Petition Letter
On October 7th, 2023, over reading week, Israel and the Jewish people experienced the worst attack on Jewish people since the Holocaust. Due to this occurrence, I had experienced an extreme amount of anxiety and multiple depressive episodes over the course of the academic year. Half of my family lives throughout the country of Israel, and the attacks on the people of Israel left me deeply concerned on a day to day basis for the safety of my family. Additionally, Being Israeli and Jewish during this time was very frightening and caused a lot of concern for my day to day safety. Across social media, I was exposed to countless posts stating that “Jewish people should be eradicated”, “They deserved it”, “Jewish lives don’t matter”, and so much more. These words were not only being posted by strangers, but also by students at the University, including some who I considered to be my friends. Upon returning to campus from reading week, I was in a lot of distress thinking about what my experience would be like on campus and going to classes. Over the rest of semester and the rest of the school year, there were countless protests and demonstrations being organized by students in which they were defacing campus property with antisemitic hate speech, chanting and shouting harmful rhetoric against Israel and Jewish people, and creating an unsafe environment across campus. Numerous professors and students were sharing antisemitic rhetoric in classes, and posters and stickers were spread across campus spreading an obscene amount of hate speech towards Israeli and Jewish students. Since the fall reading week, not a day went by where I was not concerned for my safety on campus. Throughout the year, my anxiety disorder and depressive episodes were triggered regularly, leading me to shutting myself in my apartment, scared to attend classes. Due to my depression and anxiety, it was also extremely difficult for me to complete a majority of my school work as I was stuck in bed spiraling in fear and in emotional distress.
In an attempt to cope with my anxiety, depression, and the trauma I was experiencing, I had scheduled regular therapy appointments with my therapist to address the anxiety and depression. We had walked through different techniques on managing stress and anxiety, and supported me by making sure I was eating and drinking regularly. Additionally, I had reached out to the heads of Hillel for support, as well as attended some support group sessions that Hillel had organized. Connecting with other Israeli and Jewish students through Hillel’s support group sessions was incredibly helpful and reassuring, and it helped me to know that I wasn’t the only one who felt stuck in this traumatic experience. Everything helped, however I only began feeling the effects towards the end of the academic year.
In an attempt to cope with my anxiety, depression, and the trauma I was experiencing, I had scheduled regular therapy appointments with my therapist to address the anxiety and depression. We had walked through different techniques on managing stress and anxiety, and supported me by making sure I was eating and drinking regularly. Additionally, I had reached out to the heads of Hillel for support, as well as attended some support group sessions that Hillel had organized. Connecting with other Israeli and Jewish students through Hillel’s support group sessions was incredibly helpful and reassuring, and it helped me to know that I wasn’t the only one who felt stuck in this traumatic experience. Everything helped, however I only began feeling the effects towards the end of the academic year.