Groups across campus commemorated the lives lost in Israel and Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023. Pro-Israel groups emphasized unity and urged for the safe return of Israeli hostages, while the pro-Palestinian collective rallied for Palestinian liberation and an end to genocide in Gaza.
Students’ engagement in activism surrounding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict dates to before Oct. 7, 2023, though campus saw heightened activity in the ensuing weeks and months — including but not limited to community vigils, local and national protests, sit-ins and walk–outs.
Both Vanderbilt Chabad and Vanderbilt Hillel hosted community lunches on Oct. 7, with the former offering students the opportunity to complete mitzvos, or charitable acts. The latter’s lunch featured visiting clergy and a tour educator for Birthright, which organizes subsidized trips to Israel for young adults of Jewish heritage.
“Today, Oct. 7, is a day beyond words, a day to commemorate lives lost, a time for positive action and a time to take comfort and strength in community,” Chabad said in a same-day Instagram post.
Chabad hosted its lunch and mitzvos both in Rand Lounge and along Rand Wall. Adjacent to its table was Vanderbilt’s chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine, which also reserved space along Rand Wall. SJP handed out flyers to passersby that read “Let’s Talk One Year of Genocide Factsheet.” In the backdrop of both groups’ tables hung two banners, one calling for the release of the Israeli hostages currently being held by Hamas and the other calling attention to the mass violence against Gaza in the wake of Oct. 7, 2023.
The evening of Oct. 7, over 200 community members and students gathered in a pro-Palestine protest at Centennial Park to commemorate lives lost since Oct. 7, 2023, and issue calls for Palestinian liberation. Vanderbilt’s pro-Israel groups, including Chabad, Dores for Israel, Hillel and Students Support Israel, co-hosted a candlelight vigil later that evening that garnered around 100 attendees.
The following evening, SJP hosted a support night for community members affected by Israel’s ongoing violence in Gaza and escalating regional conflict.
“This year, we have borne witness to innumerable atrocities and immeasurable suffering. We as students are here for each other, and we must not let this pain go unacknowledged,” SJP said in an Oct. 5 Instagram post in advance of the event.
SSI hosted Sagi Gabay, one of the Nova Music Festival survivors, on Oct. 9 to share his story and experiences. Gabay’s visit was coordinated by the Faces of October 7th project, which also brought Nova survivor Shalev to campus earlier this year.
On Oct. 16, DFI installed an art exhibit featuring Israeli photojournalist Ziv Koren’s work in Rand Lounge from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. CDT. His photographs depict the on-the-ground experiences of Israelis since Oct. 7, 2023.
DFI President Luke Halpern, a senior, said the goal in bringing the exhibit to campus was to offer students a “direct, raw vision” of the events in southern Israel one year prior.
“The exhibit authentically depicts the intensity of the Oct. 7 attack and its impact on Israeli civilians,” Halpern said in a statement to The Hustler. “We [DFI] are also committed to making additional spaces on campus that commemorate the attack, especially in light of its recent one-year anniversary, which has weighed heavily on our community.”
Junior Tal Blaustein said that he spent 10 weeks in Israel this summer, during which he had the opportunity to visit some of the sites that were featured in Koren’s exhibit.
“Seeing the destruction that we’re seeing in these photos first-hand was really heartbreaking. Seeing children’s toys lying around and how life just suddenly stopped was shocking,” Blaustein said. “Seeing these photos blown-up in Rand is a really important way to not lose sight of what happened on that ‘Black Saturday.’”
