Antisemitism on the Rise at Tufts University

By Andrew Talpins ‘24
Protesters disrupted a multiethnic discussion on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict at Tufts university, blasting music and hurling profanities and insults at both speakers. The campus police were called to remove the protesters, who fled before the police arrived. Afterwards, the program continued as normal. 

The meeting was being conducted by Roots, an organization composed of Israelis and Palestinians dedicated to ending the conflict and hate between their respective groups.
The event was organized by Tufts Friends of Israel and Tufts J-Street U, with speakers Sarah Mandel and Khalil Sayegh headlining the event. 
“I would have really loved it if they would have stayed and listened,” said Mandel, the Israeli spokesperson, while Sayegh, the Palestinian spokesperson, said that he was upset by the protesters, but understood where they were coming from as a Palestinian himself. No campus organization took credit for the protest, but the club “Tufts Students for Justice in Palestine” said they were “proud that individuals chose to protest.”
In response, Tufts University President Anthony Monaco released a statement calling the behavior of the protestors “absolutely unacceptable and a violation of our community standards,” and that “Tufts University police and other relevant offices at the university are investigating and we will hold accountable any members of our community who are found to be responsible.” 
“Antisemitism is harmful and as long as we continue to let it happen, in any form, we are endangering ourselves as Jews,” said junior Chloe Elder.
    This outburst is not surprising to the 20 percent of Jewish students on campus. Based on a poll Monaco sent out, he reported that “more than half of Jewish student respondents reported to have observed some form of antisemitism at Tufts.” 
Tufts has a history of antisemitic and anti-Israel incidents. One of their club sports teams was even suspended for antisemitic behavior at a meet. 
“Walking onto the Tufts campus and being greeted by an entire concert dedicated to anti-Israel sentiment, filled with posters that read ‘Israel is an Apartheid State’ was genuinely horrifying and heartbreaking,” said junior Giselle Weiss. “It truly opened my eyes to the hate that circulates throughout the nation.” 
“Going into Tufts and instantly seeing a sign about a Palestine solidarity concert was very scary,” said junior Talia Perlstein. “It is hard to imagine a Jew on campus walking by, seeing something like that, and trying to envision how they felt at that moment.”