Content Warning: This article contains references to sexual assault.
As Emory University students made their way to classes this morning, they encountered chalkings and posters related to the Israel-Hamas war that have been present across the University’s Atlanta campus over the past few weeks. Displaying both pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian sentiments, chalkings tallied the current death toll in both regions while posters pleaded for the release of hostages.
The conflict has sparked protests at colleges and universities across the United States as the White House decried antisemitism on university campuses. University President Gregory Fenves condemned an Emory Stop Cop City (ESCC) campus protest in an email last month for containing “antisemitic phrases and slogans,” a claim that the event’s organizers denied. ESCC also said Fenves twisted the meaning of their chants and took the protest out of context.
The war began over a month ago with Hamas’ air and ground incursions into Israel. The Palestinian militant group Hamas, which the United States and other countries have designated as a terrorist organization, currently governs the Gaza Strip, a Palestinian enclave that the Human Rights Watch has characterized as an “open-air prison.”
The fighting and casualty counts have intensified in recent days as Israel undertakes a strategic ground invasion coupled with heavy airstrikes in the Gaza Strip. The Israeli government has said their objectives are to remove Hamas from power in the Gaza Strip and free Israeli hostages held there.
The death toll of the conflict now exceeds 1,400 Israelis and 9,000 Palestinians.
Students for Justice in Palestine organizes chalkings, releases statement
Emory Students for Justice in Palestine (ESJP) released a statement on Instagram on Tuesday afternoon denouncing Fenves’ lack of support for pro-Palestinian advocates and claims of antisemitism at the Oct. 25 ESCC protest.
The statement accused Fenves of demonstrating a “disappointing bias” by not mentioning Islamophobia on campus while denouncing antisemitism. A member of ESJP’s executive committee, who requested to remain anonymous due to safety and doxxing concerns, said that the president’s alleged bias ignited fear on both sides of the issue.
“We have just felt an overwhelming amount of silencing in terms of there being no statements, there being no administrative word on what the Emory students, themselves who are Palestinian, Arab and Muslims, are going through,” the member said. “This is completely one-sided support and awareness … for the groups on campus that are closely related to the Israeli side, and less, and none at all, actually, for people who are trying to advocate for Palestine and Palestinians.”
Another ESJP executive committee member, who also requested to be anonymous for safety concerns, called for the University administration to do more to support Palestinian students who may have familial relations in Gaza as the conflict continues.
“It’s difficult when there are students here at Emory who have family in Palestine, who have family in Gaza and who wake up every day, wondering if today will be the day when they hear the news,” the member said. “People are anticipating news of the deaths of their loved ones, and again, to see no support from the University, even just the use of words to comfort students who are hurting at this time, is super disappointing.”
ESJP organized a series of chalkings and posters displayed around campus over the past two weeks. The chalkings have included phrases like, “CEASEFIRE NOW,” “BOMBING CIVILIANS IS A WAR CRIME” and “COLLECTIVE PUNISHMENT IS A WAR CRIME.” Posters have also compared the death toll in Israel and the Gaza Strip.
Both the posters and chalkings have been defaced, in violation of section 8.14.5.8 of Emory’s Respect for Open Expression Policy. ESJP members noticed their posters near the Cannon Chapel had been torn down in the past week. Additionally, unidentified members of the Emory community poured water on a pro-Palestine writing near the Goizueta Business School on Nov. 6.
The chalkings and posters were meant to educate students about the current state and history of the conflict, a member of ESJP’s executive committee said.
“It’s very disheartening to see these chalkings get washed away, especially seeing that … historically on Emory's campus, chalking has been a major outlet for advocacy groups,” the member said. “To see pro-Palestinian advocates targeted in this way with their open expression being compromised in this way has been very discouraging.”
Another ESJP executive committee member expressed concern about the campus environment the defacings have created amid the war.
“If people simply didn’t rip other people’s posters, didn’t throw them in trash, didn’t pour water over chalk, we would not have as much tension on campus,” the member said. “To many of us who are Arabs or Muslims or who are Palestinians, this also shows that we are not welcome on campus and we are not heard.”
In a Nov. 8 University statement, Assistant Vice President of Communications Laura Diamond wrote that Campus Services had removed "items" that were in violation of Emory's Respect for Open Expression Policy.
"As part of this process, some chalkings were removed in error," Diamond wrote. "Campus Services immediately recognized this mistake and Emory’s Open Expression team was contacted to facilitate conversations with the groups who had placed the chalking. We apologize for this unintentional error."
