Over the weekend of May 19-20, around 60 anti-Israel protesters formed an encampment at Drexel University. Drexel President John Fry said most were unaffiliated with the school. But the protesters nonetheless made demands of the school.
Many were similar to demands from protesters at other schools: divest from companies doing business with Israel, cut financial ties with Israel and others. (The Drexel Palestine Coalition’s press release is available on linktr.ee/drexelpalestinecoalition.)
But two demands went beyond the normal calls for divestment. The Drexel Palestine Coalition also demanded that Drexel remove the Hillel and Chabad houses on campus.
Fry was having none of it.
He labeled the demands “repugnant” and “antisemitic.”
After switching to remote classes on May 20, the president reopened school buildings for labs and studio classes on May 21. He also repeatedly called for the encampment to disband before sending in the Drexel and Philadelphia police on May 23.
“The encampment had been set up this past Saturday evening in violation of our policies and local trespassing ordinances and under the auspices of the Drexel Palestine Coalition, a group that is not a registered University organization,” Fry said in an emailed statement. “Based on analyses of all available information, a considerable majority of encamped protestors were not affiliated with Drexel.”
He continued:
“Situated at the heart of Drexel’s busiest campus corridor and in close proximity to critical learning spaces, the encampment had threatened the safety of our community and severely disrupted student life activities and normal academic and administrative operations as we enter the last weeks before final exams. Over the past five days, protesters ignored our daily calls to disband the encampment; subjected passersby to discriminatory and inflammatory rhetoric; and verbally abused our Public Safety officers repeatedly.”
The Drexel Palestine Coalition labeled their dispersal as “a strategic retreat.”
Gisele Kahlon, a Jewish Drexel student who is part of Olami, a pro-Israel group on campus, said she laughed when she read the demands.
“It’s beyond any demand that they could try and negotiate with the university that’s BDS- (boycott, divestment and sanctions) related,” she said.
But Kahlon also saw potential danger in the demands.
“It’s saying they want to get rid of Jewish institutions that support Jews on campus,” she explained. “It’s saying they want to get rid of Jews on campus.”
She appreciated that Fry did not stand down.
“I think President Fry was really good and clear about his goal to make sure there is no antisemitism happening,” she said.
Rabbi Chaim Goldstein, the leader of the Chabad Jewish Center at Drexel, also laughed when he saw the demands. Goldstein compared them to “a kid walking into your house and saying get out of this house.”
“It’s absurd,” he added.
At the same time, it’s not really a laughing matter.
“It’s causing this hate speech that is unacceptable and a disruption of campus life,” he said.
The protesters also called for the removal of Jewish studies Professor Henry Israeli. The coalition wanted Israeli terminated because he emailed with a student about how Israel’s actions in Gaza did not meet the definition of genocide.
“It’s hard not to believe that my name and my status as Director of Jewish Studies didn’t play a role in their decision,” Israeli said in an email. “I don’t think it’s coincidental that their demands called for the end of Hillel, Chabad, and the guy with the last name Israeli.”
Israeli said he didn’t regret the email exchange with the student.
“So much of what these protesters are trying to achieve is the erasing of truth including the horrors of October 7, and the role Hamas plays in bringing misery to the people of Gaza, whose suffering is undeniable,” he explained. “I won’t allow anyone or any group to silence me because I know that I speak from a place of empathy and truth.”
But he did find the whole episode concerning.
“We also, as academics, need to take a hard look at what we are teaching students,” he concluded. “There is a growing acceptance of antisemitic rhetoric that has emerged from the dark corners of academia.”
