“This is not the campus I toured”

As the 2023 Israel-Hamas conflict continues, college campuses nationwide have erupted with pro-Palestinian encampments. Each movement is unique, but they often share their advocacy for a ceasefire and demands for financial transparency or monetary divestment. At some of these encampments, the atmosphere is peaceful and inspiring, but others have turned violent, and many have featured casual antisemitism as a prominent aspect of the gathering. 

No encampment at the University of Maryland included tents or barricades, but dozens of students organized a sit-in on McKeldin Mall. They sat on picnic blankets delivering impassioned speeches, making posters, and offering comfort to impacted students. 

The closest major encampment to UMD’s campus took place at the George Washington University in Washington, D.C. Some students from UMD traveled to the GW campus to participate. 

One Jewish GW student, who wishes to remain anonymous, frequently visits the encampment to see and hear what is happening there. 

Jewish students at both UMD and GW have found it difficult to engage in dialogue with members of the encampment. The anonymous Jewish GW student commented that the encampment “refuses” dialogue, with signs stating “no Zionism allowed” or “there is only one solution, intifada revolution” inhibiting any kind of conversation..

Mitzpeh reached out to UMD students who traveled to GW to participate in the encampment, and they declined to comment. 

Members of the GW encampment set up a Venmo service for organizers to have food and meals brought over, and according to the GW student, they prefaced the food delivery process as an “urgent need.”. 

During our interview with this student, they shared that this practice by the encampment was hypocritical considering the amount of homelessness in Washington, D.C.

“There are people less than a block away who actually have to live in tents full time,” this student said, “that are in urgent, urgent need of these things.”

According to a second GW student, the most concerning aspect of these encampments on both GW’s and UMD’s campuses was that people who participate or post on social media do not understand the impact their words have.

“I do not think that they are bad people, the student said, “[but] I think that a lot of people are uneducated, and that can be super dangerous.”

“Nothing about what happened is a victory in any capacity.”

On the morning of May 8, hundreds of Metropolitan Police officers cleared the GW encampment and arrested 33 people, 27 of whom were not students, the GW Hatchet reported. At least two officers deployed pepper spray, and arrests were made for “assault of a police officer” and “unlawful entry,” according to the GW Hatchet.

“I do not think [the manner in which the encampment was cleared] should be felt as a win for anybody,” the second GW student said.

This student is considering both sides of the clearing. “I think it was terrible what happened,” they said, “and [the organizers] were warned to leave many times … [So,] to act surprised is not fair.”

After reports of violence on the part of protestors, counter-protestors, and police forces across the country, the UMPD had a heavy presence on campus during high-tension events like IsraelFest.

“We are allowed to celebrate our culture”

Students at this university have held protests during the Jewish Student Union’s IsraelFest every year, but this year drew a bigger crowd. 

“Israel is a huge part of our lives,” said UMD Senior and former president of JSU Leah Bregman, “and I believe we are allowed to celebrate our culture,”

If this was any other cultural event, I do not think there would be a boycott,” Bregman said. 

Students for Justice in Palestine organized a Boycott IsraelFest, which was posted all over social media and drew a larger crowd than in prior years. 

Security measures were in place for both events, with small fences blocking off a section for the two groups, creating only six entry points with officers and security. Bag searches and metal scanners were used to ensure the safety of each student while participating in either event. 

“The boycott happens every year, and they have every right to express their opinions, the only difference this year was the added security,” said Bregman.

Similarly, Mitzpeh reporters reached out to leaders of the Students for Justice in Palestine group at this university, who declined to comment.

“Leaving campus takes away my ability to be an advocate”

As the semester comes to an end, Jewish students reflect on their experiences considering the small-scale encampments and other protests on this campus. 

Leora Rothschild, a sophomore public policy major from Teaneck, New Jersey, said she has been most impacted on campus in the classroom.

In public policy classes, students are encouraged to engage in tough conversations and political discussions, Rothschild said.

But since Oct. 7, Rothschild has felt she needs to be more wary of her statements when discussing matters about Israel. “I tiptoe a lot,” she said.

Where she has felt more cautious when engaging in discussion, Rothschild has also felt empowered to speak up.

“I want people to listen to me and value what I’m saying,” Rothschild said.

Rothschild also volunteers for TerpPAC, an Israel advocacy club on this campus, and tables at Hornbake Plaza to answer questions about Israel and have discussions with passersby.

Most of the people Rothschild talks to at the Advocacy and Education tabling events are students who do not know what is happening in the Middle East, and who are curious to learn. Rothschild never had a real conversation with someone “on the other side” because they only made accusatory statements about her and TerpPAC’s work.

Those statements, along with chants and signs endorsing an intifada and anti-Zionist beliefs, prevented any chance at a conversation between the two sides.

“[It’s] sad because I do want to have a peaceful dialogue,” Rothschild said.

Leaving campus will diminish Rothschild’s ability to advocate in the classroom, but freshman Yoni Wolf hopes that summer break will “settle a lot of things down” here and on college campuses across the country.

However, if the war is still going on in August, “I think we can expect to see the same action from students,” Wolf said, because “in the end, it is really a trend. It is a trendy thing to protest Israel.”