Rabbi says antisemitism among college students is 'deeply disturbing'
Meir Hecht, the rabbi of two American hostages freed by Hamas, discusses antisemitism on college campuses and why this demonstrates ‘moral depravity’
Since the Oct. 7 attacks committed against Israel by Hamas, there has been an outpouring of protests across the world not condemning the terror group but rather the Jewish State, which is still reeling from the murder of over 1,400 Israelis.
But perhaps the most extreme displays from the Hamas-sympathizing supporters are coming from American college campuses.
Here are some examples of the jarring actions and rhetoric coming from both students and professors alike.
Harvard student groups say Israel was ‘entirely responsible’ for attack
More than 30 student groups at Harvard co-signed a letter declaring they "hold the Israeli regime entirely responsible for all unfolding violence."
"Today’s events did not occur in a vacuum," the letter read. "For the last two decades, millions of Palestinians in Gaza have been forced to live in an open-air prison. Israeli officials promise to ‘open the gates of hell,’ and the massacres in Gaza have already commenced. In the coming days, Palestinians will be forced to bear the full brunt of Israel’s violence. The apartheid regime is the only one to blame."
HARVARD STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS CLAIM ISRAEL ‘ENTIRELY RESPONSIBLE’ FOR GAZA ATTACKS
At least five of the groups withdrew their support for the letter following intense backlash. Harvard president Claudine Gay also addressed the controversy insisting the university "reject terrorism" and denounce hate and harassment towards any group but maintained support for free expression on campus.
NYU students tear down posters of Israeli hostages
New York University students were caught tearing down posters of Israeli hostages Oct. 16 outside the university's Tisch Hall.
Yazmeen Deyhimi, one of the three students identified in the viral video, offered an apology on social media.
NYU student Yazmeen Deyhimi and two others were captured on video tearing down Israeli hostage posters on campus. Deyhimi has since apologized. (Screenshot/SSI_NYU on X)
NYU STUDENT ADMITS TEARING DOWN ISRAELI HOSTAGE POSTERS, BLAMES ‘MISPLACED ANGER’
"My actions that were caught on camera are a poor representation of what I believe: all innocent lives- Israeli and Palestinian- should be spared, and all terrorist organizations should be condemned and punished. I can't take back what I did, but I apologize to everyone impacted from the broader society, to my friends, parents and sister," Deyhimi wrote in her since-deactivated Instagram account. "I have found it increasingly difficult to know my place as a biracial brown woman, especially during these highly volatile times. I have felt more and more frustrated about the time we currently find ourselves in, and misplaced that anger into actions that are not an accurate representation of who I am as a person."
Several videos from around the country have shown other pro-Palestinian supporters tearing down posters of Israeli hostages, becoming a growing trend in the U.S.
UC-Davis professor threatens ‘Zionist journalists’ and their families
University of California-Davis assistant professor Jemma Decristo had an ominous message appearing to threaten what she called "Zionist journalists" and their families.
Decristo took to X on Oct. 10 and wrote "one group of ppl we have easy access in the US is all these zionist journalists who spread propaganda & misinformation."
"They have houses w addresses, kids in school," Decristo said. "they can fear their bosses, but they should fear us more."
Included in the post were a knife, ax and three blood drop emojis.
Chancellor Gary S. May released a statement condemning her comments and said the university had launched an internal investigation. UC-Davis also scrubbed her page from the faculty website.
Decristo also appeared to celebrate a riot outside the Israeli embassy in Jordan where it was set on fire, reacting "HELL YEAH" with Palestinian flags and fire emojis and called for the burning of the U.S. embassy in Lebanon.
Stanford University instructor separates Jewish students as ‘colonizers’
A bizarre incident was reported out of Stanford University where an instructor allegedly asked Jewish and Israeli students to identify themselves. Three students told Rabbi Dov Greenberg, director of the Chabad Stanford Jewish Center, that the instructor told them to gather their belongings and stand in the corner because "this is what Israel does to the Palestinians."
"The instructor then asked, ‘How many people died in the Holocaust?’ When a student answered, ‘Six million,’ the lecturer said, ‘Colonizers killed more than 6 million. Israel is a colonizer,’" The Jewish publication The Forward reported.
The instructor, who was never identified, was benched pending an investigation, according to Stanford University.
Hundreds of pro-Hamas MIT students chant ‘one solution, intifada!’
Hundreds of Hamas sympathizers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) chanted "one solution, intifada, revolution" at a protest.
"Intifada is not a call for resistance. Intifada is the name of acts of bombing and killing civilians in Israel in the Israel-Palestine conflict. It's the name of taking civilian lives in terrorist attacks in Israel. That is what intifada means. That is how it's defined," Jewish MIT student Liyam Chitayat told Fox News Digital.
