Echoes of Violence: Campus Reactions to the Hamas Attack
As college campuses settle into a quieter rhythm this fall compared to the tumultuous spring, a disturbing trend has emerged: the unabashed glorification of the violence perpetrated by Hamas during its brutal assault. What stands out this year is the chilling celebration of the massacre that claimed over 1,200 lives on October 7, marking a grim anniversary that resonates deeply within the academic community.
At the University of California, Berkeley, where I serve as the dean of the law school, approximately 1,000 individuals gathered on October 8 to commemorate the first anniversary of the Hamas attack. Among the crowd, around half appeared to be students. The protest signs displayed a shocking endorsement of the violence that transpired that fateful day, with messages such as “Israel deserves 10,000 October 7ths” prominently featured. Another sign proclaimed, “Long Live Al-Aqsa Flood,” the name Hamas adopted for the October 7 onslaught.
At the heart of the Berkeley campus, a large banner draped from the iconic clock tower boldly stated, “Glory to the Resistance,” accompanied by an inverted red triangle—a symbol used by Hamas to designate Israeli targets. This public display of support for violence raises significant questions about the atmosphere on college campuses and the implications for discourse and debate.
Similarly, at Columbia University, the group Apartheid Divest published an essay lauding the Hamas attack as a “moral, military, and political victory.” In a troubling turn, the group retracted its previous criticism of Khymani James, a student who had made inflammatory remarks during a disciplinary hearing, asserting that “Zionists don’t deserve to live” and expressing gratitude for not resorting to violence. Their statement further escalated the rhetoric, declaring, “We support liberation by any means necessary, including armed resistance.” They emphasized a disheartening philosophy: “Where you’ve exhausted all peaceful means of resolution, violence is the only path forward.”
In Rhode Island, the Brown University chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine echoed these sentiments on Instagram, stating: “Al-Aqsa Flood was a historic act of resistance against decades of occupation, apartheid, and settler colonial violence.” This rhetoric not only reflects a troubling normalization of violent resistance but also raises urgent concerns about the future of dialogue and understanding on campuses across the nation.
