Adiel Cohen speaks at an event on April 18, 2024. The UO Ducks 4 Israel event—”60 Days of Uncertainty,” a presentation and Q&A by former IDF soldier, Adiel Cohen—spurred protests from the UO Students for Justice in Palestine, Jewish Voice for Peace and other community members outside of the event. (Alex Hernandez/Emerald)
UO student organizations ‘Ducks 4 Israel’ and Oregon Hillel hosted former Israeli Defense Forces soldier Adiel Cohen inside the Erb Memorial Union on April 18. Meanwhile, UO’s chapters of Students for Justice in Palestine and Jewish Voice for Peace held an “IDF OFF UO” rally in the EMU Amphitheatre during the event.
“I initiated planning the event because we saw that Adiel Cohen was going on tour around the United States, and we haven’t had any speaker events on campus,” Ducks 4 Israel event organizer and former Associated Students of the University of Oregon President Luda Isakharov said. “The reason is that students are scared to have anything in the EMU, especially since things have been really hostile here against Jewish students.”
Approximately 40 people attended Cohen’s talk, while approximately 200 people attended the rally.
“It is unexcusable to bring a military officer such as one that is erected with this genocide at the level of murder to our campus,” SJP co-director Salem Khoury said.
Shortly after the SJP protest began, another IDF soldier identified as Oren, who was traveling with Cohen, came down into the steps of the amphitheater saying, “Does anyone know what happened October 7?”
Oren was met with chants from the crowd, including “shame,” “baby killer” and “go f–k yourself.”
Amidst the chants from the crowd, Oren attempted to speak on stage, but was halted by SJP organizers. After a brief encounter with the organizers, an associate of Oren’s pulled him away from the stage and directed him up toward the top of the amphitheater.
“I wanted to see what’s going on, because it [is] all over the place and people really hate me. I don’t know why. I don’t hate Palestinians, I hate Hamas. It’s another thing,” Oren said. “I haven’t killed any [children] and I have seen many Gazan [children] in my time in Gaza, and I have saved them and I gave them water.”
Oren said that he wishes he was allowed on stage to share his perspective on the Israel-Hamas war, saying that the SJP protesters were “fully blinded with hate” for him, and that in “some ways,” SJP protestors “don’t know what they are talking about.” He also said he was disturbed to experience the “hostility” from pro-Palestian protesters on a college campus.
UO senior Briana Jenkins, who was involved in SJP’s rally, said they were able to see Cohen’s “point of view” but said protesters outside felt they wanted “their voices heard.”
“Although I do stand with Palestine, I am open to the conversation of hearing people’s difference of opinions,” Jenkins said. “I just think the central message is being lost of why people are here. It’s to promote peace, prosperity and the freedom of the Palestinians.”
Some students demanded a debate to occur between Jewish students and members of SJP after a member of the speaking event attempted to speak to rally goers.
Khoury responded, “This dude wants to debate? We did that in high school Speech and Debate. Go back to high school.”
Some students also expressed their emotions toward the interaction between the IDF Soldier and SJP members, including one student who hung an Israeli flag over the railing of the EMU before being surrounded by multiple SJP members holding Palestinian flags.
The University of Oregon Police Department and Eugene Police Department were present at both events, as were UO Dean of Students Marcus Langford and UOPD Director of Community Engagement John Johnson, among other administrators.
According to Isakharov, the presence from EPD may have been due to safety concerns among Jewish students.
“We did not coordinate with the Eugene Police Department at all,” Isakharov said. “But I would assume that there is such a large police presence because Jewish students around the whole country have not been safe.”
According to UO spokesperson Eric Howald, members of the Office of the Dean of Students met with organizers of each event “to discuss guidelines for operating in close proximity to each other.” Howald said all involved parties decided public safety officers would “contribute to a calming environment.
Khoury expressed their concerns about the presence of UOPD.
“This is completely ridiculous,” Khoury said. “[UOPD] do not belong here and they do not belong at events or at public student events or at examples of free speech. They are a threat to the community, and they are not here to protect us and they are not here to assure our safety.”
According to Isakharov, the decision to make the event private was based on rumors disseminated on Yik Yak, an anonymous college communication platform, which raised concerns over the potential for disruptions at Cohen’s talk.
“We decided to make this a private event for safety purposes,” Isakharov said. “Knowing that there were people posting on Yik Yak and on Instagram saying ‘I want to get in. I want to disrupt the event.’ We, at the last minute, took precautions to make sure that doesn’t happen.
Despite the concerns over safety and the tumult that occurred over Cohen’s appearance, organizers and attendees from both events described each event as “peaceful” and “respectful.”
There were no interruptions within the event; with entrances to the Crater Lake Room blocked by line control barriers.
Inside the speaking event, Cohen discussed topics including the culmination of events that took place on Oct. 7. Attendees were seen visibly wiping tears from their eyes at the images and videos displayed on a big screen.
“The community is our basis, this is our home [and] this is our family,” Cohen said. “We need to be together especially when anti-semitism is on the rise and we experience it on the streets, on campuses and on social media. The community is the most important thing, so more community events.”
Oren, an IDF soldier, addresses the protesters outside of the EMU on April 18, 2024. The UO Students for Justice in Palestine and Jewish Voice for Peace demonstration was held in protest of an event organized by the student group Ducks 4 Israel—"60 Days of Uncertainty," a presentation and Q&A by former IDF soldier, Adiel Cohen. (Alex Hernandez/Emerald)
