Several American universities have dismantled sukkahs set up by Jewish students who oppose Israel\u2019s military actions in Gaza. These sukkahs were erected to commemorate the Sukkot festival and to protest what the students describe as the misuse of Jewish traditions to justify the ongoing violence in Gaza.<\/p>\n
Sukkahs are temporary shelters built during Sukkot, an eight-day festival celebrating the fall harvest and the historical journey of the Israelites who fled slavery in Egypt.<\/p>\n
Groups such as Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) and other Jewish-led organizations built these Gaza solidarity sukkahs on various campuses, including Northwestern University, University of Chicago, Brown University, Columbia University, University of Washington, University of California, Berkeley, Stanford University, Yale University, University of North Carolina, University of California, Los Angeles, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Rutgers University, University of California, San Diego, among others.<\/p>\n
University of Washington student Talia Braester expressed, \u201cOver the past year, we\u2019ve seen the Israeli government and our own school\u2019s administration twist our age-old Jewish traditions to support genocide.” She emphasized, \u201cWe refuse to let our traditions be used by those advocating for death and destruction. Our ancestors survived genocide and ethnic cleansing, and they taught us to never ignore injustice. We’re advocating for an arms embargo and divestment from the Israeli military as a commitment to preserving life.\u201d<\/p>\n
JVP stated, \u201cStaying true to Jewish traditions, students planned to spend eight days in the sukkah, remembering the ancestors who lived in temporary shelters in the desert after escaping slavery. This year, they couldn\u2019t overlook the harsh reality that thousands of Palestinians now live in temporary shelters due to the Israeli military’s widespread home demolitions in Gaza. This week, the world saw Israeli forces attack Al-Aqsa Hospital, tragically killing patients like 19-year-old Sha’ban al-Dalou, who was caught in his tent with an IV in his arm.\u201d Students also displayed banners on their sukkahs with messages like “Stop Arming Israel” as the Israeli forces continued their assaults.<\/p>\n
As reported by Gaza\u2019s Ministry of Health and various UN agencies, over 152,000 Palestinians have been killed, injured, or are missing due to Israel\u2019s 382-day offensive in Gaza. This has led to millions being displaced, facing starvation, or suffering illnesses. Israel\u2019s actions are currently under scrutiny in a genocide case at the International Court of Justice, with additional casualties reported in the West Bank and from Israeli attacks in Lebanon.<\/p>\n
The U.S. has supported Israel\u2019s military efforts with extensive financial and diplomatic resources, including blocking several UN Security Council resolutions for a ceasefire.<\/p>\n
At some universities where the sukkahs were constructed, administrators destroyed these sacred spaces, some of which were thrown into dumpsters. This has led to potential disciplinary actions against some students, even though they had previously been permitted to sleep in their sukkahs during the festival.<\/p>\n
JVP highlighted, \u201cMany sukkahs were beautifully decorated with local farm produce to honor the harvest, yet administrators heartlessly discarded these as well.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe administration has implemented harsh new policies that ban overnight camping, a rule stemming from last year\u2019s Gaza solidarity protests,\u201d noted JVP. The students argued that sleeping in the sukkahs is a crucial aspect of the holiday and their religious rights, but their appeals were ignored by the administrators.<\/p>\n
University of Washington\u2019s Roza Fernandez remarked, \u201cIt\u2019s despicable and hypocritical. The university claims to combat antisemitism, yet it destroys our sukkah? This just shows they don\u2019t truly care about antisemitism; they\u2019re just using it to suppress criticism of Zionism and their role in supporting genocide.\u201d<\/p>\n
JVP\u2019s media coordinator Liv Kunins-Berkowitz stated, \u201cThese universities are desecrating the Jewish practices of their students because their faith aligns with solidarity for Palestinians.\u201d She added, \u201cNo university has the right to decide which forms of Jewish practice are valid. Anti-Zionist Judaism is a valid and increasingly popular way to express Jewish identity.\u201d<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the sukkahs of U.S. students sharply contrasted with those erected by far-right Israeli settlers at a conference aimed at settling Gaza, supported by Israel\u2019s Prime Minister and other key political figures.<\/p>\n
A prominent settler at the conference declared, \u201cWatch as Jews move into Gaza and Arabs are removed,\u201d promoting the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians.<\/p>\n
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