To the Northwestern community,

Since October 7th, we have primarily kept quiet. We allowed others to speak in our name, but seeing our peers in Columbia University, we felt compelled to echo their sentiment, amplify Jewish students' voices around the globe, so our mere whisper might become a shout. The letter is brilliant. A beacon of light that we are happy to reflect. We cannot write it better without committing plagiarism. 

At Northwestern, the Jewish and Israeli students were called “white colonizers,” “Zionist pigs,” and “genocidal maniacs”. We were singled out, blamed and demonized by many based on prejudice, misinformation, and plain antisemitism. Our fellow students, faculty, NUGW and even the librarians took part in the eternal circus of “blame the Jews”, using the tokenism of fringe, far left Jews as a fig leaf to hide behind. 

Adopting a hypervigilant stance, we carefully minimized ourselves. Fearing professors alienating us in class, TAs canceling lab sessions for a protest, librarians not helping us with our research, the union not representing us, or classmates hating us for being Jewish. Essentially, we fear retaliation for simply being ourselves.

As Jewish students, we have been harassed, spat on, threatened, gaslit, and followed. Nonetheless, we will continue holding our heads high. Unapologetic Jews and Zionists, we will not be defeated by hate. We are fueled by love, empathy and hope. We refuse to be part of a polarizing atmosphere prevalent on campus. We are academics seeking to better ourselves and the world without virtue signaling while undermining others.

As a minority group in society and on campus, no one gets to define what is antisemitic but us. You do not choose how we interpret hate speech when we know its precise origins. “From the river to the sea” has a singular meaning, and that is the elimination of Israel as a Jewish state, just as stated by the Hamas Charter.

As our fellow Jewish students in Columbia stated: “One thing is for sure. We will not stop standing up for ourselves. We are proud to be Jews, and we are proud to be Zionists.” To that we add - we are proud to be Northwestern students. This is our campus as well. 

History will judge all of us. That is why we invite conversation, bringing hearts together. We do not need to agree on everything to have a beautiful, vibrant, and harmonious community; rather, it is our diversity of perspectives and mutual respect that enriches our shared experience as Northwestern students. 

Signed: