UPDATE: April 26, 2:30 p.m.
The Daily Illini sat down with the Executive Director of Illini Hillel at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign to talk about the campus-wide tensions in regard to the ongoing conflicts in Gaza.
The Daily Illini: How do you feel about all the situations that are going on today on campus?
Erez Cohen: Well, things are very tense on campus right now. A lot of our students are very upset about what’s going on on campus starting with the protest on Wednesday during the holiday of Passover and all the way through the tents that were put up on the quad this morning.
DI: What is Illini Hillel doing to help students or provide support for students on campus?
Cohen: So, Hillel has always been here for students in times of need. Going back to the early 1920s when Jewish students were not accepted in social clubs, Hillel was the social outlet for Jewish Students and that hasn’t changed on Wednesday when there was the protest on Green Street. We were celebrating the holiday anyway here, so we opened our doors to Jewish students to come and be with us and we’re doing the same now. Students can come here to seek mental health support, rabbinical counseling, just to be with other Jewish students and basically find an outlet for what’s bothering them in this situation.
DI: Some of your students are on the quad tabling for the holidays. What sort of precautions are you taking when they are out there, especially during protests?
Cohen: Well, we work with the students to make sure that they don’t engage with protesters and we work closely with the security forces in town to make sure that students are safe. But it is important to us that our students are showing their Jewish identity proudly without fear because this is their campus and they’re allowed to be here safely. We will continue to work to make sure that they can do that safely and proudly.
**This is a developing story. Check back here for updates.**
