The Illinois Holocaust Museum is aiming to call attention to “the undercurrent of antisemitism” within protests supporting Palestinians in Gaza.
In a statement released Sunday, museum describes the protests convulsing campus as “a moment of grave crisis” and says the Holocaust is being used as a political and rhetorical tool. The statement pointed to Columbia University in New York offering hybrid classes for students anxious about being on campus as a “worrisome sign.”
“There is nothing antisemitic about supporting the Palestinians’ rights or demonstrating in support of Palestinians,” the statement said. “But within these protests have been worrisome and persistent examples of antisemitic expression. … Bad actors are using the cover of free speech in this moment of tension to normalize dangerous ideas that cause real harm to Jewish students and communities.”
Museum CEO Bernard Cherkasov said they’ve noticed a rise in antisemitism as protests have expanded across the country, and as one of the largest Holocaust museum’s in the world, he felt an obligation to speak up.
“Our statement is not about people’s rights to protest, to chant, to support a cause that they believe about,” Cherkasov told the Sun-Times. “Our statement is specific to the undercurrent of antisemitism that is persistent and omnipresent at many of these rallies.”
Cherkasov said many Jewish college students and their parents feel scared because of these sentiments.
“[They] reach out to our museum to help process and understand, and in the hopes that we can educate the broader public about why some of these statements [have] nothing to do with the protests or the freedom of expression but are antisemitic at their core,” he said.
The museum said statements like “From the River to the Sea, Palestine is Arab,” “Students will go home when Israelis go back to Europe, US, etc. (their real homes)” and “All you do is colonize” were “explicitly calling for the murder of these protestors.” Cherkasov said these slogans and signs are not specific to Chicago but have been seen at other protests around the country.
Dan Goldwin, executive director of public affairs for Jewish United Fund of Metropolitan Chicago, which owns and operates the Hillels in Illinois, said universities need to enforce their own rules regarding encampments.
“First and foremost, people are scared,” he said. “People are scared, they’re angry, and they are looking for elected leaders, university leaders and others to do what’s right.”
Cherkasov identified the phrase “From the river to the sea” as calling for “the elimination of Jews from their national homeland.”
“[They] ignore the history of Jews who have, for thousands of years, identified the same slice of land as their ancestral home and prayed for an end to their exile,” the statement said.
However, Northwestern University’s chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace, an organization supporting the movement for a free Palestine, shared a statement Sunday decrying Zionism as an ideology “that manifests in the theft and devastation of land” and condemning counter-protesters that it said brought “aggression” to the peaceful protest.
“Judaism is an ancient religion of peace and liberation,” the statement read.
Cherkasov added the museum’s founders aimed to build a better future, and calling out antisemitism is a necessary part of that.
“Anyone who’s considering going to those protests, if they see anything antisemitic, if they are hearing anything antisemitic, I hope that they speak out,” Cherkasov said.