Israel-Hamas war: Michigan universities respond in various ways

Editor's note: This story previously mentioned a fatal stabbing of a Detroit synagogue leader in the lead, which now has been changed due to findings that an incident did not relate to a hate crime. Additionally, changes were made to clarify CM Life did not interview Laela Saulson, but utilized her published article.  

In the state of Michigan, there have been mixed responses to the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine. From protests in support of Palestinians on college campuses to a pro-Israel rally near Detroit synagogue, citizens are responding in vastly different ways.

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During this time, many Michigan universities have been urged by students to make a statement and support their students who may be experiencing antisemitism, Islamophobia or are generally aching for their home country. 

Students have also taken this time to speak out on the issues through writing articles, drafting student-governed proposals and leading protests.

The University of Michigan and Michigan State University have had some of the largest student responses to the conflict, along with a few other universities.

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University of Michigan 

University of Michigan President Santa Ono released his first statement on the conflict on Oct. 10. 

In the statement, Ono condemned the Hamas terrorist attacks and spoke about how he had contacted Israeli universities to "express my deep concern for the students, faculty and staff at these world-class institutions, (with) all of which the University of Michigan has well-established joint research relationships."

Students were not happy with this statement, as Ono did not mention Palestine, only the organization Hamas. Protests followed on campus, and some even made it to the outside of the university's president's house.

Ono eventually released updated statements in response to the protests, with one on Oct. 13 and another Nov. 17. The former focused on safety and not tolerating violence while standing his ground on condemning Hamas. 

The latter was released just hours after a protest occurred at the Ruthven Building. Around 200 protesters made their way inside the administrative building, where the president's office is located.

"I recognize how grief-stricken, how heartbroken, how enraged so many in our community feel," Ono said. "I also recognize that the previous statements of mine did not fully express our heartbreak for the suffering of the innocent people in the Arab and Muslim communities, or our affront at the vandalism of the fliers and posters, which affected Jewish students, Palestinian students and many other communities. We will, I will, do better in the future." 

Since then, the Central Student Government proposed two resolutions, 13-025 and 13-026. The first asked the university to "take an educated and non-discriminatory stance on violence and systems of apartheid, especially given recent developments in Israel and Palestine." It also asked the university to divest from companies supporting Israel. 

The second resolution focused on community support, safety and mental health during the crisis, and asked the university to "share broadly their short-term and long-term plans" to offer these.

"The Central Student Government acknowledges that every individual experiences the trauma of war differently," AR 13-026 read. "As a campus community, we will hold each other accountable to uphold the values of the University and grant each other grace and empathy as we navigate this difficult time."

While the resolutions passed through two CSG meetings, the university stepped in and cancelled the student vote on them. That sparked another protest outside of the president's home on Dec. 1.

"This is just a symptom of a much larger problem," Zaynab Elkolaly, a protest spokesperson who spoke to Michigan Radio, said. "Our president is not meeting his students' demands, especially his vulnerable and marginalized ones."

The campus has seen previous antisemitic attacks, such as this past summer when vandalism and graffiti were found at two off-campus fraternities.  The vandalism was condemned by both President Ono and the Ann Arbor police.

Because of these instances and the rising tensions in the Middle East, the Ann Arbor campus announced the construction of an antisemitic institute called the Raoul Wallenberg Institute, with the goal of using research and scholarships to fight antisemitism.

Michigan State University (MSU)

MSU released it's official statement on Oct. 12, condemning Hamas. The university has also condemned antisemitism, Islamophobia and violence, and through the fall semester offered workshops and seminars to educate students on the conflict.

During November, various Palestine students expressed that they didn't feel supported by the university, especially since Palestine was not mentioned in the official statement. Students attended a Board of Trustees meeting on Oct. 27 to speak with Interim President Teresa Woodruff. 

One of these students is Saba Saed, a Palestinian and the vice president of the Arab Cultural Society who has been to protests and administrative meetings to speak on the issue. She introduced an Associated Students of Michigan State University (ASMSU) bill to the board that asked the university to "address the ongoing Palestinian crisis and support Palestinian students and all impacted students." 

Despite the efforts to distinguish Palestine and Hamas in the bill and her personal condemning of Hamas, attendees said Saeb and her co-author, Ahmed Amir, were "pro-terror."

"It feels now that every time we want to say like we're Muslim or we're ... Arab or we're Middle Eastern or we're Palestinian, immediately we have to defend ourselves and condemn Hamas," Saed said in an interview with Michigan Radio. "And if you don't, then you're automatically kind of seen as a threat.

"When Oct. 7 happened and 1,400 Israelis died, we knew the fear that they felt. We knew the pain and how important it is to be with your community at the time because that's something we've all been experiencing."

Jewish students have also been speaking out on the issue and feeling unsafe on campus, especially after an image of Hitler was shown on the jumbotron at a football game earlier this year. 

Laela Saulson is a senior at MSU and a self-proclaimed Zionist. She has attended ASMSU General Assembly meetings and written her own opinion articles based on her experiences with the conflict, starting as early as Oct. 7.

"My heart sat in my stomach as I continued monitoring the events; it felt like watching a movie," she wrote in an article for The Detroit Jewish News. "(Israeli) communities I had just visited in August, like Sderot and Kfar Aza, were overrun by Hamas."

In the article Saulson said the bill ASMSU wrote contained false information, such as Israel being an apartheid state, and that Israel still mantained control over both Gaza and the West Bank. She attended the ASMSU General Assembly meeting to give public comment, and wrote that her experience was "nerve-racking.”

"Unfortunately, saying that I am a Zionist is highly controversial these days despite it being a crucial part of my identity," she wrote. "I stayed true to myself and expressed why the existence of a Jewish state is so critical to the Jewish people and how it is problematic that ASMSU is becoming politicized."

Saulson wrote that she never thought something like this would happen at her university, and believes students are "barely educated" on the Arab-Israeli conflict. She said the conversation shouldn't have made it to the Student Government in the first place.

Protetsts continued at the university into early December. The university hired their new official president, Kevin Guskiewicz, on Dec. 8, who had addressed the conflict previously while working at the University of North Carolina. 

For MSU, he said that antisemitism will not be tolerated and that the university can have "respectful discourse on the world's biggest challenges," including in the Israel and Palestine conflict.

Other Universities

Other universities in Michigan have seen protests held in support of Palestine, such as Wayne State University, Grand Valley State University and Central Michigan University.

CMU is not taking a side in the conflict, and does not plan to make a statement. CMU President Bob Davies said that the university will instead offer safe platforms for discussion and continue providing support for students, faculty and staff.

"Our position is to provide the forums in an environment that is safe, and people can explore and discuss," Davies said in an interview with Central Michigan Life. "We won’t tolerate violence against any group. … Call for violence, genocide (and) those type of things (are) not going to be condoned by this institution."

CM Life News Editor Masha Smahliuk contributed to this report.