NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) –– Jewish community members gathered at Tulane University Friday morning to present a letter, signed by 250 people, to Tulane President Michael Fitts condemning what they call the university’s harsh punishment of student activists.
Last week, protesters marched through the university, setting up an encampment in front of Gibson Hall on Saint Charles Avenue. It comes as schools across the country are seeing an increase in protests calling for a ceasefire and disinvestment in Israel amid the war in Gaza.
Tulane, a private university, warned protesters multiple times to leave the property, including displaying a warning on a large screen that they would be arrested for trespassing. Roughly two days after the start of the protest, NOPD and SWAT teams broke up the encampment, arresting 14 people and suspending several students.
Jewish Voices for Peace members presented a letter to the university on Friday, calling out the university for its response to the protest. “President Michael Fitts responded by sending in 100 police in riot gear to violently arrest these protesters,” said the author of the letter Cypress Atlas.
The letter also called upon Tulane to reinstate all of the suspended students, issue a correction on what they say are unsubstantiated claims of antisemitism, protect the safety of all students and vow to divest entirely from Israel.
Not everyone believed the claims of antisemitism were unsubstantiated. After handing off the letter to Tulane staff, the Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans released a statement condemning protesters’ use of certain chants.
“Some of those chants, and some of those calls, and the hate speech, really starts to veer more into antisemitism,” said the director of Jewish-Multicultural and Governmental Affairs with JFGNO Aaron Bloch.
Bloch added that JVP’s views do not represent the majority.
“They might have the best social media presence, but we just don’t want people to be fooled into thinking that they speak for the Jewish community,” said Bloch
Those on-site to deliver the letter to Tulane spoke out against the antisemitic claims. “We are deeply offended at your completely false and dangerous claims of antisemitism,” said Atlas.
Gavrielle Gemma, a community member present in support of JVP, called the claims of antisemitism “a smokescreen to cover the involvement of Tulane University and others across the country in getting money from the military corporations who are profiting from the genocide that’s going on in Israel.”
Atlas said the university completely ignored hate speech toward other students, “You have shown a complete disregard for the safety of Palestinian, Muslim and Arab students who were harassed and taunted by counter-protesters.”
When asked to comment on the harassment, Bloch stated, “this is the first time I’m hearing of that.” He added, “hatred of one group doesn’t exist in a vacuum, if that type of hate is on campus, it’s incumbent upon all of us to speak out against it. Whether it’s aimed at the Jewish population or Palestinian population.”
A representative from Tulane said the university president was not in town and could not answer when he would return to receive the letter.
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