Security Message
Nov. 5, 2023
On Friday, UMass Hillel organized a peaceful walk and gathering on campus calling for the return of the hostages being held by Hamas, and calling for a safe campus climate for all students, including Jewish students. This included an installation with symbolic Shabbat tables with a seat for each of the 240 hostages. Read more about the event in the Collegian and WWLP.
Toward the end of the event, a student approached the gathering and walked through the crowd, aggressively giving people the middle finger. After the event had concluded and event security had left, the same student returned to the site of the event and punched a Jewish student holding an Israeli flag, then took the flag and spit on it. A Hillel staff member stepped in to de-escalate the situation, and the incident was witnessed by UMass staff. A police report was filed and the UMPD arrested the individual. The Office of Student Conduct will be addressing the situation in line with the Student Code of Conduct.
UMass Hillel continues to maintain an active line of communication with the UMPD, Amherst Police, the UMass administration, and partners at the Secure Communities Network. While there is no indication of any ongoing security threat, Hillel will continue to maintain increased security out of an abundance of caution, and as always, we encourage students at this time to follow common sense best practices such as walking in groups at night and not engaging in counterprotest activities. Students are encouraged to report any incident that occurs that may be in violation of the Student Code of Conduct here.
We know this incident is disturbing to many of us, particularly during a time when tensions, emotion and concern are heightened on our campus. But we must not let the most extreme voices and actions create undue fear or dominate the campus climate. It is vital that our campus community model civility, as the Jewish community did on Friday in publicly and peacefully showing solidarity with the 240 hostages. The vast majority of students, staff, and faculty at UMass who believe there is no place for antisemitism or any type of hate on campus and who seek a healthy, caring campus community must now double down on efforts to come together across differences to embody the best values and mission of our shared campus community. In the coming days, UMass Hillel will provide additional resources for students in need of personal and communal support, and partner with all voices of care, civility, and reason in this difficult time.
Toward the end of the event, a student approached the gathering and walked through the crowd, aggressively giving people the middle finger. After the event had concluded and event security had left, the same student returned to the site of the event and punched a Jewish student holding an Israeli flag, then took the flag and spit on it. A Hillel staff member stepped in to de-escalate the situation, and the incident was witnessed by UMass staff. A police report was filed and the UMPD arrested the individual. The Office of Student Conduct will be addressing the situation in line with the Student Code of Conduct.
UMass Hillel continues to maintain an active line of communication with the UMPD, Amherst Police, the UMass administration, and partners at the Secure Communities Network. While there is no indication of any ongoing security threat, Hillel will continue to maintain increased security out of an abundance of caution, and as always, we encourage students at this time to follow common sense best practices such as walking in groups at night and not engaging in counterprotest activities. Students are encouraged to report any incident that occurs that may be in violation of the Student Code of Conduct here.
We know this incident is disturbing to many of us, particularly during a time when tensions, emotion and concern are heightened on our campus. But we must not let the most extreme voices and actions create undue fear or dominate the campus climate. It is vital that our campus community model civility, as the Jewish community did on Friday in publicly and peacefully showing solidarity with the 240 hostages. The vast majority of students, staff, and faculty at UMass who believe there is no place for antisemitism or any type of hate on campus and who seek a healthy, caring campus community must now double down on efforts to come together across differences to embody the best values and mission of our shared campus community. In the coming days, UMass Hillel will provide additional resources for students in need of personal and communal support, and partner with all voices of care, civility, and reason in this difficult time.
