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StandWithUs staff, students and lay leaders around the world are appalled by the level of vicious anti-Jewish racism being promoted by anti-Israel tent “encampments” on a growing number of college campuses.
These encampments are the latest in a years-long onslaught of antisemitic and anti-Israel activity at universities across the country. While StandWithUs unequivocally supports the right to freedom of expression, there is no place for promoting bigotry, discrimination or violence against any individual or group based on ethnicity, religion, national origin, or otherwise. Nor is it acceptable for hate groups to deny all students full access to educational opportunities by physically blocking access or by making people feel unwelcome and/or unsafe.
We call on university administrations nationwide to take all necessary steps to ensure a safe learning environment for all students, including by enforcing all applicable school policies. However, if these institutions allow hate groups to prevent students from getting the education they paid for, those students should get refunds on their tuition. It is absurd that Jewish students, including at the Columbia University, are going home to continue their studies virtually, while anti-Israel extremists and Hamas supporters wreak havoc on campus.
To the students participating in these encampments, our message is simple:
On October 7th, 2023, Hamas terrorists murdered, raped, burned alive, dismembered, brutalized, and tortured thousands of people. They continue to hold 133 hostages in captivity, including a child and an infant who was kidnapped at 9 months old. The U.S. Secretary of Defense has referred the crimes of Hamas as “worse than ISIS,” and on April 24th, these same terrorists praised your protest. Unsurprisingly, this is not the first time they have commended your “activism.” Make no mistake: if a genocidal terrorist organization says you are helping their cause, you are on the wrong side of history. Your actions do nothing but fuel more division, hatred, and conflict on your campuses and in the Middle East.
To our incredible Jewish, Israeli, and Zionist students, faculty, and professors:
Stay strong. It is perfectly understandable to feel unsafe right now. We are facing hate like we have not seen since the Nazi era. That said, we are also stronger than we have ever been. In addition to the safeguards and support we have from allies across the United States, our freedom, safety, and right to self-determination are secure in ways our ancestors could only dream of: we have Israel. Now is the time to come together, uplift one another, and stand strong in the face of ignorance and hate. Right now, we are the living embodiment of Never Again.
StandWithUs is proud to support Jewish, Israeli, and Zionist students and faculty across the country every day. We will continue to do so through legal action, supporting protests against hate, discrimination and violence on campus, promoting education about Israel, and much more. Should students need resources, educational materials, legal support, or anything else, they should reach out to campus@standwithus.com , or legal@standwithus.com
Find other resources at: standwithus.com
Finally, we cannot allow campus extremists to distract us from what matters most in this moment:
Bringing the hostages home and freeing Israelis and Palestinians from the terror of Hamas.
Am Yisrael Chai,
The International Team of Staff and Lay Leaders at StandWithUs
