Jewish students at Tufts fear for their safety after Pro-Palestinian rally
MEDFORD – Roughly 200 Tufts students filled the halls of the campus center Thursday night for a 10-hour long protest in support of the freedom of Palestine, calling for a ceasefire.
They chanted, according to videos posted on the Instagram page Students for Justice in Palestine Tufts, "From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free."
The chant is regarded by Palestinian supporters as one that supports Palestinians moving into "their homeland," but is regarded by supporters of Israel as one that calls for the "eradication of Jews."
Videos show protesters in crowded hallways and student areas, as they protested from 2 p.m. to midnight.
As a result of the protests, some Jewish students reached out to WBZ saying they don't necessarily feel safe on campus. "We want to be able to go to class," explained Perry Karpishpan, a freshman at Tufts who described herself as a proud Jew and Zionist. "We want to be able to get overpriced mozzarella sticks and fries without hearing somebody actively chanting for our demise."
WBZ reached out to Students for Justice in Palestine but received no response. In a statement to WBZ, Tufts spokesperson Patrick Collins wrote in part,
"The university was monitoring the situation throughout to make sure that any exigent violations were addressed immediately. From the official reports we have received, at no point were entrances or exits blocked or were students restricted from moving throughout the building, including accessing food services. Student life, senior staff, and campus security were on premises at all times and saw no instances of physical assault or violence, and TUPD reports no calls came to them about assaults or violence. While students are free to demonstrate within the bounds of university policies, those policies clearly prohibit unauthorized entry into buildings, interference with classes or official events, blocking means of entry or exit from rooms and buildings, and disruption or obstruction of community activity. Students have been reminded multiple times in recent weeks about what is and is not permitted. The university will be reviewing the incident and there will be disciplinary action for anyone who is identified as having violated university policies."
The school's president recently shared a message to the community about safety measures being taken.
The ACLU says free speech freedoms for everyone should be protected, writing, "...it is precisely in times of heightened crisis and fear that university leaders must remain steadfast in their commitment to free speech, open debate, and peaceful dissent on campus. These principles are the bedrock of academic freedom."
But students like Karpishpan say hate speech shouldn't be tolerated. "I have friends of friends who were kidnapped, who were raped – it's just an experience I will never forget," she said. "This will never be the same place to me when I see a large group of people like that."