Jewish students at Columbia University penned a powerful open letter to the anti-Israel protesters who “demonize” them — saying it is “never too late” to repair “political and religious divides.”
The letter — signed by more than 250 students — said they never wanted to be political activists, but were forced into the role by those “who demonize us under the cloak of anti-Zionism.”
“We do not bang on drums and chant catchy slogans,” the letter read. “We are average students, just trying to make it through finals much like the rest of you.
“If the last six months on campus have taught us anything, it is that a large and vocal population of the Columbia community does not understand the meaning of Zionism, and subsequently does not understand the essence of the Jewish People,” the letter continued.
“Yet despite the fact that we have been calling out the antisemitism we’ve been experiencing for months, our concerns have been brushed off and invalidated.”
Despite the strife — which at Columbia has included weeks of anti-Israel protests that came to a dangerous head when rioters barricaded themselves inside Hamilton Hall — the students said it’s “never too late to start repairing the fractures and begin developing meaningful relationships across political and religious divides.”
“Our tradition tells us, ‘Love peace and pursue peace,’” the letter read. “We hope you will join us in earnestly pursuing peace, truth, and empathy. Together we can repair our campus.”
Columbia has been a hotbed of pro-Palestine demonstrations in recent weeks — so much so that the NYPD had to go in last week and clear out the massive tent encampment and root out protesters who occupied historic Hamilton Hall.
The student letter highlighted a number of antisemitic incidents that allegedly stemmed from those protests — which eventually led the school to cancel its spring university-wide commencement.
Jewish students felt “helpless” when they saw students and faculty block them from entering shared portions of the campus, the letter said.
“We know all too well that antisemitism is shapeshifting,” the letter read. “The silence is familiar. We will never forget.”
“One thing is for sure. We will not stop standing up for ourselves,” it continued. “We are proud to be Jews, and we are proud to be Zionists.”
But even though the students wrote that they support Israel — and that Zionism is inseparable from the Jewish identity — they all have different visions for what the Middle East’s only democracy should look like.
“Our love for Israel does not necessitate blind political conformity. It’s quite the opposite,” the letter said.
“Israeli political disagreement is an inherently Zionist activity … all it takes are a couple of coffee chats with us to realize that our visions for Israel differ dramatically from one another.”
“Yet we all come from a place of love and an aspiration for a better future for Israelis and Palestinians alike.”
