile from the lebanese border, is completely evacuated, the only people still here the idf soldiers who've been sent up to defend it. >> joining the soldiers are the few residents staunchly determined to stay and fight. and, the local militias, made up of townspeople who have fought these border battles for years. from their outposts they've watched in recent days as incoming fire killed and wounded both israelis and arab israelis living here, and the idf's retaliation. with such an unprecedented number of soldiers deployed, locals here say the idf is struggling to get them supplies in time. so, israeli civilians have stepped in.

at this restaurant just south of shlomi, the owners and staff have been preparing hundreds of hot meals to distribute to soldiers for the past three days. >> there are so many soldiers. they're wary, they don't want what happened in the south to happen here. so they're here to protect us. so we just want to give them a little something. something to eat, a little gift, to give them strength. >> as the drums of war bang faster and louder, similar scenes of unity and preparation are playing out across the country. israelis readying themselves for what they believe will be a brutal but necessary battle. >> leila joins me now here in tel aviv. fantastic reporting. you know that border so well, you have seen how quickly tensions their can flare. what did it feel like when you spent the day there today are? >> the streets are empty.

people are not hiding inside, they are leaving in droves, moving as fast as they can. they have not said they have to leave, that is their choice. many believe that is where they should be living they want to stay and fight. you have local militias, they are so concerned about being targeted that there is no chance they would appear on camera. they work directly in front of that lebanese border, and you can see the sights of the people they are fighting from where they sit every day. they were talking about the sites they have been seeing the last few days. they sit there with their guns all day and is such a different relationship between these people who have been fighting these border battles for years that are really used to this fight and these young idf reservists, many

of whom have come up from central israel, even from studying abroad. they are technicians in companies. they might be young corporate lawyers. some haven't served for years, and they have suddenly been sent up to this active war zone. there is an interesting relationship going on with those people. they are wandering around, these young soldiers, waiting for something, but they don't know what. these local volunteers are cheering them on, but it is a very tense situation. you can see all these people streaming in, that they feel something is about to start. they are trying to protect these multiple borders now. this is where this decision comes in of what these people have to do, whether they are going to stay or go. i met one woman who was so petrified i had to hold her , while she was speaking. she said, i don't know what to do about my babies. she didn't have a car. she was asking if we could help her organize her car to get out because she was so afraid of what was coming. she was absolutely desperate.

people really are feeling like the entire country is falling apart. we have now had another escalation, which is that human rights watch have confirmed they their reporting says white phosphorus was used by israeli forces in gaza and on the lebanese border in the last few days. white phosphorus is a substance that burns human skin horrifically. if you disperse it into the air, hundreds of pellets from each of these comes down, and if it hits you on the skin it will burn you down to the bone, it can burn your lungs out. 10% of burns from this can kill a human being. if it doesn't, the lifelong injuries are horrifying, as well as the fact it can burn down entire communities. if that is the case, that is major escalation in the fighting and a terrifying prospect for people on both sides of the border in terms of how angry that kind of weaponry being used could make people. amna: you have also reported on how this conflict will have ripple effects well beyond these borders. you mentioned syrian officials

saying israeli airstrikes crippled two of their main airports today. what should we understand about that? leila: this is very interesting. the explanation could be this is retaliation for any number of strikes coming in from syria or lebanon. but the iranian foreign minister is in iraq at the moment and was supposed to travel to syria tomorrow. there is suspicion this would be an attempt to stop a council of war. people think this trip is to drum up support for hamas after the massive attack that happened, that everybody expects was funded by the iranian government. potentially, this attack happened to try to put out both of those airports at the same time so he could not arrive at -- and that meeting would not happen. amna: leila molana-allen, thank you for reporting for us tonight. back to you. geoff: our thanks to you as well. more than 2 million people live in gaza. it is one of the most densely populated corners of the planet. in the six days since hamas'

attacks, israel says it has dropped 6000 bombs on gaza. the u.n. says 650 thousand people there face water shortages. 340,000 had to flee their homes. nick schifrin and zabel foresee spoke with residents who face bombardment with no escape. nick: this used to be a safe space. but what was once a sanctuary is now shattered. these are the voices of the family, mother diana, bb rose, who at one year old shields her ears from bombings, big brother kareem, 4, and father, ahmed. they sent us a video of where their children used to sleep. that pile of debris was once an apartment complex destroyed by an israeli airstrike. israel has cut out the power, so we spoke by phone. >> as you can hear now, this is the bombing. they are going to bomb a tower

beside us. we are scared. this is the sound of my daughter. i am feeling very bad. my emotions, i can't describe them. i think we get used to the sounds. we get used to hearing it all the time. i am about to cry. i can't handle this anymore. as you can hear, as you can hear, there is no distance between them. only 10 seconds. nick: they move to different homes every day. but when ambulances, u.n. schools turn shelters are not safe, there is nowhere to hide. >> no place in gaza is safe. people are running in the streets looking for cover from the bombs.

