TUFTS INVESTIGATING ‘VILE ANTISEMITISM’
Tufts University is investigating after “vile antisemitism” and Islamophobia was reported during a fiery student meeting when the student Senate passed antiIsrael resolutions.
Jewish students at the recent meeting were reportedly spat on, and faced “stomach churning antisemitic taunts and jeering from their peers,” according to the leader of Tufts Hillel.
The Jewish students who were against the Palestinian BDS resolutions were reportedly told that they smelled, and were subjected to other antisemitic comments — such as “Go back to Israel, we don’t want you here!” and “Israel controls the entire world.”
“What is particularly disturbing (as if the resolutions haven’t caused enough harm), are reports of vitriolic antisemitism expressed throughout the evening by students in support of the resolutions,” said Tufts Hillel Executive Director Rabbi Naftali Brawer.
College campuses around the region, especially Harvard University, have been divided ever since the Hamas terrorist attacks on Oct. 7 and the start of the Israel-Hamas war. The Tufts Students for Justice in Palestine group following the terror attacks posted in favor of the terrorists, while dozens of Harvard student groups blamed Israel for the attacks.
University student governments have been debating resolutions involving the Israel-Hamas war, including the Tufts Community Union Senate, which recently passed three BDS (boycott, divest, and sanction) resolutions that were proposed by the Coalition for Palestinian Liberation at Tufts.
“3 of our 4 BDS senate resolutions have passed. 1. A resolution for tufts to divest from israeli apartheid and release all their investments,” Coalition for Palestinian Liberation at Tufts posted on Monday. “2. A resolution to end the sales of Israeli products at dining locations. 3. A resolution calling on the president and administration to acknowledge the genocide in Gaza and apologize for previous statements.”
Tufts’ administration came out against these resolutions following the student Senate vote. The university leaders reiterated that they reject the BDS movement.
“These resolutions, which mirror others being promoted by student groups at universities and colleges nationwide, do not promote nuanced understanding through broader dialogue,” Tufts’ leaders wrote to the campus community.
The university also addressed the reports of antisemitism during the meeting, along with reports of Islamophobia.
“Let us be entirely clear: antisemitic and Islamophobic words and actions are entirely unacceptable and should be met with condemnation,” the university leaders wrote adding they have launched an investigation.
The Anti-Defamation League’s New England chapter called on Tufts to take steps to address “the antisemitic hostility on campus.”