He met Jewish students who speak with American legislators about Colombia’s protests Education News

Washington, DC, Jewish students participating in the protests in Columbia University Suppose their pro-Palestinians activity is driven by their faith-and-not though.

On Tuesday, a group of activists met Jewish students with members at the United States Conference in Washington, DC, to tell their stories, which they say were excluded from the prevailing accounts of anti -Semitism in universities.

When the students’ protests over the Israeli war in Gaza last year, the University of Colombia in New York became a flash point.

The university saw one of The first student camps In the country, it was built to demand the end of investments in companies in human rights violations. Soon after the emergence of tents, the campus also witnessed some of the first collective arrests of student students in the Palestinian Solidarity Movement.

This vision made Colombia a pivotal point for President Donald Trump’s efforts to take strict measures against what he called “illegal protests” and anti -Semitism on the campus.

Earlier this year, a student of Colombia Mahmoud Khalil He became the first student activist to be held by the Trump administration and targeted deportation.

The delegation of the Jewish students came on Tuesday to Congress to pay the case that Khalil and others like him had not been held in their name. They met at least 17 democratic legislators of the House of Representatives and the Senate.

Al -Jazeera spoke with many students who participated in the day of pressure, which was organized by the Jewish Work for Peace (JVP), an invitation organization. Here are some of their stories:

Tali Beckwith-Cohen

Tue Bikwith Cohen in New York State, New York State, originated, it grew up in a society where Zionism was the base. She remembers that she is told “myths” about Palestine as “a land without a people for a people without land”: a slogan used to justify the establishment of Israel.

But when she began to learn Palestinian history and meet the Palestinians, Beckwith Cohen said her beliefs had faced a challenge.

In the end, after the war began in Gaza in October 2023, it participated in the activity of Palestinian rights.

Human rights groups and United Nations experts have found evidence that Israel’s tactics in Gaza are “consistent with genocide.” More than 52,615 Palestinians have been killed in the conflict so far.

“For a long time, I had this kind of feeling uncomfortable, this feeling of wrestling, this feeling of cognitive dissonance, and how can I count that these values ​​are dearest to Zionism?” I told Picetyh Cohen the island.

“We see the bombing, ignoring human life, and children, For hospitalsFor schools. Forced me to choose. “

She emphasized that the protests were areas of solidarity, as students from all backgrounds were committed to the idea that their safety was intertwined.

“There is a lot in telling the media about what is happening on the campus of Colombia, which is just a deception and is not correct for what we have seen,” said Beckoyeth Cohen.

“So we are here today to tell our people in Congress that what we see on the campus is clear that an authoritarian and fascist campaign against all opposition, and not only for students who defend peacefully to end the genocide.”

Carly Shafir

When Carly Chaveer expressed her concern about the Israeli escalation in Gaza in the University of WhatsApp chat, some of her fellow Jewish students interrogated.

Among the hundreds of people in the chat, you remember that Khalil – the activist who arrested him on charges of deportation – was the only person who called her directly to reject the comments she was exposed to.

When I got to know Khalil, she came as a “embodiment” of a person who is interested in the safety of all students on campus.

Shafir Al -Jazeera told that she felt “sick” and “terrified” When Khalil He was arrested. After that, her inconvenience was exacerbated when she saw the White House Trump Celebrate His detention on social media with the phrase “Shalom, Mahmoud” – a Jewish greeting that was replaced as a mockery.

Shafir, who follows a master’s degree in human rights and social policy, grew up in California and its upbringing or single in a low -income family.

She said that speaking against injustice – including in Palestine – is a practice in its Jewish faith.

“The protest movement in Colombia, it is a love movement. It is a solidarity movement,” Shafir said. “Jewish students are also an integral part of this movement.”

She said that when the demonstrators held the Jewish students religious events on the campus, their peers joined them from the camp and inquired about their traditions.

“These are the same students who are photographed as anti -Semitic, who are going out on their way to go and get to know the Passover and celebrate a Jewish holiday with their Jewish friends,” Shafir told Al -Jazeera.

She criticized the “anti -Semitic weapon”, saying that the case is used to close the talks about Israeli atrocities In Gaza.

She said, “Jewish students are used as ships on the Trump’s political agenda.” “The anti -Semitism weapon to dismantle this movement is not just a threat to Jewish students; it is a threat to all of us. For this reason it is very important for us as Jewish students to correct this wrong narration directly.”

Sarah Boros

A student of Barnard, Sarah Boros, who was arrested during the campaign of repression in the Colombia camp, said that she had originated in an anti -Zionist family in a “very Zionist community”.

I felt that it was important for Jewish students, like herself, to transfer their experiences directly to the people in power in Washington, DC.

“We are talking to members of Congress to tell them about our excluded storytelling from the prevailing news,” Borus told Al -Jazeera newspaper.

“Trump’s mission is not to protect Jewish students. It is related to using fears of anti-Semitism-because of the way the Solidarity camp was filmed in Gaza last year-in order to target non-citizen students, to target academic freedom, Freedom of expressionAnd put a lot, many people are in danger. “

When she was asked about her feeling about her potential reaction to her activity, Borus admitted that the current political climate left her afraid.

She said, “I am afraid, but in the big plan for things, I am proud of the options I made.” “I will not make any different, and I am ready to bear the risks, if this is what to do.”

Ortlcher tea

Ortiles tea has no remorse for participating in the University of Colombia’s camps, despite the administrative and political repression.

Ortlcher said Christian nationalists They try to erase the point of view of the Jewish students who support the picnic and define Judaism in a way that suits their political purposes.

But Ortlcher, the protest against the killing of the Palestinians, is an expression of both Jewish and human values. Ortlcher believes that Colombia’s demonstrations have helped increase awareness at the country level.

“Despite the persecution we faced, despite suffering, and despite the despair of anxiety that we did not do enough to stop Genocide“To defend the Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank, I think we have changed public discourse in an important way.”

“We also really built a really beautiful society. I do not regret what I did at all. I will not change anything.”

Ravish

Ravi, who chose only his first name, said that he grew up “a very Zionist.” But when learning more about the conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians, he felt that he had been deceived.

He said: “It was the Jewish primary school to which I went, for example, a map of Israel, and it was like diamonds – no bank or Gaza on it.”

“When I saw the actual map with Occupied areasI was like, “Wait, you lied to.” This type of entire trip has made me to explore what Zionism is, what is the profession, what is the settler colonialism. “

Ravi, who studies mathematics, said that the war on Gaza, the protests on the campus and the intellectual response that the demonstrators faced all of them, they made him feel “a personal responsibility to fight for what is true.”

In his experience, the demonstrations were welcomed, not anti -Semitism. He said that what was anti -Semitic was the fact that the university targeted the demonstrators Jewish students for their political opinions.

Many students, including Ravi, said that Colombia refused to give students associated with a Jewish voice for peace the necessary permission to hold religious celebrations in public places. They described this rejection as a form of discrimination.

The university did not respond to Al -Jazeera’s request to comment by publishing time.

Ravi also drew a distinction between feeling uncomfortable with ideas that challenge the view of the world and insecurity.

He said: “It is natural in the college to face new views and new views. This is how it became more supportive of the Palestinian and anti -Zionism.” “I initially felt uncomfortable when I faced anti -Zionist views, but I slept to understand it. This is normal.”

Ravi stressed that the real suffering occurs in Gaza.

“Students who are not safe at the present time, of course, are Students in Gaza. Each university was destroyed in Gaza. They did not eat for 60 days. “