they bomb schools and ambulances. they said they don't attack children. the most people who are dying our children and women. we are hoping and praying for our only solution. when the bomb starts, we all cover our head. we all go to the same room. we all get to the ground, hugging my kids, shaking, telling them it is a new storm. my child wakes up every night screaming, putting her hands on her ears. this is a terrible situation. nick: we tried to speak on video. she had to use a flashlight. >> things are very terrifying. they are bombing all the time. there is no electricity, no water, no food supplements. nick: our connection kept freezing. >> even the sound in the sky is terrifying.

the sound of airstrike. >> we need help. we don't need money. we don't need anything but we need a cease fire. people are getting worse and worse. nick: sometimes, the only light is from airstrikes. >> trapped in looking for laughter. the house has been bombed. everyone is dead. the kids, the parents, the toys. i care about human lives everywhere, here and outside of gaza, in the west bank. i love all people. but some people do not want us to exist. nick: he was born in a gaza refugee camp. he has three children, two boys, and a daughter wearing close from a happier time. today, his extended family of 22 take shelter in a three bedroom apartment.

they and every family here have survived half a dozen wars. >> the kids, this is not their first time hearing the bombs and seeing the smoke after each explosion. and also the light, the scary light of each explosion, especially at night. it is not the first time. but they are always asking me when this will stop? it is very worrying that these kids do not ask me who is doing this. they don't ask who. they just know this is very dangerous, this could kill them. nick: his poetry tells of the human cost of war. today, he is losing hope. >> just yesterday, we got the very heartbreaking news that a pregnant cousin of mine was killed during an israeli airstrike on a mosque that is adjacent to her house. it is about humanity. they are depriving us of our

humanity. they are dealing with us. they are killing us as if we were just a heap of rubbish. they don't distinguish between a tree or a house or a bookshop or a donkey or a cat. we just don't exist to them as human beings. nick: it is those human beings suffering the scars of war for whom gazan photojournalist has been documenting. >> this area i am in, this square is completely empty of any residence. there is no one. nick: for years, the 43 -year-old has captured the siege. >> 20 minutes before this voice message, israel bombed a residential building and media offices near shaffat hospital. nick: war spares no one. families, the elderly, the youngest.

and diana's hope for the future. >> we always sleep in the same area. even when we want to go to the bathroom, we go together. because if we die, we die all together. nick: they fear the worst is still to come. for the pbs newshour, i am nick schifrin. ♪ vanessa: here are the latest headlines. the white house denounced former president trump's criticism of top israeli officials for failing to anticipate the hamas attack. at a rally in florida last night, mr. trump attacked prime minister netanyahu and called his defense minister a quote jerk. the white house national

security spokesman john kirby responded today. >> we take seriously our bilateral relationship with israel. we don't get to decide obviously who their cabinet officials are, but that wouldn't be our business, but we have strong relationships with them. and it's important now that those relationships continue to improve and grow, right, particularly in this time of crisis, and so we're focused on getting things done and supporting israel. that's where our heads are. vanessa: mr. trump also said last night that the lebanese militant group, hezbollah, backed by iran, has been very smart. a white house spokesman called that comment unhinged and sickening. a colorado jury has found one police officer guilty and acquitted another in the killing of 23-year-old elijah mcclain, the black man who died after a police stop outside denver in 2019. aurora police officer randy roedema was found guilty of criminally negligent homicide and third-degree assault. former aurora police officer jason rosenblatt was acquitted of all charges.

mcclain died after being placed in a neck hold by a third officer, then injected by paramedics with an overdose of ketamine. the third officer's trial starts tomorrow. the two paramedics will be tried in november. federal prosecutors leveled a new charge today against senator bob menendez. the revised indictment alleges the new jersey democrat conspired to act as a foreign agent of egypt, while chairing the senate foreign relations committee. menendez and his wife have denied taking bribes to influence us policy. the labor department's latest look at inflation is out, and it's a mixed picture. consumer prices climbed .4% in september from a month earlier, driven in part by housing costs. but, that hike was less than the increase of .6% in august, from july. the core inflation rate, not counting food and fuel, rose

