Photo by Kate Markowski ‘27. Clapp Laboratory, where the incident occured.
By Emily Tarinelli ʼ25
Sports Editor
Content warning: This article discusses antisemitism, colonial violence and state-sanctioned violence.
“Not all anti-Israel statements are antisemitic, but there was something about this one that was a little bit disturbing,” an alum from the Class of 1986 said in an interview with Mount Holyoke News.
The alum, who requested to remain anonymous for safety reasons, was referring to chalkboard messaging and an antisemitic flier they found while visiting campus with a friend on Oct. 26, 2023.
The Oct. 7 attack on Israel by the militant group Hamas, the alum explained, was a difficult day for them. The alum works for a “shared society organization” — a type of group that the alum defined as “organizations that bring Palestinians and Israelis together” — and a woman they work with was taken hostage during the conflict and currently remains in captivity.
According to an analysis by Senior Political Reporter Stephen Collinson for CNN, “the wave of global hatred directed against Jews, intensified by Israel’s indiscriminate response in Gaza to horrific Hamas terrorist murders of Israeli civilians on October 7 [demonstrates the] destructive forces tearing at American and western European societies, where stability and democracy are already under pressure.” The White House reported that since the Oct. 7 attack, there has been a spike in antisemitism on college campuses.
“[Oct. 7] was a horrible day all around,” the alum said. Seeking a breath of fresh air, they decided they needed their “own personal Mountain Day.” Coming from a class year with a strong sense of community and an active online presence, the alum invited a friend along — not a graduate of Mount Holyoke College — to show them around their alma mater.
A double major in geography and anthropology, many of the alum’s classes took place in Clapp Laboratory. Hoping to say hello to one of their old professors, they decided to stop by Clapp on their visit. As they walked around the fourth floor, they came across a chalkboard.
The message with the largest lettering on the board was “Free Palestine,” which the alum strongly emphasized they “have absolutely no problem with.” Just beneath it read, “From the river to the sea, Palestine [will] be free.” The alum stated that based on the origins of the phrase, this line was “a little more problematic.”
Depending on the person, the intent or even misinformation, interpretations of the phrase tend to differ. NPR explained that “To some, it’s a rallying cry for the liberation of Palestinian people across the region, from Gaza to the West Bank and within Israel. To others, it is a violent call to erase Israel from existence invoked by militant groups such as Hamas.”
According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the phrase’s history “dates back to the creation of the state of Israel in 1948. It is a call for a Palestinian state extending from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea, territory that includes Israel.”
Conversely, some people maintain that the phrase demands an end only to the current occupation of Palestine by the Israeli military. An article published by Palestinian-American writer Yousef Munayyer in Jewish Currents asserts, “When we call for a free Palestine from the river to the sea, it is precisely the existing system of domination that we seek to end.”
“There’s a history about words, and words matter,” the alum said. For the alum, “[The phrase] means that Israel should be gone … To me, that calls for the genocide of nine million [Israeli] people.”
In the corner of the chalkboard, smaller lettering read, “Zionists are not welcome here.” That was the message that “really broke my heart,” the alum said.
Like the “from the river” phrase, sources report varying definitions of Zionism. According to the Anti-Defamation League, Zionism is defined as “the movement for the self-determination and statehood for the Jewish people in their ancestral homeland, the land of Israel.”
The ADL stated that modern Zionism began in the mid-1800s “in response to a long history of intense anti-Jewish hatred, persecution and discrimination in countries and societies across the world where Jews lived, including in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa.” The ADL also specified that “being a Zionist is distinct from supporting the policies of the government of Israel” and that “Zionism does not preclude support for Palestinian self-determination and statehood.”
However, criticisms of this interpretation exist. Palestine Remix, an interactive online resource by news company Al Jazeera that highlights Palestinian-Israeli narratives, defines Zionism as “a colonial movement supporting the establishment by any means necessary of a national state for Jews in historic Palestine.”
Regarding the history of Zionism, Palestine Remix explained that “In 1948, David Ben-Gurion, then head of the World Zionist Organisation, proclaimed the founding of the state of Israel in Palestine. Zionists argued that Israel would provide a safe national home for Jews, allowing any Jewish person from anywhere in the world to immigrate there and claim citizenship.” The resource continued, “Critics, however, argue that Zionism has functioned like colonialism, pointing to the violent ethnic cleansing of the indigenous Palestinian population.”
The disconnect between the rhetoric of these definitions and others appears to be adding fuel to the fire of rising incidents of antisemitism and Islamophobia across the nation.
“At the Mount Holyoke I knew, everyone was welcome … despite their political views,” the alum said. “You could say, ‘I disagree with Zionists,’ … and that’s perfectly valid. But to say that someone is not welcome, I think it’s just very sad … that respectful discourse is not being encouraged.”
An email to the Mount Holyoke community from President Danielle R. Holley and Vice President of Student Life and Dean of Students Marcella Runell stated that when made aware of the chalkboard messaging, “the College responded immediately, and the chalking that violated College policy was removed.”
The alum and their friend eventually left Clapp Laboratory and proceeded to Blanchard Hall to eat. But in what the alum described as an area most likely to be the lobby between the Community Center and the Dining Commons, they saw an 8.5 by 11-inch paper depicting a graphic of a silhouetted clip-art figure throwing a blue Star of David into a trash can.
The same email to the Mount Holyoke community stated that the reported poster was “not found in Clapp Hall or any other area of campus.” The alum, who did not remove the flier themselves, guessed that “it was taken down pretty quickly” given the “sheer offense of it.” According to the alum, this particular graphic is an image that’s “going around many college campuses now.”
When the alum returned home that evening, they wrote to President Holley’s office.
“It was not a nasty gram by any stretch … It was just [a message saying], ‘This is what happened. It’s hurtful. I don’t feel welcome. I won’t be coming back,” the alum said.
The following day, Oct. 27, members of the Jewish Student Union received an email notifying them about the “antisemitic incident … in the form of a poster and a drawing on a chalkboard.” Mount Holyoke News contacted the JSU Board via email for a comment but had not received a response at the time of publication.
An email sent to the Mount Holyoke community on the same day acknowledged the rise of antisemitic and Islamophobic incidents around the world in the wake of the conflict in the Middle East. The email also reaffirmed “the College’s commitment to freedom of expression and rigorous inquiry and, at the same time, our responsibility to uphold policies in place to ensure the safety and well-being of our entire campus.”
The College also released a statement regarding the incident on Friday, Nov. 3 to the Mount Holyoke community, an excerpt of which was previously sent to Mount Holyoke News on Nov. 1.
“Public Safety and Service is investigating and has documented the incident report to federal authorities. Individuals with any information about this incident or others should contact Public Safety and Service immediately. We urge our community to report incidents of bias and discrimination using either the Campus Bias Reporting Form or by contacting Public Safety and Service,” the statement read.
The statement in the email continued, “With investigations of this sort, we are constrained in what and when we can communicate. This fact is, understandably, dissatisfying to many; yet it remains the reality given how we must proceed in such circumstances.” Regarding the initial Oct. 27 email, it stated, “Last Friday’s campus alert addressed the rise in antisemitism and Islamophobia in general terms, which we felt was most appropriate given the early moment in the investigation.”
“I want the College to thrive,” the alum said. At the same time, they said, “I don’t think I feel welcome back on campus for a while.”
Tara Monastesse ’25 contributed reporting.