Israel-Hamas war causes tensions among Jewish and Palestinian students on college campuses
A small group of students held a sit-in at the Starbucks on the Florida International University campus Wednesday.
It was a small, peaceful demonstration, emblematic of the type of events that have occurred at FIU since the Hamas terror attacks, making a large accusation: that Israel is committing genocide in its war with Hamas.
“About 90% of the people they killed in their self-defense have been innocent civilians,” said FIU student Summer Jindali, citing unverifiable figures provided by Hamas in Gaza.
“Even if it’s not genocide, it’s 100% ethnic cleansing, even if it’s not ethnic cleansing, it’s 100% wrong,” said another Palestinian student who did not want her name revealed. “We’re asking to end the hurt, asking to end the death for all people, Israelis and Palestinians because we all deserve that genuinely.”
Jewish students told us they were offended and even felt threatened by the genocide accusation and by the “from the river to the sea” sign featured at the coffee shop demonstration because it’s literally a call to eliminate Israel.
“You can definitely disagree with certain politics, like no one’s gonna argue with that, but straight-out misinformation and lying isn’t gonna help your case,” said Natan Farhy, a Jewish FIU student who observed the sit-in.
I asked sophomore Erika Wagner to give us a sense of what it’s like to be a Jewish college student these days.
“So you always hide your star, we all have our stars but we always hide them,” Wagner said, pulling out her Star of David necklace.
FIU has not had the overt incidents of Islamophobia or antisemitism which has plagued other universities since Oct. 7. Compared to the rest of the nation, FIU has been a bastion of coexistence.
“Nationwide, we are seeing the most significant deterioration of campus climate for Jewish students that we’ve seen in our 100-year history at Hillel,” said Adam Lehman, president of Hillel International.
Hillel conducted a nationwide survey of Jewish college students and found that 73% had witnessed an act of antisemitism on campus, and they’ve recorded 600 such incidents since the Hamas attacks.
Lehman says the vitriol stems from years of demonization of Israel, of labeling Israelis as white colonial oppressors, so Jews are not seen as victims even when they’re being slaughtered by terrorists.
“The feeling of being excluded, being marginalized, being threatened or harassed, is pervasive,” Lehman said.
At FIU, a student government resolution calling for the university to denounce Israel has stirred up more unease for Jewish students.
“Right now, I feel a little bit on edge, I just hope that it doesn’t get any worse because a couple of weeks ago I would’ve told you yes, I feel 100% safe,” Wagner said.
FIU president Dr. Kenneth Jessell said he disagrees with the contents of the resolution.
“That does not represent our students, that does not represent our faculty, that does not represent our staff, that does not represent our alumni, that does not represent our community,” Jessell said.
University presidents are walking a tightrope, protecting First Amendment rights on campus for students and faculty, while also making sure free speech doesn’t threaten anyone’s safety.
“We’re very blessed here that we have not had those types of activities, we believe that safety and security are paramount,” Jessell said.
