UPDATE: April 30, 3:45 p.m.
**This interview has been edited for length and clarity.**
The Daily Illini interviewed a student, Romi Rabinowitz, senior in Media, about the current Jewish gathering near Alma Mater.
DI: Can you tell me a little bit about what’s happening here today?
Rabinowitz: Today, we’re here not to counterprotest, but we’re here in celebration of Jewish life, and we’re here to support each other through the difficult times that we’ve been experiencing on campus so far, and just come together as one. We said a couple of prayers, we danced and sang. We are making sure that we keep the spirits up while everybody’s needing to lean on each other right now.
DI: How have the past couple of days been with the protests going on in front of Foellinger Auditorium?
Rabinowitz: The past couple of days, as well as the past six, almost seven months at this point, have been very difficult for our community. The protests on campus going on now are very difficult for us to see, especially because I know a couple of my friends have tried to interact with the protesters in a very respectful manner, just trying to open conversation, and haven’t been able to. And, you know, we’re just really here to have a conversation and understand each other’s point of view and each other’s sides, and some of the chants that we’ve been hearing recently on the Main Quad have been very scary to us, to be honest. A lot of hate speech, “From the River to the Sea,” basically calls for our people’s genocide while accusing us of genocide. So it’s been very difficult to be on campus in the past couple of days.
DI: Can you tell me a little bit about how you feel about the announcements and Massmails that have come out versus their reactions to it, the protesters’ reactions towards those announcements and Massmails?
Rabinowitz: I think our chancellor has tried his best to stay neutral and not support one cause more than the other cause. I think that I don’t know how much I agree with the fact that the encampments have been able to stay on the Main Quad, as it’s just generally disruptive to everyday life, as well as they have been told that the tents and other things are not allowed, as well as the hate speech that they’ve been chanting on the Main Quad. So I don’t know how supported I feel as a Jewish student by the administration completely, but I feel supported because of my own community.
