Students at Oberlin College erected a memorial on the Ohio campus to commemorate the deaths of multiple Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorists, according to the New York Post
At the small private liberal arts college two student groups who support the end of the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories installed the memorial to remember the 34 Palestinians killed during airstrikes in Gaza earlier this month, including the commemoration of Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist Baha Abu al-Atta, a senior commander of an Islamic Jihad organization, the U.S classes as terrorists, who was assassinated by the IDF the Jerusalem Post reported.
“Oberlin Students for a Free Palestine and Oberlin Jewish Voice for Peace have created this installation to commemorate the lives of these 34 Palestinians who died at the hands of Zionist Settler Colonialism,” a sign at the installation said. “We list the names and ages of those who were lost on each black flag.”
The IDF and International observers have acknowledged that the majority of Palestinian fatalities were members of PIJ, an Iranian-backed organization that is also considered a terrorist group throughout the European Union, Uniited States, Canada and more.
The student group’s display didn’t mention the terrorist organization, but some condemned the memorial on social media and called on school officials to take action.
“Students on an American college campus memorializing terrorists… @oberlincollege, are you looking into this?” wrote Twitter user Jennie Taer. “Do you condemn this?”
Anne Herzberg, who identified herself as an Oberlin alumna, responded to news of the installation on Twitter, saying the “failure of @oberlincollege to strongly deal with the targeting of Jews on campus is precisely why I stopped donating 10 [years] ago.”
Oberlin said Monday the temporary installation is protected under the First Amendment.
“The opinions presented are solely the students’ and do not represent those of Oberlin College, its faculty or staff,” the school said in a statement. “Oberlin actively opposes all forms of anti-Semitism, as we do all forms of prejudice and oppression. We actively work with our students, faculty, staff and alumni to build upon Oberlin’s deep commitment to Jewish life and scholarship. ”
Oberlin College, over recent years has been plagued with highly publicized cases of anti-semitism. In 2015, professor Joy Karega, claimed that Israelis and Jews were behind the Charlie Hebdo attacks, 9/11 and that the Rothschild banking family “financed both sides of every war since Napoleon. Similarly, Meredith Raimondo, gained controversy for featuring solely anti-Israel perspectives, some with antisemitic views, in a course she was giving.
The commemoration was designed to increase awareness of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement.