A student wearing an Israeli flag watches as a Palestinian group enters the Wexner Center for the Art on Wednesday. Credit: Christian Harsa | Senior Reporter
Students gathered near High Street Wednesday laying plates in front of empty chairs: one for each missing Israeli citizen since Hamas’ attack on Israel on Oct. 7.
Those who organized the empty Shabbat table to seat 200 took inspiration from an installation at the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, hoping to draw attention to the injustices they see with the war and have the university issue a statement sharing many of the same sentiments.
While college campuses usually bring students together through classes and clubs, the past few weeks have been divisive at Ohio State and across the country. Groups supporting either side do agree on one thing: the university needs to do more.
On Oct. 14, Ohio State’s chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine posted a statement signed by 26 other student organizations across campus. Since then, the post has received over 2,400 likes for its urging of the university to provide a statement about the war and to keep students on campus safe.
The post urges Ohio State “to call for an end to anti-Palestinian incitement that has placed a target on Palestinian-Americans, Arab-Americans, Muslim-Americans, and Jewish-Americans on campus who speak up for Palestinian human rights” and “issue a statement condemning the continued massacre of innocent Palestinian lives.”
“We call on the Ohio State University, in the interest of the safety and protection of our students and faculty, to release a statement condemning the massacres of innocent lives in Palestine,” the statement reads.
As an institution, Ohio State has not sent a message to the university community about the war, but some sections, including the College of Arts and Sciences, sent out brief messages to connect students and faculty with resources, as well as directing students to the university’s “Key Issues” page.
This page, created on the university’s Office of Marketing and Communications website, lists the university’s response to the Israel-Hamas war in addition to several other issues like anti-hazing efforts, Ohio Senate Bill 83, sustainability and freedom of expression.
“Ohio State strongly condemns all terrorist groups and terrorist attacks, including those perpetrated by Hamas on Israeli civilians, Americans and others the weekend of October 7, 2023,” the page states.
A banner shows the names and photos of Israeli citizens being held hostage by Hamas as part of a demonstration outside the Wexner Center for the Arts. Credit: Christian Harsa | Senior Reporter
On Monday, the page was updated to include acting university President Peter Mohler’s statements from Sunday’s University Senate meeting. Mohler said the university strongly supports everyone’s freedom of expression and does not tolerate discrimination or harassment.
“This is a deeply troubling time, and I am calling on our entire community to remember to have care and compassion for one another,” Mohler said. “I also want to remind everyone that if you do witness or have knowledge of instances of discrimination or harassment involving a member of the Ohio State community, it’s not just the right thing to report it – you have an obligation to report it to the university’s Office of Institutional Equity or to the Ohio State University Police Division if it is a crime or safety threat.”
The section on the war also lists several on-campus resources for those who need support, along with a comment on the university’s position. The circumstances for such statements are further explained by a philosophy adopted by the university’s board of trustees on Aug. 17.
The philosophy states that one of the central factors is that “as an institution, issuing broad public statements on one issue calls into question silence in regard to others.” The university believes that selecting some events while not releasing a statement on others might further harm parts of the university community who are especially impacted by such, the page states.
“Further, broad public statements may at best be read as empty words and at worst may position the university politically so as to create an overall environment that, by the university not maintaining its neutrality, stifles academic freedom and freedom of speech and expression,” the page continues.
Similarly, the page states that the university wishes to support everyone within the university community and that Ohio State condemns all terrorist groups or attacks. The philosophy as a whole “does not impact any individual’s ability to make statements or represent their own, individual views, or the freedom of faculty to teach, conduct research and publish research findings,” according to the page.
University spokesperson Ben Johnson said the university has no further comment at this time.
On Wednesday, Ohio State faculty members from a variety of departments signed a statement urging the university to go further than condemning Hamas’ initial attack. At the time of publication, at least 32 members had signed along with 344 other students, alumni and community members.
“We agree about the danger of silence, but we note that OSU recently issued an ‘Israel-Hamas’ statement which strongly condemns actions by Hamas on October 7th while remaining silent about the systemic and spectacular violence endured daily by Palestinians prior to and since October 7th,” the statement reads.
Students marched across the Oval Wednesday in support of Palestinians. One of the groups at the protest, Students for Justice in Palestine, released a statement urging the university to make more of a statement in regards to the Israel-Hamas war. Credit: Christian Harsa | Senior Reporter
Universities around the country have seen an uproar on their campuses with protests and vigils supporting Palestinians and Israelis since the initial attack, when Hamas, the militant group that governs the Gaza Strip, stormed into nearby Israeli towns on a major Jewish holiday, Simchat Torah. Their surprise attack killed hundreds of civilians.
Israel declared war the next day and launched airstrikes on Gaza, destroying entire neighborhoods and killing hundreds of Palestinian civilians in the days that followed. The war has become the deadliest of five Gaza wars for both sides, according to the Associated Press.
At least 199 people were taken by Hamas into Gaza, according to the Associated Press.
Three weeks have passed since the initial attack, and Israel is now carrying out a ground invasion in the Gaza Strip. There have been at least 8,000 Palestinian and 1,400 Israeli deaths since the initial attack three weeks ago, according to the Associated Press.
This is a continuation of a 75-year conflict with previous Israel-Hamas wars in 2008, 2012, 2014 and 2021. Hamas’ military leader said the most recent assault was in response to Israel’s 16-year blockade of Gaza, according to the Associated Press.