4.1% from a year ago. that's the smallest increase in 2 years. the social security administration has announced that, based on the inflation numbers, benefits will increase by 3.2% next year. that's much less than this year's increase of nearly 9%. starting in january, benefit checks will go up by more than $50 a month on average. contract talks between hollywood studios and actors may be back to square one. the studios broke off negotiations last night saying the gap between the two sides is too great. the actors strike has now been going on for three months. they're demanding better pay for work on streaming services and control over images generated by artificial intelligence. still to come on the newshour, house democratic leader hakeem jeffries weighs in on the contentious election over new house speaker, and the political debate over what constitutes

free speech zeros in on college campuses. >> this is the pbs newshour, from weta studios in washington, and in the west from the walter cronkite school of journalism at arizona state university. >> just today after house republicans narrowly voted to nominate steve scalise to be speaker of the house, the louisiana congressman is with -- withdrawing his name from consideration after was clear he did not have the votes went on the house floor. our congressional correspondent joins me now from capitol hill with the latest. lisa, good evening and thank you for joining us. another wild night on capitol hill. can you tell us why is scalise dropping out? lisa: you said it, it was just

not there for him. he is someone who is generally known as affable, he has tried not to make enemies, but made enemies at the wrong time, yesterday when the conference got together to vote on their selection for speaker. for they did that, they took a vote to try to change the rules. so members said let's not go through that 15 round debacle that we saw on the house floor. instead, let's select a speaker inside behind closed doors, only when someone reaches 217 votes in private will we take that nomination to the floor. that probably would've failed regardless, but scalise and his team moved quickly to quash that . that was something that offended many members who have gotten used to the hours -- the idea, steve scalise and his team quash that quickly. the other thing that happened

was steve scalise had a chance to talk to congress, all of them gathered this morning and i'm told members who were pulling for scalise came out and told me he just was not effective, he did not spell out a plan for how to deal with the situation or the spending deadline coming up and leadership is the word you hear a lot tonight. regardless of whatever the problem was, the house republican conference is moving on and so is steve scalise. vanessa: can you give us more detail on what has been the reaction overall from his republican colleagues? lisa: i just ran from the basement of the capital where all of this happened. it is still kind of being digested by house republicans, some are frankly dumbfounded that this happen. they did not expect this tonight. but others are moving on quickly. some have said let's give jim

jordan a try. that seems to be what is going to happen, the conference will see if jim jordan come the republican from ohio, if he can get 217 votes, then he has a shot at being speaker. however, it's not clear that he can do that. some moderates told us a few minutes ago he does not think jordan has the votes, even though he himself is going to support him. essentially we are in a no man's land. it is not clear which candidate can get to 217. there is some talk from moderates working democrats, it's just a deep chasm of divide and a bit of a political and now governmental mass. vanessa: given the chaos in the world we just saw, what is happening in israel and gaza, especially those challenges

abroad and some of the challenges here at home internally, what pressure does all of this put on republicans to select a speaker and get some of this chaos under control? lisa: for most republicans, an immense amount of pressure. many of them have constituents in israel, trying to get home, under threat right now. these are serious times. they know it is not the time for our government to look unorganized. some are worried it's a signal to adversaries. the situation is that house republicans have not made any decisions yet except one. they will meet again tomorrow at 10:00 a.m. eastern time and from there, we truly don't know what will happen next. vanessa: like you said, we are in no man's land. thank you. lisa: you're welcome. geoff: for more on how a prolonged search for a speaker is affecting aid for israel and

ukraine, and who democrats would like to see holding the gavel, we are joined by house minority leader hakeem jeffries of new york. welcome back to the newshour. >> good evening. great to be with you. geoff: the israel-hamas war is in its sixth day. the u.s. has sent munitions, aircraft carriers, fighter jets to aid israel after the hamas attacks. what additional u.s. assistance is being held up by the infighting among house republicans and the resulting absence to have a house speaker? >> under the leadership of president joe biden, the united states will continue to stand strongly and unequivocally behind israel, israel's right to defend itself, until israel is able to defeat hamas decisively and put the country and the region on a path towards peace and stability. thankful for the leadership of president biden and what the leadership has done today, using