It was not immediately clear at press time which chalkings had been removed in error and which items violated the policy.
Emory’s Jewish community speaks out
Students and alumni gathered for a “solidarity walk” from Emory Hillel on Gatewood Road to Convocation Hall on Nov. 1. Around 150 attendees joined the Jewish student organization’s walk to promote Jewish students’ safety on campus and call attention to alleged antisemitism at Emory and at colleges across the nation.
Speakers at Hillel’s event praised Fenves for his statement on the protest, citing it as a proactive method to deter antisemitism.
Last Wednesday’s demonstration was one of many organized by Hillels of Georgia, the parent organization of Emory Hillel, at colleges and universities across the state. Georgia Institute of Technology, Kennesaw State University (Ga.) and Georgia Southern University held similar walks on the same day.
Hillels of Georgia CEO Rabbi Larry Sernovitz, who attended Emory Hillel’s demonstration, said the walks were designed to call attention to unsafe campus environments for Jewish students.
“In 2023 when there is a war 3,000 miles away, there is no reason that Jewish and Israeli students on campus should feel unsafe and feel that there is a disruption in what goes on on campus, certainly with protests and rallies and assaults that we’ve seen across the state of Georgia,” Sernovitz said. “Today was everyone coming together to say that all we are asking for is that there’s safety on campus.”
Sernovitz also emphasized that it is important to distinguish between Hamas and Palestinian people. He stated that Palestinians should not be held accountable for Hamas’ actions and called on universities to develop plans to protect all students.
“Universities need to have moral clarity about what's going on in the world right now and they need to make sure that students are protected on campus as the number one priority,” Sernovitz said. “We’re hoping to engage universities in a conversation about how to protect not just Jewish students, but all students on campus.”
The day after the walkout, a group of Jewish students assembled a table for Shabbat with 200 empty seats in recognition of Israeli civilians taken hostage by Hamas. The Palestinian militant group took about 240 Israeli hostages, some of whom are American, in its Oct. 7 incursions. The majority of the hostages remain in captivity, although four have been released.
The all-white table, located on Cox Bridge near Asbury Circle, was set with traditional Shabbat grape juice, challah bread, cups, candles and candleholders. Shabbat is the day of rest and observance in Judaism and entails a dinner on Friday at sunset.
Zoe Teicher (27C) was involved in setting up the table. While no specific organization led the effort, Teicher said that a group of Jewish students “who are feeling a lot of pain right now” worked together to raise awareness of the hostages.
“We want people to see it,” Teicher said. “We want to show them all these people who cannot sit at their own Shabbat table today, all these people who are kidnapped in Gaza by Hamas. We need to bring awareness to this so we can bring them home.”
The students who set the table affixed “Kidnapped” posters containing images and names of the captives to the empty chairs around the table. Stuffed animals sat atop some of the chairs to represent the children who have been taken hostage.
The demonstration takes after similar displays set up across the world. The Tel Aviv Museum of Art started the trend after organizing the first table on Oct. 20.
Chalkings containing pro-Israel messages appeared the morning of Nov. 3 outside the Asa Griggs Candler Library. The writings contained messages such as “Bring them home — kidnapping toddlers won’t free Palestine,” “Condemn terror, 1400+ murdered” and “Rape is not resistance.” The authors remain unknown as of press time. Flyers previously hung in October had been defaced, with the words “FREE PALESTINE” written across in black marker.
The writings appear to have been partially defaced as of Nov. 7. As part of the original chalking, an unknown individual wrote “@SJP” above the message “Condemn terror,” referencing Students for Justice in Palestine. The letters “SJP” and the chalking “From the river to the sea is anti-semitic” were smudged as of Nov. 7.
If you or someone you know experienced sexual assault, you can access Emory’s Title IX resources at 404-727-0541 orhttps://equityandcompliance.emory.edu/title-ix/index.html and the Office of Respect at https://respect.emory.edu/ or their hotline 24/7 at (470) 270-5360. You can reach the RAINN National Sexual Assault hotline 24/7 at (800) 656-4673 or https://hotline.rainn.org/online. You can reach the Atlanta Grady Rape Crisis Center crisis hotline 24/7 at (404) 616-4861 or gradyrapecrisiscenter@gmh.edu and the Decatur Day League Sexual Assault Care and Prevention crisis hotline 24/7 at (404) 377-1428.
