On Nov. 1, hundreds of students, spiritual leaders, and community members walked across campuses in Georgia in solidarity with Israel.
Departing from Marcus Hillel Center at Emory University, a crowd chatted while they walked down Clifton Road and onto the campus. They were reminded by Rabbi Larry Sernovitz, CEO of Hillels of Georgia, that the walk was not about chanting and cheering.
“You’re simply taking a walk through campus, as our team and our students do every day,” Sernovitz said. “In order to fulfill one of our most sacred values, education, you’ve got to be able to get to class without incident.”
A group of Atlanta-based moms said they were walking in support of students. One Emory alumni has a college-aged daughter who is having a hard time at Northwestern University. Another mom said she was walking because “they’re all our kids.”
The walk came to an end in the quad, quiet in the chilly afternoon sun. Gathering the crowd of about 200 near Convocation Hall, Sernovitz spoke again.
“We have a lot of students with us today, and many of them have shared with us that they can’t believe how many people showed up to stand and walk with them,” said Sernovitz. “It’s not a small thing.”
“This much proactivity, this much passion, and this much personal connection and community is something that I hope you know we don’t take for granted,” said Sophie Kalman, Hillel Israel chair.
In the same location, one week prior, students stormed the office of Emory President Gregory Fenves shouting pro-Palestinian messages, and presenting a list of demands.
The Anti-Defamation League, the American Jewish Committee, the Israel Consul General to the Southeast, and countless other professional organizations have declared that the chant “From the river to the sea, Palestine shall be free” is antisemitic.
Yet, the phrase has become commonplace on college campuses around the state of Georgia as protesters rally against the Israel-Hamas War.
Jewish students across the country have been feeling alone, said Maya Rezak, Hillel vice president.
“It is a call for Jewish genocide,” said Sernovitz. “The goal of the Hamas charter is destroying the State of Israel, through Jihad, through a holy war.”
Soon after the Oct. 7 attack on Israel, Emory University Hillel and Eagles for Israel held an event to honor those killed in the war, followed by a vigil by Emory Students for Justice in Palestine and the Muslim Students Association.
Students on both sides of the issue say they’re afraid of being doxxed online, losing scholarships, and having their visas canceled.
A protest held on Emory’s campus on Oct. 26 started by focusing on the university’s financial ties to Atlanta’s Public Safety Training Center, known as Cop City by its opponents. It devolved into a demand to condemn the loss of lives in Gaza in the Israel-Hamas War. Community members went from chanting “Copy City will never be built” to “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”
According to the Emory Wheel, “At 2:55 p.m., about 40 attendees entered the building and attempted to scan in to gain access to Fenves’ office. When protesters were unable to do so, they occupied the foyer and staircase inside Convocation Hall.”
A list of demands included divestment from Cop City, showing support of “Palestine, Palestinians and Palestinian students” and a request for “police free campuses, once and for all.”
In response, Fenves issued a statement. In it, he said the atrocities of war are horrific, and encouraged seeking out “understanding over division and hateful attacks.”
“Emory has a long and distinguished history of supporting open expression. We welcome peaceful protests. We welcome a vast range of ideas and perspectives. But antisemitism targeting Jewish members of our community, even as part of a protest protected by our Open Expression policy, must be called out for what it is—divisive and reprehensible,” the statement said in part.
Fenves continued, “Your words are powerful. I urge you to use them respectfully and in a manner that values every person at Emory. That isn’t too much to ask. It’s simply the right thing to do.”
Jewish students across the state have been harassed, assaulted, and had their property vandalized. On Oct. 14, the AEPi fraternity house at Georgia Tech was the subject of a shaving creamed-message that read “Free Palestine” under an Israeli flag. Since then, antisemitic messages have appeared chalked onto sidewalks on Tech’s campus.
At the University of Georgia on Oct. 20, a student reported being assaulted by another student. The aggressor, An Nam Le of Milton, was charged with three misdemeanors and released on bail that night.
“While the University of Georgia responded, there are still not additional protections in place, even though they’ve, said they’re increasing patrols. There are things that university campuses can do,” said Sernovitz.
Students held a closed-door meeting with Sen. Jon Ossoff this week, calling for an increase in campus security and for Georgia leaders to pass the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of antisemitism.
Sernovitz said the Muslim community has not reached out to him, yet.
“The Jewish community is happy to have that conversation. But the first thing that has to happen is they have to condemn the violence that happened by Hamas. In private conversations with Muslim friends of mine, they will condemn it, but they won’t condemn it publicly. That would go a long way. To say, ‘We understand what happened was a tragedy and we condemn it, and we want the hostages freed. Let’s begin to talk and figure out what we can do together.’ But that is not happening,” said Sernovitz. “I wish, but it’s not happening.”
