Jewish student leaders at Pittsburgh universities report undercurrent of tension amid Israel-Hamas war
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Not only here in Pittsburgh, but across the country, tensions are rising on college campuses over students rallying for Palestinians.
The war between Israel and Hamas has led to tensions and conflicts on college campuses throughout the country. At Pitt and CMU, Jewish students say they feel vulnerable and fear a rise in antisemitism.
"Nothing has been publicly stated but it's just this high anxiety undercurrent. We're all scared that the crazies come out of the woodwork," said Ben Koby, the Jewish Graduate Student Association co-president.
The crisis in Israel has come home, becoming an everyday reality at Carnegie Mellon where Jewish student leaders say Jewish students are anxious and afraid and reluctant to display symbols of Judaica.
"Me wearing this kippah right now to some would be considered a brave thing to do and everyone else would be considered a reckless thing to do," Koby said.
Since the Hamas attack, Oakland has become the site of pro-Palestinian demonstrations. Organizers have stressed they are not in support of the terrorist attack but in support of the Palestinian people and in opposition to Israel's policies. But Koby says there is a thin line between that and antisemitism.
"When you come through and yell slogans that call for the destruction of the State of Israel, this is supporting Hamas," he said.
But while Koby cited some words exchanged between CMU students, over at Pitt, there have been few, if any, incidents.
"I would say campus is definitely more tense. I don't have individual instances that I can point out of individual conflict other than maybe an errant phrase here or there," said Eitan Weinkle of Coalition for Israel at Pitt.
But Jewish students on both campuses criticized the initial statements of their university presidents for not going far enough in condemning the attack. And while both presidents issued stronger subsequent statements, both student organizations are asking the schools to do more to protect Jewish students.
"This is not a one-off issue. This is an issue that has continued to develop, that will continue to endanger students if it's not handled correctly and university administrators have to listen to their students on this in order to keep them safe," Weinkle said.
But while the actual incidents have been few, Jewish students say there is this undercurrent of tension and that will likely remain as long as this crisis continues.
