On the morning of Oct. 7, 2023, the Palestinian militant group Hamas launched an unprecedented terror attack on Israel. Over 2,000 rockets were launched from the Gaza Strip and thousands of Hamas fighters entered Israel in trucks, cars, and on paraglides. Almost 1,200 people were barbarically murdered, women were systematically raped, and 251 civilians were kidnapped to Gaza. Entire communities were reduced to ashes. Shockingly, these atrocities were celebrated in the streets of Gaza.
Hamas has been the sole governing body in Gaza since 2007 and has been designated a terrorist organization by the U.S., EU, and various other countries. In its original 1988 charter, Hamas expressed their belief the region should be an “Islamic land” and advocated for the “obliteration” of Israel. This same founding charter explicitly encourages the targeting and killing of Jews — a belief that was tragically put into practice upon on Oct. 7. Many have framed the attack as an act of resistance, and even place blame on innocent Israeli civilians. But let’s be clear: Rape and civilian hostage-taking are war crimes, strictly prohibited under international humanitarian law.
Since Oct. 7, the scariest thing I’ve heard on campus is the call for a “Student Intifada.” Many students claim to stand for peace while chanting “There is only one solution — intifada revolution” and “Globalize the intifada!” However, this is rhetoric deeply rooted in violence.
We must evaluate ideas and slogans based on their real-world applications, not just how they’re framed rhetorically. In practice, an Intifada has never been a peaceful uprising — it has been a display of violence, terror, and the targeting of Jews. The first two Intifadas took the lives of over 6,000 people, more than 800 of whom were Israeli civilians. They were marked by deadly terrorist attacks and suicide bombings against Israeli civilians on buses, in restaurants, and on city streets. Palestinian civilians also suffered during this period; over 100 were executed by the Palestine Liberation Organization and organizations connected with it for suspicion of cooperating with Israeli forces.
Promoting such incendiary language under the guise of social justice does a disservice to the cause of peace and dangerously normalizes incitement to violence.
Jewish students should not have to live with threats of violence or feel unsafe because of their identity. It is the responsibility of the University to protect students, both from harm, and from being misled into promoting terrorist ideology. The spike in global antisemitic violence since Oct. 7 is not a coincidence — it’s a direct consequence of this kind of rhetoric. Hearing my peers support these ideas in person and on social media is not just unsettling, it’s terrifying.
Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) is not a recognized University organization despite publicly using University branding. They are neither affiliated with the University, listed on CCC, or obligated to follow official guidelines for student groups. Using UR logos on social media posts doesn’t make you an official club, it just makes you guilty of trademark infringement.
As a student, what’s most disturbing is knowing that an unrecognized Hamas-linked group can operate on campus, and even collaborate with official student organizations. SJP has been at the forefront of encouraging hate speech, including threats to Jewish and Israeli students — myself included.
The national SJP organization has been linked to Hamas through the American Muslims for Palestine Organization (AMP). AMP has been at the forefront of expanding SJP’s collegiate presence and is tied to Hamas themselves. In a letter from Senator Cassidy, the chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, the senator calls into question AMP for their connections to Hamas. It’s not a stretch to suggest that the campus presence of SJP has a connection to Hamas in some way.
Aside from SJP, an opinion article published in Campus Times presents some uncalled for anti-Israel opinions. One example of this is the article, “Israel Week Promotes nationalism within our Jewish life on campus.” Following the University of Rochester’s annual Israel Week 2024, the article sought to diminish and misrepresent Israeli culture and identity. Despite not attending the majority of the events, the student authors deemed it appropriate to label the efforts of Rochester Students for Israel (a group I am a member of) as propaganda and accuse us of promoting nationalist rhetoric. Their portrayal not only diminished the intent behind Israel Week – which was to celebrate culture, history, and community – but also villainized those who participated and organized it. I couldn’t be more proud to be Israeli. Smearing someone based on national origin is bigoted and illegal in the U.S.
Like much of Israeli society, Israeli culture is shaped by the traditions of diasporic Jews. It is also shaped by the millions of non-Jewish citizens whose cultures are also deeply interwoven into the broader fabric of Israeli life — something we proudly highlighted and celebrated during Israel Week.
There are many cultural overlaps between Jewish and Arab-Muslim communities in the Middle East, just as there are shared elements between Arab culture and other ethnic and religious minorities in the region. In fact, the majority of Jews in Israel fall into the category of Mizrahi or Sefardic, who are Jews who have immigrated from surrounding Middle Eastern/North African countries. To suggest that Israel is somehow unworthy of a cultural identity, simply because it is a predominantly Jewish country, is antisemitic. Denying the existence and legitimacy of Israeli culture silences an entire people and erases the rich, complex history that defines them. Thus, the notion that Israelis have no culture, or no right to express that culture on this campus, is not just discriminatory — it is rooted in ignorance, and frankly, racism.
Diminishing the cultures of other students on campus will not improve the lives of anyone in the Middle East. Repeating violent rhetoric and aligning with terror groups like Hamas also does nothing to advance peace. In fact, such actions have only, and will only deepen the suffering of the Palestinian people. These cycles of violence hinder any chance of meaningful dialogue or reconciliation.
The University of Rochester cannot resolve the conflict in the Middle East. What it can and should do is ensure academic neutrality, freedom, and respect for students of all religions and ethnicities, and encourage healthy and diverse viewpoints.
As students, we must also take responsibility. We should strive to build bridges, not walls, between our peers. If we truly want to pursue peace abroad, let’s first create peace on our own campus.
