On the morning of October 7th, 2023, the indomitable spirit of the Israeli people faced a severe test as they awoke to a relentless assault orchestrated by the Palestinian terror group, Hamas. This brazen act of aggression resulted in the loss of over 600 lives and left thousands injured, all on the Sabbath, the cherished Jewish day of rest.

The attacks launched by Hamas were nothing short of a barbaric war crime on Israeli towns and villages. Armed Hamas terrorists, driven by a malevolent agenda, targeted men, women, and children, leaving behind a trail of heartbreak and sorrow. Hostages, including small children, were taken; and the cities of Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Ashkelon, Sderot, and Beer Sheva endured a relentless barrage of over three thousand rockets fired into homes and densely populated urban areas.

Members of GW’s Jewish community are appalled, devastated, petrified and outraged — and the GW community must listen. If you’d watch the videos Hamas is uploading to social media and those I have received from Israelis over the past few days, you could begin to grasp the torment and sheer horror of the situation. Following in the footsteps of University President Ellen Granberg’s statement on Wednesday, other officials, faculty and student organizations must unequivocally condemn Hamas’ actions as terrorism. And as President Joe Biden said Tuesday, we must champion the fact that, “Like every nation in the world, Israel has the right to respond — indeed has a duty to respond — to these vicious attacks.”

As this tragedy continues to unfold, the University must ensure Jewish students feel safe and secure on campus, especially after a former Hamas chief called for protests against Israel across the world on Friday. We must also focus on how we treat one another, whether that means professors checking in on their Jewish students or non-Jewish students supporting their Jewish peers and faculty. Officials have published a list of counseling and psychological services, academic assistance and other support for students who need it.

This summer, the JLSA released a statement defending CUNY Law graduate Fatima Mohammed’s disgusting graduation speech that the CUNY Board of Trustees condemned; the group has also campaigned against the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s non-binding working definition of antisemitism, and supported the adoption of a Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) resolution on CUNY Law’s campus.

On October 7, as Hamas was committing war crimes and mass atrocities, they declared solidarity with “the Palestinian people in their righteous and determined struggle against murderous settler colonialism and apartheid! Palestine will be free!”

On October 10, the JLSA posted a statement further elaborating on their deranged position, frequently incorporating Jewish themes into their disgusting screed and egregiously implying that Hamas’ genocidal rampage is a response to “colonialism.”

Every self-serving claim they make flies in the face of reality, and seemingly endorses Hamas and disgraces the murdered. They vilify Zionism as “a political ideology predicated on theft and destruction” which “serves to imperil both Jews and Palestinians even though its proponents only target the latter.” In reality, Zionism is simply the Jewish people’s hope and realization of the 2,000 year dream to return to Israel, rather than relying on a world that has continuously failed them.

JLSA validates “Palestinian resistance,” specifically citing the 2018-2019 Gaza border protests, which included Hamas-endorsed terrorism. Actual attempts at peace, like the Oslo Accords, are smeared as “farcical propaganda campaigns.” They even condemned CUNY Chancellor Felix Matos Rodriguez, who has been historically apathetic towards Jewish issues, for his impotent statement on the Hamas atrocities, which did not even include the word terrorism. They claimed that Matos Rodriguez’s statement shows “the CUNY administration does not speak for its student population, which is largely composed of working-class New Yorkers and people of color,” offensively asserting that New Yorkers are unable to recognize savagery and barbarity as what it is.

On Oct. 26, Tulane University’s community experienced something we have never seen before. Hate and chaos descended on the outskirts of Tulane’s campus. McAlister Place was unrecognizable, as throngs of protestors screamed antisemitic chants: “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.” Standing across the street, a group of pro-Israel supporters sang Hatikvah, the Israeli national anthem. Three men, one of them masked, began driving up and down Freret Street in a red pickup truck, waving a Palestinian flag and riling up their supporters. 

On their third lap past the protest, one of the men standing in the bed of the truck lifted an Israeli flag and flicked a lighter. The next thing I knew, I was charging at the truck and the flag was in my hands. Chaos erupted as several pro-Palestinian protestors battered me and other pro-Israel supporters with flagpoles, a belt and a megaphone. My head throbbed, and one of my peers’ faces was bleeding. Jewish blood was spilled on the street at Tulane. 

Some questioned what I did. After all, flag burning is a protected right under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Our country has a history of tolerating flag burning at political rallies, and I certainly support free speech and debate. Was I in the wrong? Did I react improperly? 

Be assured that Israel will emerge triumphant in its fight against the monsters of Hamas. But we must play our part. Wherever we are located, it falls upon the Jewish and pro-Israel communities to stand firm on campus and not waver in the face of anti-Zionist propaganda or violence. We must dare to stand up to verbal and physical aggression, speak the truth and harness our powerful fervor and resolve to garner wider public support for our just cause, demonstrating to detractors that we will not be cowed or intimidated into silence. Make no mistake: History is calling us—calling you—to act today.

CAMERA on Campus pledges to give students the resources they need to stand against Jew-hatred. This month, we launched #SJPExposed, a campaign that provides students with educational materials to support their grassroots efforts and to empower them to proudly stand with Israel in the face of adversity on campus. Visit www.sjpexposed.org to learn more.

On October 19th, Harvard Law Students for Israel, a campus group that participates in the CAMERA on Campus Coalition hosted former White House Special Envoy Jason Greenblatt to an audience of 70+ students to discuss the contentious geopolitical situation in the Middle East and Israel’s response to the October 7th Hamas massacre.