Monday, Oct. 7 marked the one-year anniversary of Hamas’ attack on Israel and the subsequent 365 days of the Israel-Hamas war. At Tulane University, a vigil, a protest and a memorial marked the day.
To honor the 1,200 people murdered and 255 people taken hostage by Hamas, a terrorist organization in control of the Gaza Strip, the Tulane chapter of Students Supporting Israel hosted a memorial on the Lavin-Bernick Center Quad.
“It’s all about remembering, honoring and praying. We have to remember what happened on Oct. 7 of 2023. We can’t forget it, because if we forget history, it will repeat itself,” Bali Lavine, senior and president of the Tulane chapter of SSI, said.
Blue, yellow and black ribbons covered the lawn, each one representing a hostage. The blue ribbons represented hostages who returned to Israel alive, black ribbons mourned those who died and have been recovered from Gaza and yellow ribbons stood for those still in Gaza, both living and dead.
“We’re fighting the war on public opinion, and it’s our duty as SSI, as the Jewish and proud Zionist students at Tulane, to come out on campus and to share their stories,” Lavine said.
A few hundred feet away, rows of metal barricades separated a group of around 20 pro-Palestinian protestors from campus property.
“Oct. 7 is a good day to protest because there’s this idea that this all started on Oct. 7, and […] I don’t think that’s true at all. Palestinians have been suffering for the past 76 years,” sophomore and Students for a Democratic Society member Navya Prakash said.
Administrators, police officers and passersby stood to the side as the protestors chanted and gave speeches on Freret Street.
“I understand why people feel that it may be insensitive, but […] when people in Palestine are suffering for so long under an apartheid state…I don’t think we need to be focusing so much on people’s feelings,” Prakash said.
Tulane Students for a Democratic Society, a national activist group whose Tulane branch focuses on pro-Palestinian causes and is now unaffiliated with Tulane due to their role in the April encampment, held the protest. They posted on Instagram to promote the protest, saying, “Commemorate 76 years of genocide. Celebrate one year of unified global resistance.”
“We are celebrating one year of collective, unified struggle,” Prakash said. “We’re celebrating the fact that, since Oct. 7, people have been speaking out for Palestine because they have seen the atrocities that have been committed by Israel repeatedly.”
Many of the demonstrators wore keffiyehs and masks around their faces, a technique common among student pro-Palestine protestors to hide their identity.
On the same street nearly a year ago, pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian protestors clashed, leading to several injuries, arrests and a subsequent investigation by the U.S. Department of Education.
A year later, the demonstrations on Freret remained small and without any clashes.
Senior Sierra Lavine stood across the street from the pro-Palestine demonstration, sporting a yellow ribbon pin on her shirt. “We believe that Israel has a right to exist, and we also believe that all innocent people deserve to live, so we’re just here to peacefully stand and support Israel,” she said.
“A war that was supposed to be between Israel and Hamas has become between the Jewish people and Palestine, which is not what we want, which is not what it should be,” Sierra Lavine said. She said that since Oct. 7, 2023, she has experienced anti-Semitism for the first time in her life. “I know I’m lucky for that, but I’m honestly just really hurt and confused.”
Senior Ohad Tessler also stood across the street from the SDS demonstration. “[The pro-Palestinian protestors] have to realize there’s a time and place for everything. There is freedom of speech, but you don’t come to the only place in New Orleans which has a majority Jewish people and protest against Israel.”
Rory MacDonald, one of the 14 pro-Palestine protestors acquitted on Sep. 20 for their presence at the encampment in the spring, spoke at the SDS protest.
“I am sick and goddamn tired of my university supporting the genocidal settler state,” MacDonald said into a microphone. “I am sick and goddamn tired of…administrators who sic TUPD on [us] and treat us like criminals on our own campus. I pay to be here.”
After several speeches, the pro-Palestinian protestors marched to St. Charles, blocking the westbound lane and stopping in front of Loyola University and Tulane. The encampment protestors followed the same route in April. The protestors were followed by four police officers atop horses and in a few police cars, who all remained throughout the protest on St. Charles.
Tulane SDS then joined their protest with Loyola SDS, a pro-Palestine group also unaffiliated with Loyola University.
The demonstration grew to around 70 people as various students spoke about issues ranging from criticism of the universities to stories of suffering in Gaza.
One speaker paused her speech several times to vomit. “Not only are we going to fight fire with fire, but we will burn this country down to get our land back,” she said. “Yes, violence is the answer.”
Later that evening, SSI and other Jewish and pro-Israel organizations hosted a memorial in McAlister Auditorium. Hundreds of students gathered to listen to tearful speeches, firsthand accounts of Oct. 7, remembrances of people murdered on Oct. 7 or in Gaza, stories from loved ones of those taken hostage and prayers for the return of the hostages. Each student was handed a plastic candle, a picture of a hostage and a song to sing for them.
Following the service, students placed candles under every ribbon on the LBC lawn. Signs were also posted, each telling the story of a hostage close to a Tulane student.
The display was manned by a rotation of between 10 to 20 students who staffed tables and discussed the events of Oct. 7.
“I feel incredibly supported by the Jewish community. I believe that our university administration is beginning to learn from their mistakes from the past year, and they are working to ensure everybody’s safety today,” Bali Lavine said.
Associate News Editor Ryann Goldberg contributed to reporting.
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