the authority it currently has over the next week or so. it is my expectation that an additional supplemental appropriations request will be sent to congress for us to consider. that is why it is so urgently necessary that republicans get their act together and elect the speaker from within their own ranks, as it is the responsibility of the majority party to do, or have traditional republicans break with the extremists within the house republican conference and partner with democrats on a bipartisan path forward. we are ready, willing, and able to do so. i know there are traditional republicans who are good women and men who want to see government function, but they are unable to do it within the ranks of their own conference, which is dominated by the extremist wing. this is why we continue to extend the hand of bipartisanship to them. geoff: extending ukraine funding

is now a point of contention among house republicans. do you support the idea as is being discussed of linking aid to israel with extended ukraine funding as a strategy to have both priorities pass? >> i think it is important for the congress to meet the needs of the american people in the most comprehensive way possible. that involves ensuring we are providing the state of israel with the support it needs to defeat hamas and stabilize the situation in the region, but it also means we should stand by the ukrainian people in their courageous effort to defeat russian aggression in europe, the largest conflict in europe since world war ii. there are also other national security priorities that may be important in an increasingly dangerous world that may be part of the request the administration submits. we are taking a wait and see approach until the administration actually sends up

the specifics of the request. but i do think that it should be comprehensive, which would include aid to israel, aid to ukraine, and aid to other allies within the free world to make sure we are meeting the national security needs of the american people. geoff: let's talk about this race to elect a new house speaker. even though congressman steve scalise defeated congressman jim jordan for the republican nomination to be speaker, he does not have to 217 votes he would need of the full house to be elected. still, though, is steve scalise someone who democrats could work with, and is there any scenario under which democrats would supply him the votes he needs to be elected? >> i have had a positive working relationship with steve scalise throughout the years. he obviously is very conservative and we have different values in terms of what we believe is right for the health and safety and economic well-being of the american people.

but this is an issue right now for the republicans to work out. it is the responsibility of the republican majority to identify a speaker who can both achieve 217 under the current number of people who are in the house, or hold and maintain 217. and over the last week or so, the republican majority has been unable to do either. and that is why we continue to offer a bipartisan path forward, so we can restructure the rules of the house to enable common sense bipartisan legislation that has strong support from democrats and republicans to receive up or down votes without being blocked by the extreme maga republican wing. there is a real path and a real opportunity to be serious, to be substantive, to be sober in meeting the needs of the

american people and our allies like israel and ukraine across the world. but we just need traditional republicans to break from their extremist wing and join us in a bipartisan coalition. geoff: when you talk about this bipartisan path, are you talking about the fact that you would only need five house republicans to join with the 212 democrats and elect you house speaker? we should say, there are 18 republican members who have been elected from districts that joe biden won. is that what you are speaking of? >> no, because from the very beginning, we have said this should not be about any one particular individual and any one particular individual's aspirations to lead either house democrats or house republicans. this is about what is good for the american people. not as democrats or republicans, but as americans. that is why at this moment, we have to find a way to come together, restructure the house

in a bipartisan way, designed to allow for common sense things to come to the floor. receive an up and down vote. to be able to move legislation that emerges from the senate that is bipartisan in nature. chuck schumer has done a tremendous job working with leader mcconnell in that regard. we want to get the house back on track. function. and we can figure out a way to do it. we are inherently reasonable about what we think can occur, but we require republican partners in order to do it. geoff: practically, though, how would this work? there would be a republican house speaker, but democrats would have, what? more committee memberships? a greater say in the functions of the floor? >> the details need to be negotiated in a good-faith fashion, and we are ready, willing, and able to do just that. but first, we need republicans to agree on the principle. there are only two options here.

the house can continue to be driven by the most extreme members of congress or alter the landscape in a structured way to facilitate bipartisan cooperation. i am hopeful that my traditional republican colleagues who are interested in governance, who care about the institution of the people's house, are willing to sit down and talk with us about finding an enlightened path and agreement that allows us to do the business of the american people and solve problems for hard-working american taxpayers. geoff: in the absence of that, as you well know, house paralysis will reach a tipping point if dysfunction and this deadlock continues. we have this november 17 government shutdown deadline. is there a path forward? >> i think there is a path forward because the matters that will be before us over the next few weeks are incredibly pressing.

