The following piece is an opinion and does not reflect the views of The Eagle and its staff. All opinions are edited for grammar, style and argument structure and fact-checked, but the opinions are the writer’s own.
Jewish students have faced pervasive antisemitism and calls for violence since the Oct. 7 attack on Israel by Hamas, in which around 1,200 men, women and children were slaughtered and some 200 were taken hostage. In addition to countless individual acts of hatred, AU’s Students for Justice in Palestine has provided a platform for antisemitism.
During one event on Nov. 9, demonstrators disrupted the main atrium and balconies of the SIS building for almost an hour before being moved to the entrance of the Mary Graydon Center. At the demonstration, SJP chanted, “From the river to the sea,” which calls for Israel’s destruction. Friends of mine who were in the SIS building at the time were left shaken and threatened by the hostile rhetoric.
More recently, on March 22, SJP erected a display on the quad featuring a poem by the late Palestinian author Refaat Alareer, who I believe trafficked in antisemitism. Alareer denied Hamas’ atrocities on Oct. 7, which included mass rape and torture. He also wrote on social media that “Zionism is Nazism.”
The display was unveiled during Palestine Liberation Week, a week-long event of anti-Israel rhetoric. Next to the display, students wrote messages like “Glory to our martyrs,” which the American Jewish Committee defines as antisemitic due to its usage by Palestinian terror groups. Students also wrote “Zionism is terrorism,” which I believe is a variation of the antisemitic slogan “Zionism is racism,” and called for another Intifada, which were two waves of terror attacks against Israel and the Jewish Diaspora.
The next month, I believe SJP once again engaged in antisemitic rhetoric when it sponsored AU Student Government Resolution 19-018, which called for AU’s administration to implement a Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions policy against Israel. The SG resolution contained what I believe to be a litany of antisemitic claims, including accusations of genocide and apartheid. Furthermore, the resolution singled out Israeli study abroad programs.
In addition to the antisemitic language in the resolution, it was difficult for Jewish students and groups to oppose the resolution since SG scheduled the vote on the eve of the Jewish holiday Passover when many Jewish students had competing religious obligations. Between this and what I believe to be false accusations of genocide and apartheid in the resolution, SJP and SG demonized Israel and marginalized pro-Israel Jewish students on campus, as Hillel pointed out in its statement. Fortunately, President Sylvia Burwell stood by the Jewish community when she denounced SG passing the resolution. For that, she deserves our thanks.
Additionally, Jewish students on campus have continued to face targeted antisemitic acts since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks. On Oct. 19, 2023, multiple Jewish students found swastikas drawn on their doors. One of the students later received a text from an unknown number that said, “I know who you are, jew,” according to the Brandeis Center complaint against AU. In November, a swastika and “Death to the Zionists, Hitler was right” defaced the piano recital poster of a Jewish Israeli-American student. Jewish students have also described being spat at and being called epithets such as “Zionist pig.”
A student also faced antisemitism from her suitemates. Per a Title VI complaint filed by the Brandeis Center, “The anti-Jewish hostility from her suitemates was so bad that [she] had to move to another suite on a different floor.” The same complaint documents a separate incident where a student made a scene of switching seats to ostracize a Jewish classmate because she did not want to sit anywhere near this “Zionist” and told her colleague, “You are responsible for genocide.”
The harassment has extended to social media. On the pseudonymous, hyperlocal platform Yik Yak’s AU page, a user allegedly wrote, “The students supporting Israel club gotta kill themselves.” On an Instagram post by Students Supporting Israel, several users in the comments accused SSI members of having committed sexual assault, borrowing classic antisemitic tropes of sexual perversion.
University professors have also called for violence against Israel and the Jewish people. An adjunct professor wrote on Instagram, “Long live the Intifada.” Additionally, a student employee posted on Instagram, “Israel must be destroyed … Palestine will rise.”
Responding to the litany of antisemitic and hostile incidents Jewish students at AU have faced, Burwell issued a new directive on Jan. 25. The directive, which remains in effect for the rest of the spring semester, bans protests inside University buildings and requires student clubs and organizations to welcome all students and requires posted material within University spaces to “promote inclusivity” by restricting them to event promotion and details pertinent to those events. This directive built on a longstanding policy that “requires that protests do not disrupt or interfere with classes, operations, normal use of university facilities, or other university-sponsored programs.” By prohibiting indoor protests, Burwell took a small step towards reducing the reach of the antisemitic rhetoric routinely used by SJP.
Burwell took another important step when she placed the group on probation on April 8, after it violated school policy by holding an indoor protest on Feb. 8. The school also prohibited any kinds of encampments at AU. Despite this, more action is required to protect the Jewish community on campus, as is made clear by the sheer volume of hate Jewish students have faced.
While it is unclear when these policies expire, Burwell’s successor, Jonathan Alger, must continue to take proactive action against antisemitism. Otherwise, many Jewish students will choose not to attend AU, opting for safer and more inclusive schools.
Jake Schlanger is a junior in the School of Public Affairs.
Editor’s note: Jake Schlanger is a former member of The Eagle, and the former reporting partner of Editor-in-Chief Abigail Turner. Turner was not involved in the pitching or writing of the piece.
This article was edited by Alana Parker, Zoe Bell, Rebeca Samano-Arellano and Abigail Turner. Copy editing done by Luna Jinks.
