On Monday, hundreds gathered on Indiana University's campus during a memorial for Israelis killed and taken hostage on Oct. 7, 2023.
(Aubrey Wright, WTIU)
Indiana University and Bloomington Jewish groups gathered Monday night to mark one year after the war in Israel and Gaza began.
On Oct. 7 last year, Hamas militants attacked Israel, sparking the war and humanitarian crisis. More than 1,200 Israelis died. Since then, NPR reports, Israeli forces have killed at least 41,000 Palestinians in Gaza and wounded more than 97,300, based on information from Gaza's Health Ministry. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office believes that of the 101 hostages still unaccounted for in Gaza, about a third may be dead.
American colleges have responded fiercely, sparking protests and tension on campus. IU has been no exception.
“We are not having the same college experience any longer — that every other student is allowed to have — because of our identity, and that is a major problem,” said Sophie Shafran, president of Hoosiers for Israel. “My college has not been the same since October 7.”
IU Chabad House, IU Hillel, Hoosiers for Israel, Congregation Beth Shalom and other local Jewish groups collaborated for an Oct. 7 memorial event at the Alumni Association Monday night. Hundreds of people gathered for the event, and attendees were required to RSVP ahead of time.
WFIU/WTIU News was not permitted to attend the event. IU Hillel Student President Leah Sterbcow said people would share vulnerable and emotional stories, and it would have made them uncomfortable.
At Monday’s gathering, the memorial raised a question: What would they tell their children about their college experience? Shafran said while she’s proud of her work, it’s unsettling to think about it.
She said organizers wanted the memorial to be a light for the community. It was what they needed.
“We got the messages across that we wanted to,” Shafran said. “I think it was able to provide us a very stable and welcoming environment for everyone to just mourn.”
At the same time Monday night, a pro-Palestine memorial took place at the Sample Gates. That memorial follows protests calling on the IU administration to divest from its relationships with Israel.
Beth Shalom Rabbi Noach Lawrence was unavailable for an interview but provided his remarks for the Oct. 7 event.
Lawrence’s message focused on finding hope. He spoke about Israeli pop star Keren Peles and her performance of “You Came to Me Suddenly ('Bat Li Pitom)” that honored a friend killed on Oct. 7.
“We can hold these sources of light in our hearts,” Lawrence said. “We deserve to remember the vibrancy of Israeli culture, the ways it can inspire our own Jewish creativity, and the ways our kindness and empathy for one another can bring the Divine Presence here among us, according to how we each interpret this.”
Mourners wore and carried Israeli flags during Monday's memorial. (Aubrey Wright, WTIU)
According to the Anti-Defamation League, over 10,000 antisemetic incidents in the U.S. have occurred since Oct. 7, 2023. The group’s preliminary data said 1,200 of these antisemitic incidents happened on college campuses. Pro-Palestinian and anti-Zionist demonstrations are included in these figures.
Shafran considered her stance of Zionism for years, but eventually settled on the idea that antisemitism and anti-Zionism are the same thing. Surveys, such as a 2024 poll from the American Jewish Committee and a 2021 Pew Research Center report, show a majority of Jewish people in the U.S. support Israel and a Jewish State.
“This push to separate the words is — in my opinion and in many Jewish people's opinions – is just another way to be outwardly antisemitic without dealing with the repercussions of it,” Shafran said.
Shafran said before Oct. 7, Jewish groups were active and collaborative on campus. But in the last year, Jewish students have felt isolated and afraid on campus.
She said students were harassed, had their addresses and information shared online, and told they have to cancel events because of safety concerns.
But other events, such as Hoosiers for Israel’s 20th IsraelPalooza, celebrate Jewish culture.
“It's a very big Jewish tradition to, even in times of joy, to remember what we've gone through. And even in times of sadness, remember the joy,” Shafran said. “I think we did a very good job throughout the year of making sure that we displayed that.”
Antisemitism has existed for thousands of years, Shafran said. The granddaughter of a Holocaust survivor, she doesn’t take comparisons to the genocide lightly. But she now understands her grandfather’s fear before the Holocaust began, and why her Hebrew teachers always have a bag packed in case they need to leave.
“Having that background, it's very hard to separate the two and to not feel like you're living through something that your ancestors have told you about and warned you about,” Shafran said.
Aubrey is our higher education reporter and a Report For America corps member. Contact her ataubmwrig@iu.eduor follow her on X@aubreymwright.