we have to provide full funding for the government so we can meet the needs of the american people. and, of course, address our national security considerations and stand by close friend and ally israel during this urgent time of need after it has been brutally, unspeakably attacked by hamas, incredible terror visited upon the i in the most horrific way possib. and to make sure we can continue to stand with the ukrainian people in their battle against vladimir putin and russian aggression. these are urgent matters that require immediate attention. the senate is out on recess this week, but they will be back next week, and our hope is to have a fully functional house of representatives as well so we can meet the requests that come forth by president biden, who is doing an incredible job at this

fragile moment in america and across the globe. geoff: democratic leader hakeem jeffries of new york, thanks for your time this evening. >> thank you. ♪ geoff: since the terror attack by hamas and israel's ongoing response, there have been bitter debates on many college campuses over who bears responsibility. this plays into already raging debates at many schools over free speech and increasingly academic freedom. judy woodruff visited four colleges in an effort to understand how this all fits into america's deep political divide. it is part of her ongoing series "america at a crossroads." >> [chanting] >> it is disgusting. disgusting. it is disgusting.

judy: these are just some of the things invited guests to college campuses have heard in recent years, as they were shouted down, mocked, and otherwise prevented from speaking. in one incident at new york's cornell university last year, conservative commentator ann coulter was met with forceful protests. students inside the room repeatedly disrupted her speech. >> ms. coulter is going to stop her speech if we are not able to hear her. if you would like to protest, there is a space to do that outside. judy: until she walked out after 20 minutes. nick wising, the president of cornell democrats and others, protested outside the law school where coulter was speaking. did you think it was a good thing she had been shouted down?

>> her brand is controversy. but i think we need to be very careful about hatred masquerading as argumentation. judy: but did you think she should have been allowed to speak? >> i think it was pretty immature the way that people interrupted her speech. judy: arman chancellor is a member of cornell republicans. he was in the room during the event. >> i think it shows a dislike of republicans more broadly, and conservatives. even before she spoke, there were lots of attacks at republicans themselves. judy: rebecca wrote about the incident in the student newspaper, the cornell sun. >> i don't think we should be endorsing views that are racist or sexist or anything like that. but i do think it is important to hear all of these views because when you are out in the real world, i think you hear

people discussing things that are not for the good of society. you have to learn how to react. judy: not all students agree. according to recent polling by the foundation for individual rights and expression, 62% of u.s. college students said shouting down a speaker was acceptable to some degree. 20% said using violence to disrupt a speaking event would be acceptable to some degree. in recent years, there have been increasing attempts by students to dis-invite or shut down speakers, with dozens of incidents each year. and americans across the political spectrum say they view colleges as unfriendly to conservative ideas. just 20% say they feel conservatives have a lot of freedom to express their views on campus, according to polling done by the associated press.

following the ann coulter incident at cornell, the students who interrupted her were sanctioned by the university, and cornell president martha pollock announced the freedom of expression is the theme of this academic year. >> free expression is critical to everything we do in the university. judy: her school is one of a group of 13 universities that have banded together to highlight their concern about this issue. >> i felt it was a moment where free expression is under attack from both sides of the political spectrum, and it seemed important that universities like ours take the lead. judy: there are students and others who look at ann coulter and look at that message and say, that is not a message we should hear. that is a message of hate. why should we have to listen to it? >> the problem with declaring things as hate speech and putting them out of bounds is someone has to get to decide what counts as hate speech. it is really very dangerous to

cede the right to express your views to someone else. history has shown us over and over that when you cede that right, it is the marginal groups that lose. >> on college campuses in particular, there is not much civil discourse going on at all. judy: ilya shapiro does a constitutional scholar who spent years at the cato institute and was briefly the executive director director of the georgetown law school's center for the constitution. that job was interrupted almost immediately by an investigatn into a tweet shapiro wrote just before he started, when president biden committed to nominating a black woman to the supremcourt. >> it didn't sit right with me that president biden said he was restricting his search by race and sex. and late at night on twitter, not a best practice -- i don't recommend this -- i fired off what is a hot take before going to bed.

i didn't phrase it the way i would have wished. judy: schapiro says because he meant this court would have a lesser black woman. >> and we would end up with someone who was less qualified, in this case, a less qualified black woman. i didn't phrase that very well. that provoked a firestorm and led to four months of investigation. judy: georgetown administrators ultimately cleared schapiro of wrongdoing on a technicality. nevertheless, he resigned in protest. he now contends his experience is representative of a general climate of fear and censorship on campuses across the nation. >> there is a bureaucracy that has sprung up, particularly the diversity and equity inclusion offices, that i think phone -- moment an illiberal trend to stifle freedom of space.

