A student protest at the Ohio Union Thursday went viral on X after an anti-Zionist chant began. Credit: Alex Kempler
A video of Ohio State students chanting “The Zionists have got to go” in the Ohio Union Thursday garnered millions of views on social media after several accounts reposted the clip, promoting condemnation from the university.
The protest was organized by Rising Tide Columbus, according to Alex Kempler, a fifth-year doctoral student in the sociology department and leader in Jews for Justice in Palestine, to show solidarity with students at Columbia University who were recently suspended after setting up an encampment on the campus lawn demanding the school divest from entities supporting Israel. Protesters called for Ohio State to divest from Israeli companies and criticized the university’s removal of OSU Divest’s initiative from the Undergraduate Student Government ballot.
The video was first posted by @StopAntisemites on X, formerly known as Twitter, alleging no campus police or administrators were present and students were “allowed to harass as they see fit.” Internet personality Oli London and former Ohio State quarterback Cardale Jones, who led the Buckeyes to their title in the inaugural College Football Playoff National Championship, also reposted the video.
“This isn’t THE Ohio State University I attended,” Jones’ post stated to his 1.5 million followers. “I hope behaviors & actions as such is addressed accordingly & allow EVERYONE to [be] a Buckeye peaceful, proudly and SAFELY.”
In response to the video’s traction, Ohio State posted a statement to X Saturday, labeling the chants as hate speech and calling them “deplorable.”
“Making anyone feel unwelcome on our campus is unacceptable. Ohio State is first and foremost focused on the health and safety of our community,” the post reads. “@OhioStatePres and university leadership have been clear that when protected speech becomes incitement or threats of violence, Ohio State has and will always move quickly to enforce the law and university policy.”
The post also stated that university police and trained staff were present for the student demonstrations last week and encouraged Buckeyes to treat each other with respect, dignity and to maintain a safe and welcoming environment.
On Monday, university President Ted Carter Jr. sent an email to students, faculty and staff about the protest, stating that “displays of hate speech on our campuses, even if allowed under the First Amendment, are reprehensible.”
“Ohio State will continue to prioritize safety, including having university police and trained staff on-site for student demonstrations. We will also consistently enforce our space rules, which do not allow for intentional disruptions of university events, classes, exams or programming, including commencement,” the email reads.
Kempler said the anti-Zionist chant began in response to “an aggressive presence of Zionist folks.”
The student organization Jews for Justice in Palestine later posted a video on Instagram of a man approaching masked protesters and demanding them to “show your face.”
“So part of the context of that was we were actually facing some harassment without police intervention, even though there was a large police presence,” Kempler said.
Sophia Shai, a third-year in neuroscience and leader for Jews for Justice in Palestine, said the post by StopAntisemitism is spreading misinformation by claiming there was no presence of police or university administration and portraying the demonstration as antisemitic.
Shai said these posts are a distraction from students’ advocacy.
“These big accounts that are circulating misinformation about what we’re trying to do and why we’re doing it and then we have all these outside influences then coming in, calling our university, getting involved and stopping important change that we’re trying to do on campus,” Shai said.
Kempler said the fights on social media have been “energy-sapping” for student activists and the spread of misinformation has been a tactic to distract people from the situation on the ground in Gaza. Jews for Justice in Palestine is focused on enacting structural change, such as divestment, and Kemper said identity politics takes attention away from their goal.
For Shai, battling antisemitism and islamophobia goes hand in hand. She said not all Jewish people are Zionists and Jewish activists on campus and across the world are advocating for the people of Gaza.
“As long as Zionism existed, anti-Zionist Jews have existed, and a lot of them are left out of the conversation,” Shai said.
