[Editor’s Note: An earlier version of this article gave an inaccurate estimate of the deaths of Israeli and Palestinian civilians. The article has been updated to reflect the most recent estimates as of Dec. 22.]
Students from the UO chapters of Students for Justice in Palestine –– a pro-Palestinian student activist group –– and JStreet U, a student branch of JStreet that describes itself as a “pro-Israel, pro-peace” organization in favor of a two-state solution, have expressed uncertainty regarding their safety on campus amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.
The war began on Oct. 7 when a series of armed attacks were launched into the Gaza envelope of adjacent Israel territory by Hamas, the Islamic Jihad Movement of Palestine, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine.
According to the Associated Press, over 20,000 Palestinians in Gaza, and over 1,200 Israelis – most of whom were killed in the Oct. 7 attacks – have been killed since the outbreak of the war.  
UO freshman Salem Khoury, SJP’s co-leader, is connected with numerous organizations, like the Muslim Student Association, around campus and has been approached by many students who have shown interest in what is happening in the region.
“I think the general consensus that I’ve gathered is more so a lot of grief and a lot of stress that surrounds this,” Khoury said. “I’ve heard a lot of different things from different people but as a Palestinian [at UO], I feel generally like I’m not doing enough every day.”
Over the past two months, the SJP has held multiple meetings and rallies in collaboration with other organizations, the Multicultural Center, UO Young Democratic Socialists of America and the Muslim Student Association.
According to Khoury, even though SJP is a small coalition on campus, she feels she and SJP should be doing more to bring attention to the war.
“A lot of people have professed struggling to maintain focus in class and focus in general,” Khoury said. “Alongside myself, this is such a harrowing subject that provokes a lot of feelings of fear and anxiety of global projections for our world as it is.”
Khoury said she has been approached by many students with feelings of lost faith and lost hope toward people of power, higher establishments and the efforts of UO.
Khoury is connected with Arab, Muslim and Palestinian student groups on campus, and she frequently speaks with them about their perspectives on the war while being on campus.
“A lot of us feel very unsafe,” Khoury said. “And a lot of us feel that there is not correct protection on campus for Arab, Muslim, and any general person of color on campus for the target of hate crimes and doxing.”
Khoury said she feels like UO did not properly speak out on the safety of all students or provide any means of support for specifically Arab, Muslim and Palestinian students.
“The university didn’t do anything and did not speak out or provide a statement saying ‘we assure the safety of our students and will not let anything happen to you,’” Khoury said. “There is no blanket of support that has been professed to the communities on campus of specifically Middle Eastern descent.”
She said her experience as a Palestinian student at UO has been complex.
“Being on campus and being Palestinian and seeing not only a lack of attention and a lack of support, it really does affect how I feel as a student here, who I can talk to and who I can reach out to,” Khoury said. “Some of my professors have spoken to me about this. Some of my professors have voiced their support. Some have been very weird when I’ve mentioned this.”
SJP has helped bring awareness to the student body of the severity of the war, Khoury said.
“I’ve noticed that we’ve brought a lot of people out of the woodwork. I think a lot of people have realized the gravity of the situation,” Khoury said. “And [SJP] has brought a lot of activist energy to campus and a lot of action from communities that have come together and voiced their support and shown us that they care.”
Aliza Benor, a UO junior studying Arabic and public policy planning and management, worked to found JStreet at UO and now serves as the program coordinator, said that JStreet works with other student organizations, including SJP, to be a “cooling presence” on campus.
JStreet is a national organization that works with the United States government to “promote U.S. policy that embodies their Jewish and democratic values.”
JStreet U is JStreet’s student organizing branch that operates on campuses across the country.
She said that a lot of her work with JStreet includes talking to people of all backgrounds and having conversations “across lines.”
“If we’re not having conversations with everyone, we are not informing our perspective,” Benor said.
Benor said that part of her job is to work to “smooth tensions” on campus, which includes explaining the feelings of Jewish students on campus.
According to Benor, some of the chants used at various rallies “crossed a line” for Jewish students, but JStreet was able to work with leadership at SJP to establish alternatives for pro-Palestine students to be able to “exercise their voice.”
Benor said that it is understandable why community members are upset by the war, and that she is too.
“I feel so deeply upset that the ‘Jewish state,’ a state that’s supposed to represent my people and a state that has saved countless Jewish lives, has a government that is responsible for killing over 11,000 people,” Benor said. “It’s unfathomable.”
Benor said that she has known people that have lost friends or loved ones both in Israel and in Gaza.
JStreet has done workshops to define both antisemitism and anti-Zionism, as well as establish how Jewish and Palestinian solidarity can function on campus.
“We try to be a group that listens to everyone, and hopefully provide steps forward for people to participate in meaningful action,” Benor said.
JStreet has been involved with UO’s response to the war as part of the “Theater for Empathy” event. This event was on Nov. 27, and included performances, commentary and questions, during which the goal was to better understand the Israel-Hamas war using works from both Palestinian and Israeli playwrights.
Benor said that JStreet was conferenced in to help create the event. The Muslim Student Association is also listed as a co-sponsor of the event.
According to Benor, she feels that both Jewish and Palestinian students both feel less safe on campus and deeply upset by the war, due to either a personal connection or because they feel strongly and “deeply heartbroken.”
“I think people just feel like, ‘how can I even do school when all this is happening? How can I focus when people are actually losing their lives over there?’” Benor said.
Benor said she feels like people may be desensitized to all of the data, including death tolls and people injured, and are restless to do something about it.
Both organizations expressed that since students are feeling unsafe, it is up to student groups to support students during this time.
“More people have been coming up to me asking me about how I feel and what’s been going on,” Khoury said. “I think a lot of people are more willing to open their minds and their hearts to what has been happening for about 75 years now.”

Gallery • 1 Photos

Salem Khoury of the SJP poses for a portrait in the UO ROAR Center office. (Alex Hernandez/Emerald)