Some Jewish students have taken part in strident pro-Palestinian\u00a0protests dominating U.S. colleges\u00a0in recent weeks, but few have led rallies in support of Israel or against perceived displays of antisemitism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That may be starting to change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Like many Americans, Jewish students\u2019 views on the\u00a0Israeli-Palestinian conflict\u00a0are wide-ranging and often nuanced. It wasn\u2019t for a lack of concern about the war in Gaza or\u00a0the backlash it has aroused\u00a0on their campuses that some shied away from demonstrating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They have had fervent debates with each other over whether and how to respond as pro-Palestinian encampments spread from one university to the next.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some joined the encampments, celebrating Passover among the tents with fellow protesters. Many felt unnerved by what they considered to be anti-Israel rhetoric and said they feared rallying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now, groups in solidarity with Jewish students plan dozens of rallies in the coming days. Protesters hoisted Israeli flags at Indiana University Bloomington and near George Washington University on Thursday, and more flew outside MIT on Friday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Their goals include standing in solidarity with Jewish students and showing there\u2019s room for empathy for both Palestinians and Israelis affected by the war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At George Washington University in Washington, D.C., about 150 people \u2014 including many Jewish students \u2014 gathered Thursday in a grassy courtyard. The goal, said organizer Gabrielle Guigui, \u201cwas to show Jewish pride and Jewish unity … and to get Jewish students together, because a lot of them are scared.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Senior Brina Cartagenova clutched a necklace with her Hebrew name on it, the same necklace she\u2019d previously taken off over fear of retaliation on campus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI was scared to put this back on for, like, at least three weeks, and then I finally did the other day,\u201d she said. \u201cThis type of event definitely helps me feel more comfortable.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The pro-Palestinian encampments around the country have been largely peaceful, though there have been some clashes. Administrators and campus police at UCLA faced intense criticism Wednesday for failing to act quickly to stop an\u00a0attack on a pro-Palestinian encampment\u00a0on campus by counter demonstrators who threw traffic cones and chairs, released pepper spray and tore down barriers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some pro-Palestinian demonstrators fought back, and skirmishes continued for hours before outside law enforcement agencies were called to intervene.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The campus tensions are complicated by the deep history and emotions wrapped up in the Israel-Hamas war. It began on Oct. 7 when Hamas militants attacked Israel and killed roughly 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took another 250 hostage \u2014 the deadliest attack against Jews since the Holocaust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Vowing to stamp out Hamas, Israel has waged a brutal campaign against the militant group that rules Gaza in a conflict that has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians along the way, according to the Health Ministry there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Protests in support of Israel or the Palestinians have bubbled up across the U.S. ever since Oct. 7. But the major wave of pro-Palestinian rallies on campuses kicked off two weeks ago, after more than\u00a0100 protesters were arrested\u00a0at Columbia University in New York. They have demanded that colleges\u00a0stop doing business with Israel\u00a0and with companies tied to it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jewish Americans between the ages of 18 and 34 are closely divided on whether Israel\u2019s post-Oct. 7 military campaign has been acceptable, according to a\u00a0Pew Research Center poll\u00a0conducted in February.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But instances of hatred among the antiwar protests have rattled many Jewish students, regardless of how they feel about Israel\u2019s government or its treatment of Palestinians.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some examples from campus protests that stung: A poster depicting the Star of David crossed out in red. \u201cDeath to Israel\u201d scrawled in spray paint. Chants of \u201cWe are Hamas.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNot everyone is actively endorsing these antisemitic posters and chants and signs and graffiti, but it feels like a large majority is at least OK with it \u2014 OK enough to to ignore it and to let Jewish students continue feeling unwelcome,\u201d said Lily Cohen, 21, a Jewish student at Northwestern University.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt felt very daunting to counterprotest,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Inside the Northwestern encampment was another Jewish student, junior Paz Baum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Baum, who held a Passover seder among the tents with the other pro-Palestinian protesters, said her religious values compelled her to protest over the war in Gaza.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI see a direct parallel between the experiences of my Jewish ancestors and the experience of the tens of thousands of Palestinians being slaughtered,\u201d said Baum, whose great-grandparents fled pogroms in eastern Europe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Baum insisted that hateful posters were taken down as they were spotted, and said the only antisemitism she had witnessed was from several Jewish protesters, mostly older adults, who confronted the encampment on Sunday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt felt very daunting to counterprotest,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Inside the Northwestern encampment was another Jewish student, junior Paz Baum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Baum, who held a Passover seder among the tents with the other pro-Palestinian protesters, said her religious values compelled her to protest over the war in Gaza.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI see a direct parallel between the experiences of my Jewish ancestors and the experience of the tens of thousands of Palestinians being slaughtered,\u201d said Baum, whose great-grandparents fled pogroms in eastern Europe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Baum insisted that hateful posters were taken down as they were spotted, and said the only antisemitism she had witnessed was from several Jewish protesters, mostly older adults, who confronted the encampment on Sunday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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