As October 7th anniversary approaches, Jewish students brace for protests, vow to ‘walk proudly’

With the first anniversary of October 7 fast approaching, universities and college students are bracing for renewed anti-Israel demonstrations on campuses across the United States.

The anniversary of the devastating attacks by Hamas against Israel is likely to exacerbate already inflamed tensions at colleges – further heightened by Iran’s unprecedented missile attack against the Jewish state.

Many anti-Israel groups are already planning demonstrations. In particular, the National Students for Justice in Palestine (NSJP) is orchestrating a nationwide "Week of Rage" on campuses beginning on the October 7 anniversary.

Cornell undergraduate student Amanda Silberstein suggested that while many students are focused on honoring the memory of innocent lives lost throughout the Israel-Hamas war, SJP is "choosing to celebrate the day and glorify violence under the guise of resistance."

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College campuses are getting ready for an influx of new anti-Israel protests with the anniversary of October 7 fast approaching.  (CHARLY TRIBALLEAU/ETIENNE LAURENT/AFP/ Leon Neal via Getty)

"This overt dehumanization of Jews not only disrespects all of the victims but also incites Jew hatred on campus," she told Fox News Digital. "It is disheartening to witness such a lack of empathy and understanding on a day that should be reserved for solemn reflection and unity – not for promoting hate and conflict."

NSJP did not return Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

Bela Ingber, a student at NYU, also expressed concern about her local SJP chapter. The group is staging a walkout in Washington Square Park before joining larger protests throughout the city.

She noted that NYU has an open campus, meaning student protests can snowball into much more significant events. Not only do the protests attract students, but outsiders can agitate and take advantage of students to support a larger platform.

Ingber said that she is hopeful the NYPD, in conjunction with NYU campus safety, will attempt to keep the situation under control. Still, she is "angry, frustrated and sad" that fellow students will "continue to justify the murder, rape, and kidnapping of Jews."

However, Ingber stressed that she is also empowered and motivated.

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Anti-Israel protesters make their way down Fifth Avenue toward Washington Square Park in New York City on Friday, May 3, 2024. NYU’s Palestine Solidarity Coalition hosted the demonstration as campus protests continued to sweep the country. (Rashid Umar Abbasi for Fox News Digital)

"We are not going anywhere," she told Fox News Digital. "We will not cower in fear and we most certainly will not be intimated. This October 7, as I mourn the innocent lives lost and pray for the brave men and women of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) who continue to fight, I will walk proudly and be a tribute, a public voice of remembrance, for all those beautiful souls who were stolen from us too soon."

In a statement to Fox News Digital, an NYU spokesperson said the school preparing for possible challenges in the fall, including the anniversary of October 7, "was a focus of sustained attention over the summer for NYU’s leadership."

The preparation involves multiple approaches, including student conduct, communicating expectations, strengthening compliance with civil rights laws and efforts against antisemitism, "dialogue across difference, enhancing engagement," working to establish a faculty advisory committee and holding listening forums. 

Other students at campuses across the country told Fox News Digital they are preparing for the worst.

University of Pennsylvania student Noah Rubin said that campus leaders are putting together a vigil for the victims of October 7. But many peers, he said, are preparing for professors and fellow students to "glorify and eulogize" Hamas terrorism.

He recalled how last year, an anti-Israel encampment at UPenn shouted, "They should do it again" while playing footage of the October 7 terrorist attacks.

Just last week, after Israel eliminated Hezbollah’s terror organization leader Hassan Nasrallah, Rubin claimed that students and professors at the school organized a vigil for him and other "martyrs" in Lebanon.

"There absolutely should be no place on college campuses to mourn the death of terrorists – and yet that is what we expect will continue on October 7 this year," he said.

Harvard University student Shabbos Kestenbaum revealed to Fox News Digital that Jewish students at schools like Harvard, including Berkeley, Binghamton and the University of California-Los Angeles, have already hired and coordinated significant security operations to protect their October 7 commemorations.

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Harvard University is one of several institutions facing on-campus antisemitism. (JOSEPH PREZIOSO/AFP via Getty Images)

While Berkeley has not released a statement on October 7 in particular, a school spokesperson told Fox News Digital that campus safety and inclusivity were addressed at the start of the semester in a video message from Berkeley’s chancellor and UC’s systemwide President, Michael Drake.

The spokesperson also told Fox News Digital that the school has been engaged in scenario discussions and planning.

"Student activism is nothing new on the Berkeley campus and we have established processes for planning and preparation," he added.

Kestenbaum called the need for security measures at several schools a "damning indictment on the state of contemporary American higher education."

"Many Jewish students don’t feel safe because they are objectively not safe," he said. 

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Pro-Palestinian supporters continue to demonstrate with a protest encampment on the campus of Columbia University on April 29, 2024 in New York City. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

For example, he pointed to the University of Pittsburgh, where two physical assaults against Jewish students have occurred in the last month. He also highlighted a recent attack against a Jewish student at the University of Michigan and a physical assault at Harvard Business School. In total, there have been five attacks against Jewish students at colleges in the last month. 

Columbia University was one of the major schools rocked by protests over the last year. These protests led to more than 200 arrests on campus and an incident in which agitators stormed into and occupied the university’s Hamilton Hall for nearly 24 hours.

A Columbia spokesperson sent Fox News Digital a message from Interim President Katrina Armstrong to the campus community about the October 7 anniversary and recent demonstrations that occurred on September 5.

The other schools listed in this story did not return Fox News Digital’s request for comment. 

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Editor’s Note: This piece has been updated to include a statement from NYU. The piece also initially said five assaults have occurred on the University of Pittsburgh campus when in fact two assaults have occurred at the school in the last month. There have been five assaults total against Jewish students on college campuses across the U.S. in the last month.