The Illinois Holocaust Museum wants to call attention to “the undercurrent of antisemitism” surrounding protests supporting Palestinians in Gaza.
In a statement released Sunday, museum describes the protests convulsing campus as “a moment of grave crisis” and says the Holocaust is being used as a political and rhetorical tool. It also said Columbia University in New York offering hybrid classes for students anxious about being on campus is a “worrisome sign.”
“There is nothing antisemitic about supporting the Palestinians’ rights or demonstrating in support of Palestinians,” the statement said. “But within these protests have been worrisome and persistent examples of antisemitic expression. … Bad actors are using the cover of free speech in this moment of tension to normalize dangerous ideas that cause real harm to Jewish students and communities.”
Museum CEO Bernard Cherkasov said they’ve noticed a rise in antisemitism as protests have expanded across the country, and as one of the largest Holocaust museum’s in the world, he felt an obligation to speak up.
“Our statement is not about people’s rights to protest, to chant, to support a cause that they believe about,” Cherkasov told the Sun-Times. “Our statement is specific to the undercurrent of antisemitism that is persistent and omnipresent at many of these rallies.”
He said many Jewish college students and their parents feel scared.
"[They] reach out to our museum to help process and understand, and in the hopes that we can educate the broader public about why some of these statements [have] nothing to do with the protests or the freedom of expression but are antisemitic at their core,” he said.
The museum said statements like “From the River to the Sea, Palestine is Arab,” “Students will go home when Israelis go back to Europe, US, etc. (their real homes)” and “All you do is colonize” were “explicitly calling for the murder of these protestors.”
Cherkasov identified the phrase “From the river to the sea” as calling for “the elimination of Jews from their national homeland,” though he said these slogans and signs are not specific to Chicago but have been seen at other protests elsewhere.
Sivan Spector, a member of Jewish Voice for Peace Chicago’s Coordinating Committee — an organization supporting the movement for a free Palestine — said in a statement she had spent Sunday at the Northwestern protest encampment with other Jewish Chicagoans, where she felt welcomed and didn’t experience or see any antisemitism.
Spector said the museum’s statement was “very saddening” and said the protesters are saying what Jewish institutions are “afraid to say.”
“It does not acknowledge the genocide that is currently being committed against the Palestinian people of Gaza,” Spector said. “As an Israeli-American Jew, as a descendant of Holocaust survivors, I see the peaceful protests on campuses as a way to pressure university environments to divest from the war machine … These peaceful protests are not a way to target or harass Jewish students.”
She said several Passover celebrations took place in protest encampments over the weekend, including at Northwestern. On Thursday night, the first night of the encampment, Jewish Voice for Peace organizers hosted a seder, leading hundreds of gathered students in prayer and singing “Dayenu.” Jewish Voice for Peace also led Shabbat prayers on Friday night.
“Our Passover celebrations celebrate the liberation of all people and declare that freedom from antisemitism cannot come at the expense of others,” she said. “The Holocaust Museum exists to honor the memory of those lost in a genocide and to make sure a genocide does not happen again. So we say never again for anyone, and in solidarity with Palestinians, are pushing for a permanent ceasefire to ensure that not one more life is lost.”
Dan Goldwin, executive director of public affairs for Jewish United Fund of Metropolitan Chicago, which owns and operates the Hillels in Illinois, said universities need to enforce their own rules regarding encampments.
“First and foremost, people are scared,” he said. “People are scared, they’re angry, and they are looking for elected leaders, university leaders and others to do what’s right.”
Cherkasov said the Holocaust museum’s founders aimed to build a better future, and calling out antisemitism is a necessary part of that.
“Anyone who’s considering going to those protests, if they see anything antisemitic, if they are hearing anything antisemitic, I hope that they speak out,” he said.
