Just after the October 7 Hamas terrorist attacks on Israeli civilians, a brawl broke out at Tulane University during an unauthorized pro-Hamas rally. A Hamas sympathizer viciously assaulted a pro-Israel protester.
Tulane’s student-run newspaper, The Tulane Hullaballo, reported on the incident.
Tulane’s Jewish population makes up nearly 30% of the student body.
Now, a group of nearly 100 Jewish students are sharing an open letter calling on administrators to levy disciplinary sanctions against the group Students for a Democratic Society (SDS.) The letter cites numerous alleged instances of provocations, including starting fights, antisemitic bullying of those who support Israel, and harassing a professor.
The Algemeiner reports:
“This organization does not support democratic societies; it vehemently opposes them,” said the letter, which was first published last month. “We understand that Tulane’s administration is trying to walk a fine line of not regulating free speech while still protecting students, and we respect that. But Tulane SDS has crossed the line again and again.”
The letter continued: “The chapter at Tulane is made up of agitators looking to cause conflict and draw as much attention as possible, with many of its members not even being Tulane students. These students use the SDS organization as a cover for their hate-filled vitriol. Tulane SDS has repeatedly hailed Hamas terrorist as ‘martyrs,’ called for Zionist Jewish students to be forcibly removed from campus, and publicly doxxed and released the information of Jewish students on Instagram.”
The Jewish students, four of whom spoke with The Algemeiner on Tuesday, are most upset about what they described as SDS’s repeated utterances of antisemitic hate speech and denigration of Israeli hostages held captive in Gaza by the terrorist group Hamas. Since Hamas’ Oct. 7 massacre across southern Israel, they said, SDS has operated as a “proxy group” for Students for Justice in Palestine, which is not recognized by the university, cheering Hamas and acts of terrorism and including in their activities an older adult non-student who was recently arrested on campus.
“Antisemitism has no place at Tulane University. It is completely counter to our values,” a university spokesman said in a statement to The Algemeiner on Tuesday. “We have received multiple reports regarding the actions of the Students for Democratic Society. We are investigating these reports and will follow all of our normal processes for the adjudication of student organizations accused of misconduct. Where individual students have been named and accused of misconduct, we will also investigate.”
Iranian Jewish student Yasmeen Ohebsion, President of the Movement to Address Antisemitism at Tulane, spoke during Shabbat services in March, detailing the impact of antisemitism at the university.
Watch:
Ohebsion also testified before Congress during a Congressional Committee on Education & the Workforce to share her and her peers’ stories about experiencing antisemitism at Tulane.
Iranian Jewish student at @Tulane Yasmeen Ohebsion describes an incident where she was verbally accosted and her friends physically beaten by antisemitic attackers.
These abusive and violent attacks on campus are motivated by nothing more than Jew-hatred. pic.twitter.com/5ei08zn1yH
— Maccabee Task Force (@MacTaskForce) March 19, 2024