Historically, what’s called as the First Intifada was a deadly series of attacks and protests carried out by Palestinians against Israelis during the 1980s. The Second Intifada occurred in the early 2000s as at least 1,000 Israelis were killed by terrorist attacks carried out by Palestinians using suicide bombers on buses and shooting civilians in the streets, bars and restaurants in cities like Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.
The rally was held by several student groups, including MIT Coalition Against Apartheid. That group issued a statement the day after the Hamas attacks of Oct. 7, saying they "hold the Israeli regime responsible for all unfolding violence."
Students for Justice in Palestine call Oct. 7 attack a ‘historic win’
The national chapter of the far-left group Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) called Hamas' attack on Israel a "historic win for the Palestinian resistance."
"Today, we witness a historic win for the Palestinian resistance: across land, air, and sea, our people have broken down the artificial barriers of the Zionist entity, taking with it the facade of an impenetrable settler colony and reminding each of us that total return and liberation to Palestine is near," SJP wrote on social media. "Catching the enemy completely by surprise, the Palestinian resistance has captured over a dozen settlements surrounding Gaza along with many occupation soldiers and military vehicles. This is what it means to Free Palestine: not just slogans and rallies, but armed confrontation with the oppressors."
SJP also encouraged its local chapters to participate in a "call for action" protest at universities across the country.
Cornell professor calls Hamas attack ‘exhilarating,’ ‘energizing’
Cornell University professor Russell Rickford celebrated Hamas' attack against Israel, calling it "exhilarating" and "energizing" at a rally on Oct. 17.
"Hamas has shifted the balance of power. Hamas has punctured the illusion of its invincibility. That’s what they’ve done. You don’t have to be a Hamas supporter to recognize that. Hamas has changed the terms of debate," Rickford said to the crowd. "It was exhilarating, it was energizing. And if it weren’t exhilarating by this challenge to the monopoly of violence – by this shifting to this balance of power – then they would not be human. I was exhilarated."
Russell Rickford, history professor at Cornell University, called the Hamas attacks "exhilarating" and "energizing." (FOX News Digital | Getty)
Rickford, who teaches post-Civil War African American history, issued an apology following blowback.
"I apologize for the horrible choice of words that I used in a portion of a speech that was intended to stress grassroots African American, Jewish, and Palestinian traditions of resistance to oppression," Rickford said in a letter published in the Cornell Daily Sun. "I recognize that some of the language I used was reprehensible and did not reflect my values."
He has since taken a leave of absence from Cornell.
Jewish students forced to barricade inside Cooper Union library
Jewish students at New York City's Cooper Union were forced to lock themselves in a school library upon feeling threatened by anti-Israel protesters.
The protesters are seen banging on the locked library door chanting "Free Palestine" and demanding to be let in.
The New York Police Department told the press Thursday there was "no direct threat" to the Jewish students during the ordeal at the university library and downplayed the severity of the disruption.
NYPD agreed to place uniformed police officers on the Cooper Union campus the day following the incident to maintain peace.
Pro-Palestinian GWU students project ‘Glory to Our Martyrs’ on school library
Hamas sympathizers at George Washington University made themselves present by projecting their message on the side of the Gelman Library building.
"Glory to Our Martyrs," one message read.
Pro-Palestinian students at George Washington University projected the message "Glory to our martyrs" on the side of a library. (@gingerjew04 via X)
Other messages took aim at the university itself, reading "GW the Blood of Palestinians is on Your Hands" and "Your Tuition is Funding Genocide in Gaza."
The university later responded in a statement that the "unauthorized" messages "violated university policy, and leadership intervened to ensure that these projections were removed."
The university continued, "The statements made by these individuals in no way reflect the views of the university. We are reviewing this incident and will take any appropriate steps with respect to the individuals involved in accordance with university policies."
Pro-Palestinian protesters assault Jewish student at Tulane University
Both pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel supporters gathered for rival protests at Tulane University on Thursday, but things quickly escalated when a pickup truck pulled up with two pro-Palestinian supporters in the back with one waving a Palestinian flag and the other attempting to set fire to an Israeli flag.
A Jewish student rushed over to take the flag before it was burned, prompting the pro-Palestinian to hit the student with the flagpole.
Another pro-Palestinian supporter then assaulted the Jewish student, sparking more mayhem at the protest. Police are seen attempting to separate the two sides.
Cornell University Jewish community threatened in online posts; police, FBI investigate
Cornell University police and the FBI are investigating a series of threats made against the school’s Jewish community. The threats were posted to a website not affiliated with the university and targeted "104 West," where the Center of Jewish Living is located on campus.
One of the threats called for people to follow a Jewish person home and "slit their throats," adding, "Rats need to be eliminated from Cornell."
School President Martha E. Pollack issued a statement on Sunday, calling the messages "horrendous."
"We will not tolerate antisemitism at Cornell," she said. "This incident highlights the need to combat the forces that are dividing us and driving us toward hate."
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Fox News' Greg Wehner contributed to this report.
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