Princeton’s Pro-Israel, Pro-Palestinian Groups Commemorate Oct. 7 Anniversary

Communities across the Princeton campus mourned the past year of violence in Israel and Gaza on Oct. 7, the first anniversary of the Hamas-led attack on Israel in which 1,200 people were killed and more than 200 taken hostage. The attack also began the Israel-Hamas war that has resulted in more than 40,000 Palestinian deaths in Gaza, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

The Center for Jewish Life (CJL) and Chabad co-hosted a memorial in the afternoon with several student-run Zionist groups, as well as the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs and the Bobst Center for Peace and Justice.

The event, held in McCosh 50, Princeton’s largest lecture hall, drew more than 200 people, including former Dean of the College Jill Dolan and the Rev. Dr. Theresa S. Thames, the dean of religious life and the chapel. Chaplains from several other faith communities also attended the event. There were security guards from Public Safety present at the entrances.

In his opening remarks, associate director for the Center for Jewish Life Rabbi Ira Dounn thanked counselors and the director of Counseling and Psychological Services, Calvin Chin, for being present.

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Rabbi Gil Steinlauf ’91, director of the CJL at Princeton, speaks during a memorial event in McCosh 50 on Oct. 7, 2024.

John Emerson

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Flyers and ribbons are placed on chairs on the Frist North Lawn where attendees prayed for the 101 remaining hostages in Gaza on Oct. 7, 2024.

John Emerson

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Mourners embrace on the Frist North Lawn to pray and sing on Oct. 7.

John Emerson

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Rabbi Eitan Webb, co-director of the Scharf Family Chabad House, places flowers on the Frist North Lawn on Oct. 7.

John Emerson

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Pro-Palestinian activists gather in Firestone Plaza on Oct. 7, 2024.

John Emerson

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Pro-Palestinian activists gathered in Firestone Plaza on Oct. 7.

John Emerson

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Red paint is washed off the exterior of 22 Chambers Street, the headquarters of the Princeton University Investment Co., which was vandalized, including the phrase “$ [Money] 4 [for] Genocide".

 

 

John Emerson

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Some students had trouble holding back tears as they spoke about friends who had been taken hostage by Hamas or who were killed on Oct. 7, 2023.

Stephen Bartell ’25, the student president of the CJL, spoke about his friend, Omer Neutra, a dual American-Israeli citizen who joined the Israeli army after high school and was taken hostage Oct. 7. Bartell and Neutra were both involved in United Synagogue Youth, a Jewish youth group while in high school in New York.

“May Omer and all of the remaining hostages be brought home safely as soon as possible, not because they’re kind or compassionate or strong leaders or even Jewish, but because they’re human beings, and because all human beings deserve the kind of safety, dignity and hope for a better future that Omer and so many others have been tragically denied this past year.”

Rabbi Eitan Webb, co-director of the Scharf Family Chabad House, was soft-spoken in his remarks as he reflected on the strength of Jewish communities coming together to support one another in the past year.

“With every mitzvah [commandment] that we do, every step that we take forward, every positive act that we take, we are continuing both the message … the world will know and that we will know am yisrael chai [the people of Israel live],” he concluded.

Earlier in the day, about two dozen activists from pro-Palestinian groups, including Princeton Israeli Apartheid Divest and Princeton Students for Justice in Palestine participated in an “art build,” in Firestone Plaza. They painted signs and banners — the biggest of which read “Glory to the Martyrs, Glory to the Resistance” — while one person read aloud names of Palestinians who have been killed in the conflict. The group also handed out flyers encouraging passersby to submit feedback to the CPUC Resources Committee supporting the petition to divest from businesses with ties to Israel. The protest drew many curious glances, but most people seemed to stop only long enough to take a photo before moving on. The group declined to comment to PAW.

Sometime before or on the morning of Oct. 7, the exterior of 22 Chambers St., the headquarters of the Princeton University Investment Co. (Princo) was vandalized with red paint resembling blood splattering the front door and several windows. The phrase “$ [Money] 4 [for] Genocide,” was also spray-painted on the brick exterior in several places.

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University spokesperson Jennifer Morrill told PAW that the incident is under investigation.

The day ended with singing on the Frist North Lawn following the joint CJL-Chabad memorial, which included prayers for the 101 remaining hostages in Gaza, as well as performances of several songs, including “Hatikva” (the hope), the national anthem of the state of Israel.

As Rabbi Dounn introduced the song, he encouraged the audience that, “... Even in the most difficult times, we still have hope. Still we yearn for a better tomorrow.”

PAW writer Julie Bonette contributed to this report.