Throughout the University of Oregon students’ month-long pro-Palestine encampment, UO administration published several statements addressing safety, support and free speech on campus.

Some statements also addressed what groups UO had communicated with during the encampment, including Oregon Hillel and the Chabad of Eugene. While some Jewish organizations at UO, including Hillel and “Ducks 4 Israel,” remained relatively quiet throughout the encampment, its leaders now reflect back on the level of communication and support they received from UO throughout the year, and throughout the encampment.

Some said UO’s communication was frequent, while others said UO’s support could have been more direct. 

The statements also indicated that UO had met with students in the encampment daily, though the student group Jewish Voice for Peace, an organization involved with the encampment, did not respond to the Daily Emerald’s requests for an interview for further clarification. Multiple Jewish student groups, including Hillel and “Ducks 4 Israel,” also released several statements about the encampment, which further addressed safety concerns for students on campus. 

In a May 6 statement, Interim Vice President for Student Life Kris Winter said that she had met with Jewish organizations to “hear first-hand about the impact of this protest and to talk about how we [UO] can continue to support all members of our community.” 

According to former Oregon Hillel Interim Executive Director Andy Gitelson, support from UO increased earlier than the encampment, beginning in October 2023. 

Gitelson said that the support from the University of Oregon Police Department increased on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas, a Palestinian militant group that governs the Gaza Strip, launched a surprise attack on neighboring Israel.

According to Gitelson, UOPD’s support for Hillel continued throughout the encampment, too. 

Gitelson said that he communicated with the university almost daily about how the Jewish community was doing during the encampment, which included conversations with Winter, UO President John Karl Scholz, UOPD Chief Jason Wade and representatives from the university’s Division of Equity and Inclusion. 

Gitelson said that Hillel’s conversations with UOPD also involved discussions around the security of the Hillel building, which is less than a mile away from campus. They also spoke about security for any programs and events organized by Hillel.

“We want to make sure that students and community members that participate in events that Hillel does are safe to do so,” Gitelson said. “So ranging from having police presence at our Passover Seder to ensure there would be no disruptions or no threats to basic events that we’re hosting.” 

In an email statement to the Emerald, Wade confirmed that “safety resources and support” were extended to Chabad and Hillel “during the winter and spring term demonstrations and encampment.”

According to Gitelson, UO took any reports of anti-semitism and improper usage of classroom space “seriously.” 

“Also, taking seriously the reports in the classroom and investigating if there are oversteps in the classroom where faculty or GTFF [Graduate Teaching Fellows Federation] are using this space for their own political purposes,” Gitelson said. 

Samuel Rhodes, co-chair of “Ducks 4 Israel,” said he appreciated how the university reached out to Jewish student organizations, like Hillel and Chabad during the encampment. 

However, Rhodes said he felt that Jewish students and the Jewish community have received close to no direct support from the university. 

“They [UO] didn’t give us many resources. We made our voices heard at the [Associated Students of the University of Oregon Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions] senate meeting where they were passing that, but the school itself did not offer enough resources in my mind.” 

In an email statement to the Emerald, Winter said that UO’s support of the Jewish community is seen through “frequent discussions with community leaders, meeting with students directly, offers of additional security, supporting students concerned about friends and family in the region and counseling.”

Rhodes said that support for the UO Coalition for Palestine and the Jewish community is “different.” 

“One group is making themselves visibly known in daily campus life,” Rhodes said. “The response from the school requires different approaches…obviously we’re not going and protesting in the middle of campus and staying there overnight.” 

Rhodes said that he felt the university was not “doing enough” to protect the Jewish community. 

“They could have made sure that the encampment didn’t last as long as it did and didn’t allow them to do anti-semitic rhetoric on campus,” Rhodes said. “I think hateful speech on campus should have been prevented and put to a stop earlier.” 

According to Rhodes, an example of an “anti-semitic rhetoric” made by the encampment was the statement, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” which he said is a “call to eliminate the state of Israel entirely.” 

Aliza Benor, the program coordinator of J Street, an organization that promotes peace-oriented solutions to the Israel-Hamas War, said that she wasn’t sure how the university would have equally supported both parties during the encampment. 

“I wouldn’t say the university did much to support anyone,” Benor said. “I would say the university kind of did the best they could do in kind of remaining as neutral as possible.” 

Benor also said that she was “glad” that the university reached out to Hillel and Chabad and allowed other opportunities for individuals to speak. 

“I’m glad they [university] had the Board of Trustees meeting that was open to anyone for comment,” Benor said. “I’m glad that [at] the BDS hearings, many people were able to speak.”

Benor said that she communicated with some professors, many from the department of Global Studies, during the encampment with the purpose of being involved in the “administrative efforts to educate.” 

“We [J Street] were involved in the Theater for Empathy [and Understanding] event that was put on by UO academics,” Benor said. “As well as the Antisemitism and Islamophobia workshop.”

Benor also said that she communicated with organizing leaders of the encampment, including leaders from Students for Justice for Palestine and Jewish Voice for Peace since Oct. 7.