(RNS) — As pro-Palestinian protests swamp universities around the country, from Columbia to MIT to UCLA, Brandeis University announced Monday (April 22) that it would be extending its deadline for transfer applications, specifically encouraging Jewish students feeling uncomfortable at their current universities to apply. “Students elsewhere should know we welcome all — Jews and students from every background — who seek an excellent undergraduate education and an environment striving to be free of harassment and Jew-hatred to apply,” Brandeis President Ron Liebowitz said in a statement.
The message, released as Passover was about to start, came as Columbia University shut down its campus and moved classes online as protesters camped in the university’s quadrangle and led demonstrations against Israel’s war in Gaza and the university’s ties to Israeli institutions.
While student protesters have maintained that the encampment has been peaceful and free of antisemitism — noting that it held Shabbat dinners and even a Passover Seder for participating Jewish students — campus Jewish leaders at Columbia have reported incidents of harassment.
Outside of the campus, groups unaffiliated with student protests have been recorded shouting antisemitic and explicitly pro-Hamas slogans.
In a group text message, an Orthodox rabbi affiliated with Columbia’s chapter of Hillel, a Jewish campus organization, urged Jewish students leaving for Passover not to return to campus for their safety.
New York City Police Department officers arrest pro-Palestinian protesters outside a student-led encampment at New York University o …
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The message, released as Passover was about to start, came as Columbia University shut down its campus and moved classes online as protesters camped in the university’s quadrangle and led demonstrations against Israel’s war in Gaza and the university’s ties to Israeli institutions.
While student protesters have maintained that the encampment has been peaceful and free of antisemitism — noting that it held Shabbat dinners and even a Passover Seder for participating Jewish students — campus Jewish leaders at Columbia have reported incidents of harassment.
Outside of the campus, groups unaffiliated with student protests have been recorded shouting antisemitic and explicitly pro-Hamas slogans.
In a group text message, an Orthodox rabbi affiliated with Columbia’s chapter of Hillel, a Jewish campus organization, urged Jewish students leaving for Passover not to return to campus for their safety.
New York City Police Department officers arrest pro-Palestinian protesters outside a student-led encampment at New York University o …nnDiscussion:nn” ai_name=”RocketNews AI: ” start_sentence=”Can I tell you more about this article?” text_input_placeholder=”Type ‘Yes'”]