AMHERST, N.Y. (WIVB) — On this Holocaust Remembrance Day, Jewish students at the University at Buffalo gathered at Alumni Arena calling for a ceasefire and for hostages to be released. They marched through campus with students chanting and carrying flags while police were on standby.
Jewish students say there has been a rise in antisemitism on campus.
“Recently on campus there was an increase in antisemitism after Oct. 7.,” UB senior Brandon Meyer said. “I’m going to spread awareness that antisemitism is real in 2024 and it’s an ongoing issue. We’re trying to bring awareness and let people know that antisemitism is real.”
This comes after pro-Palestinian demonstrations last week which resulted in UB and non-students getting arrested. Two officers were assaulted as well, but there were no serious injuries.
UB students also held a separate vigil Sunday, continuing their calls for the campus administration to divest from Israel.
UB President Satish Tripathi released a statement last week saying that UB is, “an educational institution that believes in challenging convention and embraces different perspectives.” The statement goes onto say that demonstrators must be “respectful and peaceful.”
In demonstrations last week, UB says outside protesters were looking to occupy UB buildings in a moving truck full of pallets to be used as barricades to set up an encampment, which was turned away.
News 4 did not see such activities earlier today.
“School ends in two weeks, we’re going still continue to fight for the Jewish people and fight for the land of Israel,” Meyer said. “There’s a lot of propaganda going around about Israel right now and it’s just disgusting what people are saying about Israelis.”
Jeff Preval is an award-winning anchor and reporter who joined the News 4 team in December 2021. See more of his work here.