Jewish students at New York protests discuss the issue of antisemitism and reflect on the events of October 7.

On Monday, students of Jewish descent who were present in New York City for the large-scale anti-Israel demonstrations expressed their unwavering support for the Israeli population and denounced antisemitism on college campuses.

Within 20 minutes of arriving at Washington Square Park, Sam, a student at NYU, and his Jewish friends were completely engulfed by anti-Israel protesters.

The NYPD kept Sam and his Jewish classmates safe during the event, and they expressed gratitude.

At the "Within Our Lifetime" protest in the park, anti-Israel protesters sang chants urging Israeli citizens to "return to their homeland" and scorned Jewish students as they sang Hebrew songs.

The police managed to maintain peace between the opposing protest groups by intervening in heated arguments and setting up barriers to keep them apart. During one heated exchange, two protesters against Israel waved an Israeli flag in front of Jewish students before placing it on the ground. They then proceeded to stomp and kick the flag a few feet away from a barricade.

A Jewish student put on noise-canceling headphones to drown out the loud air horn blown repeatedly into their face by an anti-Israel protester.

While Sam feels heard and respected at NYU, he pointed out that this feeling does not extend beyond the classroom.

"He stated that he is not reflected in 100 feet outside the classroom to the park or when he is walking. When he wears Jewish symbols on Friday nights, he is yelled at and sometimes people make rude comments to him in passing."

Racheli, a University of Pittsburgh student, traveled over five hours to support Jewish students facing antisemitism and to let them know they are not alone.

She stated that although college is meant to foster community and education, students are experiencing a sense of threat on their own campuses.

On October 7, 2023, two of Racheli's elementary school classmates were killed in the terrorist attack by Hamas during the Nova Music Festival.

She stated that Israel's sole purpose is to safeguard its citizens and that they have the right to exist, and they desire to live in harmony with everyone else.

Since the Holocaust, Sam considered the October 7 attack to be the most "tragic" assault on Jewish people.

Since October 6, it has been every day of constant tragedy.

In 2023, Hamas terrorists carried out an attack that resulted in the deaths of 1,200 people, marking the worst day of violence against Jews since the Holocaust. Additionally, Hamas took hundreds of hostages.

Over 40,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza during the war, while approximately 100 hostages remain, with fewer than 70 of them believed to be alive.