Following the events of October 7th, 2023, protests have erupted all over the world, with large numbers of people showing up to support the call for a ceasefire amidst the Israeli government’s relentless bombardment of Palestinian civilians in Gaza.
In the United States, universities have become hotbeds for discussions, protests, and students organizing to raise awareness and proceeds for Gaza. However, the passionate efforts of students taking action have been met with targeted attacks and harassment of pro-Palestine students. These incidents underscore a pervasive pattern of discrimination and intimidation, making it necessary to call for urgent action to foster a safe, inclusive campus environment.
Despite violence becoming more and more commonly used against Palestine supporters, the lack of response and action by universities is also becoming an alarming trend that threatens students’ ability to protest and speak freely. The stifling of academic discourse regarding the genocide happening in Palestine presents a threat to free speech, especially that of students who have organized to show their support of Palestine and their criticism of the Israeli government and military.
A recent example of harassment of pro-Palestine students features a protest at Columbia University, where students protesting suffered from a chemical attack. According to a statement made by SJP and Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) at Columbia University, “Columbia students peacefully protesting against the Gaza genocide were sprayed with Skunk by former IOF soldiers” on January 19th. This statement highlights a concerning attack on Columbia University students that were at a pro-Palestine protest, and is only one example of the recent bouts of anti-Palestine violence that have gripped the nation.
“The Israeli Occupation Forces developed Skunk in 2008 as a crowd-control weapon for use against Palestinians,” continues the statement. Of the perpetrators, “both are former IOF soldiers and currently Columbia students. They were wearing fake keffiyehs to spray protesters discreetly.” By wearing fake keffiyehs as a disguise, it is apparent that the students that committed this crime likely came to the protest with the intention of harming their peers.
The chemical weapon caused symptoms that lasted after the attack, with some students experiencing nausea and a burning sensation in their eyes hours after the incident. Following the attack, Columbia University has claimed that they banned the students that were responsible for the crime, but their lack of support for students that suffered from the attack has been less than optimal. Columbia’s lack of concern for its pro-Palestine students being harassed on campus demonstrates their complicity in the violence taking place against their own students on university grounds.
In order to create an environment that fosters open dialogue, empathy, and diversity, students need to know that they are safe on campus. However, with Columbia doing little to remedy the situation or properly address the crime, it is apparent that they do not value the safety of their pro-Palestine students as much as they should.
Additionally, Columbia’s lack of response to harassment of pro-Palestine students mimics that of Congress, where a Congressional committee is to launch an investigation of anti-Semitism at Columbia. However, this same response has not been seen from both Columbia administration and Congress for anti-Palestinian sentiment and Islamophobia despite recent chemical attacks against students on Columbia’s campus.
In a letter stating the basis for the investigation by the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, it was stated that the university is falling under investigation for “failure to protect Jewish students.” This investigation is being proposed in the midst of the failure of both Columbia University and Congress to protect pro-Palestine students being hate-crimed for protesting peacefully.
This double standard represents a greater precedent that is taking place on U.S. university campuses—university administrations are going the extra mile to respond to anti-Semitism, but turning a blind-eye towards pro-Palestine students when violence against them actively stains campus grounds.
Although anti-Semitism should be condemned, so should all discrimination against students. Protecting one group of students and refusing to provide that same level of protection and effort for another group is discrimination in of itself.
This article is not denying the presence of anti-Semitism at Columbia or other university campuses, but rather posing a different question: why has the same level of advocacy for protection and justice for Jewish students that have faced discrimination not been extended to pro-Palestinian and Muslim students, especially those of color? Furthermore, where is the Congressional committee to investigate the events of the chemical attacks on pro-Palestine protesters on Columbia’s campus on January 19th?
The letter by the House Committee on Education and the Workforce highlights a greater manifestation of a discriminatory pattern we are seeing with Columbia and other universities in the United States: investigation of anti-Semitic incidents is allocated more time, resources, and empathy, but a lack of response towards violence against pro-Palestinian students is somehow deemed acceptable.
According to a student interview from an Al Jazeera article covering the recent attack on pro-Palestine protesters at Columbia, “It’s Jewish students. It’s Muslim students. It’s Palestinian students. It’s Black students. Mostly it’s been students of colour. And we don’t know what to do about this.” This student’s statement demonstrates that harassment of pro-Palestine students hasn’t been limited to one specific group, but is actually widespread.
The lack of support for pro-Palestinian students also extends to Jewish students. According to the same Al Jazeera article, “At Columbia, a board member for the Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP)…told Al Jazeera that classmates organizing with Jewish Voice for Peace were spat upon by fellow students.”
Universities need to show support and take action against discrimination not only for their students that support Israel, but for their pro-Palestine students that are of color, Muslim, and Jewish. At the heart of this issue lies the lack of equal support for students facing harassment that have expressed pro-Palestine sentiment and have voiced their opposition towards Israel’s decimation of Gaza.
