Over the past two weeks, I have had a lot of conversations with classmates, friends, and other Princetonians. In a heartwarming show of support, many of my non-Jewish friends reached out to let me know that they have been thinking of and praying for me, my family, and my people. Over 400 people gathered together for an Israel vigil to honor the memory of those who perished at the hands of Hamas and to express support for the State of Israel just last Thursday.
Despite the immense light brought to Princeton and its Jewish community by students like these, there has also been darkness. Some classmates I spoke to refused to condemn Hamas and attempted to persuade me that if I were Palestinian, I would understand that Hamas’ actions could be justified in pursuit of liberation. Many tried to convince me that Hamas’ attack was a “political issue” – and a divisive one at that; that because people on campus and beyond held differing perspectives on what was happening, wholly condemning Hamas’s actions would be taking a political stance. They didn’t accept that they should condemn a terrorist organization that murdered babies, executed parents in front of their children, and uploaded videos of murder victims to the victims’ Facebook accounts for all their loved ones to see.
These deeply disturbing interactions would have been enough on their own to make me question what kind of education Princeton is offering. But even worse than those who lacked moral clarity were students who felt that the issue was clear – just in the other direction. Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) scheduled a “Teach-In” for the same time as the campus-wide Israel vigil, during which the group attacked “the Israeli Apartheid State as ultimately responsible for the cycle of violence” in recent days. Princeton’s SJP chapter also hosted a “vigil” – though it focused more on condemnation of Israel than the memory of those innocents lost – during which one of the organizers facilitated a call-and-response chant of “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” and peddled accusations that Israel was “built” on “colonization, genocide, [and] apartheid.” One of the speakers went so far as to equate the Jewish State with Nazism, telling listeners, “We are reading the words of Israeli politicians using the same language that Hitler did.”
That’s right. In the wake of the mass murder of innocent Jewish mothers, fathers, babies, and elderly Holocaust survivors, Princeton students had the temerity to compare the Jews to those who systematically sought their extermination not 80 years ago. Standing in the crowd – one of the only Jewish students present – as everyone around me raised their voices in unison to call for the eradication of the Jewish state was one of the most chilling experiences I have ever had. Not once did SJP acknowledge the loss of Jewish lives. Not once was the word “Jew” used by anyone who took to the microphone at SJP’s so-called vigil.
Princeton is an institution that is supposed to hold some of the country’s brightest minds and future leaders, and it boasts the lofty motto, “In the Nation’s Service and the Service of Humanity.” This week has made me question the fitness of some of my peers to serve the best interest of this nation, let alone all of humanity. To my fellow Princeton students: Condemning mass civilian murder is not a complicated political issue. It’s a humanitarian issue; one that requires moral clarity, not rationalizations for brazen bigotry, rape, and murder.
Alexandra Orbuch
Editor-in-Chief, The Princeton Tory
(Photo courtesy of Princeton’s Office of Communications)
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