>> i want you to disagree with me. i need you to disagree with me. i look at it through a different lens. judy: whether the right or the left, in response to what everyone virtually agrees is a hyper politically conscious atmosphere, some colleges are taking steps to encourage productive conversations among students and faculty. >> i have to understand your experiences and you have to understand mine. judy: the american university project on civic dialogue created what they call "disagree with a professor" sessions. >> my position is we should keep that option that a juvenile is tried as an adult. judy: on a recent wednesday night, professor kevin boyle gave a lecture designed to provoke disagreement among students. >> juvenile sentencing and juvenile cases are about rehabilitation and helping kids and juveniles. but adult prison is a sentence to nothingness, you know? judy: american university students we spoke to had varied

opinions about the state of dialogue at their school. do you feel that when you finish school and you are out in the world that you will be able to have conversations with people who have profoundly different political views from you? >> yes. i feel i have been exposed so much that when it does come up again in the future, i am not going to be shaken by or taken aback or scared to speak up. judy: is there a sense that students can speak up and speak their mind? >> well, i don't think so. if you are looking for a job and looking to have a social life, you don't want to be at the center of a firestorm around politics. judy: professor laura schwartz founded the project on civic dialogue, which hosts the disagree with a professor sessions, and encourages students to engage in dialogue. >> we are at a time where many people instead of coming to

conclusions based on inquiry check what their team thinks about an issue and says, that is what i think about an issue. when you poll students, the overwhelming majority, 80% or more, say it is really important to hear from different perspectives. but we don't have a lot of practice in our society doing that. judy: but even as a number of campuses like american and cornell moved to confront concerns about limited speech, there is a growing worry among other schools as conservative state governments are moving in the opposite direction. eight states now have laws on the books that limit what state run college and university professors can teach in their classrooms. florida's law is the most specific, and so far, the most restrictive. the law, sb-266, makes it illegal to teach students that systemic racism, sexism,

oppression, and privilege are inherent in the institutions of the united states. it also restricts funding for any campus activities that advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion, or promote and engage in political or social activism. >> we want to be able to have a government of freedom. it is very simple. judy: professor sarah hernandez teaches sociology at the new college of florida, a public four-year school in sarasota. she also is the lead plaintiff in a lawsuit against the state of florida that challenges sb-266. >> the legislation is saying that the state has the authority to dictate what can or cannot be taught in the classroom in terms of gender equality, issues of race and ethnic inequality. so, they don't allow one to be teaching about activism. judy: so, you have made changes in what you teach as a result of this?

>> the changes i have made are primarily in informing the students that what i am telling them could be interpreted as being illegal. but always with the concern that i just might be fired at any point. judy: governor ron desantis took a special interest in the new college earlier this year. >> some of these niche subjects like critical race theory, other types of courses and majors, florida is getting out of that game. judy: igniting protests when he replaced six members of the board of trustees with conservative activists who fired the college president, denied tenure to professors, and planned to phase out the gender studies program. >> we have lost a lot of professors. they just don't feel safe working here, and they have other options. similarly, we have staff that

some have been let go. i am thinking of the dean of diversity and inclusion. judy: a student of professor hernandez is a senior who joined the lawsuit as a plaintiff. >> i am an urban studies student, and we no longer have any urban studies faculty. a lot of the urban studies programming and classes directly challenge the laws that are currently in place. judy: gabby bautista is a senior who has been organizing students to protest the changes at new college. >> we have been trying to go with this tagline, your school is next, because in actuality that is the real fear, that we are the canary in the coal mine. judy: 40% of the new college faculty has quit since the desantis chosen board of trustees was installed. >> it is a very tense environment. judy: for her part, professor hernandez has decided to stay put. >> i left my country of birth many years ago. there was something real in

political oppression. i am done running. i feel it is important to stand and say no. it i believe in the importance of academic freedom. and unless somebody stays and stands for it, we just might lose it. judy: for the pbs newshour, i'm judy woodruff in sarasota, florida. ♪ geoff: remember, there is more coverage online. join us tomorrow night here on pbs immediately after "washington week with the atlantic" for primetime special coverage, more in the holy land. >> the deadliest attack on israel in 50 years. >> brutal fighting between israelis and palestinians centered on gaza today. >> the threats of war that could spread further. the death toll mounts.

amna: >> israel has hammered the region with air strikes and artillery. >> war in the holy land, a special report on friday, october 13, at 8:00 p.m. eastern. amna: and be sure to tune into the newshour at its regularly scheduled time for additional coverage from right here in israel. we will be speaking with and israeli woman whose father is being held hostage by hamas. that is the newshour for tonight. geoff: thank you for joining us. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by -- ♪ the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions. and friends of the newshour. >> consumer cellular, this is sam. how can i help you? this is a pocket dial. well, somebody's pocket, i thought i would tell you that with consumer cellular, get

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