The chemical assault of Columbia University students hasn’t been the only case of harassment against students. Harassment of pro-Palestine university students has also occurred off of university campuses. For Hisham Awartani, Kinnan Abdalhamid, and Tahseen Ali Ahmad, unjustified violence was committed against these students when they were shot for the crime of speaking Arabic and wearing Palestinian keffiyehs.
The attack happened in Burlington, Vermont in late November 2023. The students had been speaking Arabic and were wearing keffiyeh when they were violently targeted. In the aftermath of the incident, Awartani was paralyzed from the chest down after being shot.
This attack not only represents an ongoing pattern of violence against Palestinians and Palestine supporters, but also a continuation of the issue of gun violence against people of color in the United States. Even though this hate crime did not occur on a university campus, it is an instance of ongoing violence against Palestinian and pro-Palestine students and youth.
The issue of violence against pro-Palestinian students and subsequent lack of supportive response from university administration can even be seen here at UCLA, where students have faced harassment for being people of color, pro-Palestine, and visibly Muslim (e.g. wearing a headscarf, or hijab).
According to a statement on “Hate Crimes Inflicted on Pro-Palestine Students by Zionist Assailants & UC Complicity” by Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) UCLA, “On Sunday 10/8, multiple UCLA students were threatened and attacked by zionists rallying in Westwood. They were shoved, hit, spit on, and one student had a knife held to his throat.”
Another instance of harassment was documented by students attending a teach-in regarding the brutal events unfolding in Palestine. “Although this teach-in was moved to Zoom, several students went to the original location to watch the Zoom together when they faced harassment from multiple Zionists. The assailants threw their laptop and other personal belongings in the trash, and yelled gruesome death threats”
Student testimonies were collected in order to document Islamophobia and discrimination against students of color. A senior HBS student at UCLA decided to speak up about her experiences with this issue:
“I was walking back from class on the roundabout that lines Portola Plaza. A middle-aged man holding a massive Israel flag was approaching me as I walked. I was purposely looking down on my phone as he was about to pass me, so he proceeded to push his flag in front of me in an attempt to get my attention. He then said ‘maybe you can learn something from this’ and walked away.”
The student goes on to explain that she wears a hijab, which was the reason why she was targeted because it is a visible indicator that she is Muslim. This incident left the student feeling unsafe, but unfortunately was not the only incident of harassment that she had to endure:
“Even once the rally seemed over and I began walking home, two men holding flags were walking in silence and began a chant once I crossed their path.”
In another incident, the student mentions that she “was outside my building with other hijab-wearing friends. A group of men in a dark grey Tesla then came down our street, yelled something about liberals and then yelled ‘f*** Palestine’.”
Following the student’s experiences with Islamophobia, she reported the incident with the university and discussed it with one of UCLA’s deans:
“My conversation with the dean went well…but nothing was done to address the issue.”
Furthermore, the student was asked if UCLA administration has done anything so far to make her feel safer in spite of the recent spike in hate incidents against pro-Palestine and Muslim people in the U.S. and on campus:
“UCLA admin has done absolutely nothing to make me feel more safe on campus. I could not imagine a more unproductive response to the lack of safety that we have been repeatedly complaining about. Instead, they continue to send problematic emails that never give equal attention to their Muslim or Arab students.
The student goes on to voice her opinions on how UCLA needs to do better in advocating for students facing harassment for being visibly Muslim, of color, or pro-Palestine:
“UCLA needs to not only acknowledge the harassment we are receiving, but speak up against [it] clearly. They need to also regulate the events where there are non-UCLA students on campus that come and harass their Muslim/Arab students.”
When the student was asked how safe she felt on campus during Fall quarter 2023 on a scale of one to ten, the student gave a rating of three, implying that she did not feel safe on campus at the time.
Students at UCLA and all other university campuses should not have to fear for their safety and should not have to face repeated incidents of harassment. For this reason, UCLA needs to acknowledge the recent rise in harassment against Muslim, Arab, and pro-Palestine students that have faced harassment from not only other students, but non-UCLA affiliated visitors as well. Furthermore, action needs to be taken to rectify the situation and make sure that students do not feel unsafe just for exercising free speech.
With students at UCLA and across the nation facing discrimination for the color of their skin, wearing keffiyeh, wearing hijab, or voicing their concern for Palestine, it is imperative that all U.S. universities take action to protect the safety and free speech of their students.
In conclusion, the harassment of pro-Palestinian students on U.S. university campuses post-October 7th, 2023, underscores a critical failure in safeguarding academic freedom and fostering a climate of respect and inclusion. It is a stark reminder of the challenges faced by marginalized voices in educational institutions, and a call for our universities to do a better job protecting the safety of their students.