Jewish students at the University of Texas at Dallas are being distracted by harassment and safety concerns, especially on days when pro-Palestinian rallies are held, two students said.
On days of protests against the Gaza war, some Jewish students chose to stay home and many Jewish organizations chose to hold events off campus, they said.
“The culture at UTD has deteriorated to the point where Jewish students no longer feel welcome or safe on campus,” said Ofer Tageman, a 21-year-old graduate student.
Tarjeman and Jade Steinberg, a freshman psychology and computer science student, spoke about their experiences with anti-Semitism on campus at a press conference on Wednesday. They called on university officials to condemn anti-Semitism on campus and take steps to ensure student safety.
UTD is “committed to providing a teaching, living and working environment that is welcoming, respectful and inclusive of all members of the university community,” UTD Vice President for Public Affairs Katherine Morales said in a statement Wednesday afternoon.
University officials encouraged students who have been harassed to contact the dean of students, campus police or UTD’s Institutional Compliance Office.
Tageman, who was wearing a shirt that read, “Anti-Semitism is tough, but Jewish students are tougher,” said he has been followed on campus, yelled at and called a Nazi. He said he has received threats on social media and in text messages, and once saw a swastika and the number “666” written next to UTD’s Jewish star.
“It’s unfair that Jewish students have to choose between protecting themselves and attending class,” she said. “I want to be openly and proudly Jewish.”
Last week, pro-Palestinian protesters at UTD set up an overnight encampment in a campus plaza before police cleared them out and arrested nearly two dozen protesters. Officials say the school has seen about 10 Gaza-related protests since late fall.
University President Richard Benson wrote in an op-ed Wednesday that university officials support First Amendment rights and must make student safety their number one priority.
He noted that in most demonstrations over the past two weeks, protesters had respected university policies, adding that an attempt to set up an encampment on May 1 violated university rules and led to arrests.
“I am committed to the premise that regardless of where one stands on an issue, UT Dallas will continue to be a community that embraces different viewpoints and maintains a safe environment to do so,” he wrote.
Pro-Palestinian protests have taken place recently on university campuses across the country. Demonstrators at UTD say they want a ceasefire in Gaza as well as the university divesting from companies that make weapons and technology used in the war.
While some protesters claim their issue is only with Israel and has nothing to do with Jewish students, “they always show the opposite… We are being harmed, harassed and intimidated on the basis of our religion and nationality,” Turjeman said.
University leaders must hold people accountable for discriminatory acts and enforce policies on hate speech, said Tergeman and Steinberg, who were joined by other Jewish community groups, who noted that many Jewish students feel uncomfortable speaking up.
“It’s hard for the university to condemn these actions because pro-Palestinian students are disguising it as free speech,” said Steinberg, 18. “Freedom of speech does not include hate speech. It does not give you the right to make threats or calls for violence.”
Students have been leading demonstrations across the country since Oct. 7, when Hamas attacked Israel, killing more than 1,200 people and taking about 240 hostages, according to the Israeli government. In the months that followed, Israel began bombing the Gaza Strip, killing more than 34,000 people, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. Dallas Morning News These figures cannot be independently verified.
In late March, Texas Governor Greg Abbott issued an executive order aimed at combating anti-Semitism at colleges and universities in the state.
Abbott directed leaders of all public universities in Texas to review their free speech policies to include disciplinary measures against anti-Semitic speech on campuses, ensure the policies are enforced and include a definition of anti-Semitism.
University administrators have until late June to report to the governor’s office what they have done to comply with the governor’s order.
Representatives from the Jewish Federation of Greater Dallas, the American Jewish Committee and the Anti-Defamation League, an advocacy group that fights anti-Semitism, attended a news conference Wednesday at UTD in support of the students.
(UTD is a supporter of the Education Lab.)
Marcela Rodriguez contributed to this report.
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