Jewish and Muslim students at University of Connecticut are living in fear as education department opens investigations into four elite campuses over incidences of antisemitism

University of Connecticut students fear being identified as Jewish or Muslim as the conflict between Israel and Hamas spreads to American campuses.

Leaders at top universities across the country have been reluctant to step in and intervene, despite their students facing anti-Semitism and Islamophobia.

Concerned parents are increasingly worried about their children in universities as protests erupt on both sides in the wake of Hamas’ horrific terrorist act on October 7.

At the University of Connecticut, students belonging to various campus groups for Muslims, pro-Palestinians and Jews have all received concerned calls from their parents.

The Hillel Center – a Jewish organization – put up posters of kidnapped Israelis, but they mysteriously disappeared from the walls overnight, leaving Jewish students feeling unsafe and unsettled.

On the main campus of the University of Connecticut in the rural village of Storrs, students from the Muslim Student Association, Students for Justice in Palestine and the Hillel center have received concerned calls from their parents (photo: Lena Maarouf – recent graduate and member of Group Students for Justice in Palestine)

The Hillel Center – the site of a Jewish campus organization that connects college students worldwide – put up posters of kidnapped Israelis, but they mysteriously disappeared from the walls overnight (photo: Yana Tartakovskiy – a Jewish student at the University)

Terrified Jewish students later saw posters popping up calling for Palestine’s freedom “by any means necessary.”

Yana Tartakovskiy is a junior at the University of Connecticut – she says she hides her Star of David necklace for fear of being identified as Jewish on campus, NBC reported.

“I think anything that has to do with violence affects me personally a lot,” she said. “It’s very scary because I feel like words can become actions very quickly, as we’ve seen on other college campuses.”

NYU faced a lawsuit from three Jewish students who felt unprotected by their government after anti-Semitism on campus escalated to cries of “gas the Jews” and “Hitler was right.”

Their lawsuit, filed in New York federal court, says that over the past month the college “gave a gang of students carte blanche to harass and intimidate NYU’s Jewish population” through “acts and omissions.”

NYU faced a lawsuit from three Jewish students who felt unprotected by their government after anti-Semitism on campus escalated to cries of “gas the Jews” and “Hitler was right” (photo: NYU staff and students during a strike and protest in support of Palestine in Manhattan, November 9

Meanwhile, Muslim students at UConn also felt anxious on campus. Muslim Student Association President Muneeb Syed said women are opting for hoodies instead of hijabs when walking around the school alone.

A Muslim woman leaving a pro-Palestinian rally at university was harassed by a car full of men who stopped to shout at her as she went home.

One of Syed’s friends told me NBC: ‘My parents are certainly worried. They call me and say, “Are you sure you’re safe?” You know, they want to make sure that I go to my dorm at a certain time so that I don’t go out and be exposed to risks or potential risks.”

Lene Maarouf — a recent graduate of UConn and a member of the Justice in Palestine organization in college — said she received a voicemail from a number in Oklahoma harassing her.

A man with a southern accent said: ‘Yes, I am among the students for the death of all Hamas.

‘You support baby killers, people who rape grandmothers. You’re just a sand n***** terrorist, that’s all you are.

“So you’re coming together so the Mossad can take pictures of you, because I can’t wait to see you dead.”

Maarouf was deeply upset by the voicemail. She said, “It makes you wonder, what else can they do if they go out of their way to get your number? And what connections might they have with maybe someone on campus?’

The Ministry of Education has launched an investigation into seven schools for anti-Semitism and Islamophobia (Photo: Pro-Palestinian demonstrators gather for a protest at Columbia University, Thursday, October 12, 2023, in New York)

Even as students on all sides of the divide are frightened and unsettled by the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, protests and hateful behavior on American soil, not everyone agrees on how to handle this.

Jewish students at Hillel are committed to creating a safe environment through increased security and have even received government funding and support from DHS to ensure their well-being.

Meanwhile, Maarouf and other members of Students for Justice in Palestine say they don’t trust DHS to protect them because of its historical profiling of Muslim Americans.

Maarouf told NBC: “You have to look at their record: how have they treated Muslims in the past? Are they really going to believe us? Are they going to listen to our real concerns?’

The University of Connecticut is one of many higher education institutions navigating the ongoing tensions related to the war between Israel and Hamas.

There are five ongoing investigations into cases of anti-Semitism and two into cases of Islamophobia at seven different schools.

Cornell University, in Ithaca, New York, Columbia University, in New York City, the University of Pennsylvania, in Philadelphia are just some of the universities facing investigations.

The Department of Education launched the investigation under Title IV – a law that prohibits discrimination based on race or national origin.