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Campus Watch February 5, 2025

A roundup of incidents, good and bad, happening on school campuses.
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February 5, 2025

UCLA Chapter of Palestine Children’s Relief Fund Holds Art Exhibit on Campus

The UCLA chapter of the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund (PCRF) held a “Palettes for Peace: Palestinian Art Exhibition” on Jan. 25 that garnered controversy over a couple of images deemed to be “terrorist imagery.”

Prior to the event, the Jewish Faculty Resilience Group (JFrg) at UCLA sent a letter to university leaders expressing concern over a flyer promoting the event’s use of a paraglider image that “glorifies the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks in which Hamas paragliders invaded Israel at several locations, including the Nova Music Festival in the Negev desert. The terrorists massacred and abducted hundreds of civilians. Civilians were beheaded and raped en mass.” The other image that JFrg viewed as problematic was “a map of Israel overlaid with the black-and-white keffiyeh pattern and other Palestinian symbols, thereby signifying the total annihilation and erasure of the nation of Israel and its replacement with non-Jewish Palestinians. This image celebrates the goal to eradicate the Jewish people.” The Daily Bruin reported that “both images remained present on an online poster and at the show itself.” The Bruin also quoted a PCRF leader calling the letter “disheartening” and that “the event was never meant to cause controversy and focused only on providing medical aid to those affected by violence.”

Columbia Denounces “Astronomy in Palestine” Material in Lab Notes

Columbia University’s Office of Public Affairs denounced a unit in the Astronomy Lab I class notes titled “Astronomy in Palestine.”

The Columbia Daily Spectator reported that the syllabus stated regarding the unit: “As we watch genocide unfold in Gaza, it is also important to tell the story of Palestinians outside of being the subjects of a military occupation. Take 15 minutes or so to read through the articles ‘Wonder and the Life of Palestinian Astronomy’ and ‘In Gaza, Scanning the Sky for Stars, Not Drones.’ Remind yourself that our dreams, our wonders, our aspirations … are not any more worthy.” The class is taught by the chair of the astronomy department.

The university’s Office of Public Affairs said in a Jan. 28 statement that the lab notes violate university policy restricting faculty members to only cover content related to the course subject matter and not use the classroom for political advocacy. “We regret that this unacceptable breach of policy took place and apologize to the students enrolled in the class,” the statement said. “The violation is being addressed through the University’s processes, and we are implementing additional review procedures.”

Rutgers Student Gov’t Votes Down Resolution Adopting IHRA

Rutgers University’s student government voted down a resolution adopting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism during their Jan. 23 meeting.

According to The Daily Targum, the final vote count was not released. Kelly Shapiro and Taylor Shaw, who introduced the resolution, criticized the vote as a “double-standard.” If any other group on campus were to ask for help in stopping violence and hate against their community, Shapiro said, “would their resolution be questioned to the same extent?” Opponents of the resolution argued that the IHRA definition was too vague and would silence criticism of Zionism as being antisemitic. Shaw had contended that the bill was not aimed at chilling speech; rather, “it’s just to bring (some) kind of notice to an issue that the Jewish community has been dealing with on campus since last year.”

SJP Holds Protest in Front of Ohio State Chabad House 

Around 60 students and community members at Ohio State University (OSU) attended a protest on Jan. 27 hosted by Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) against a speaking event featuring two former Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers at The Schottenstein Chabad House at OSU.

The protest, held in front of the Chabad, featured chants of “We demand liberation from the Zionist occupation” and “There are war criminals in there” as well as drumming, The Lantern reported. Several SJP members and other protesters lobbed “derisive comments at students entering the event, some of whom responded to the crowd formed at the bottom of the house’s entrance stairs,” according to The Lantern. The Chabad declined to comment on the matter.

Colorado High School Suspends Coach for Hanging Palestinian Flag During Game

The coach for the basketball team at the Lotus School for Excellence high school in Colorado has been suspended after he reportedly hung a Palestinian flag during a game against Denver Academy of Torah (DAT) on Jan. 22.

According to CBS Colorado, the coach, identified as “Coach O,” also refused to shake hands with DAT’s coach after the game, and some players on the Lotus team also reportedly didn’t shake hands with members of the opposing team. Lotus announced that it has no tolerance for antisemitism and is launching an investigation into the matter. “That coach’s single act doesn’t represent what we stand for,” Lotus Secondary Principal Ermek Bakyt said. “We haven’t seen any flags being hung in previous games. This was an isolated incident and we took action immediately.”

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