A Clarification on Hillel's Letter

We want to clarify a misconception that some readers may have had after reading the letter by Amherst Hillel’s Executive Board in last week’s edition of The Student. That letter did not distinguish between the students who staged the die-in at the Israeli Independence Day Party and those who tore down Hillel’s posters. On that Saturday night, after many of us staged the die-in, we made posters condemning the actions of the Israeli state in the Keefe Campus Center. Four students hung the posters in Valentine between 1 a.m. and 1:30 a.m., surrounding the posters advertising the party. We neither covered nor vandalized their posters. As a matter of fact, we sought to create a learning space: The stark contrast between the pro-Israel posters advertising the party against the signs critical of Israel’s actions. Without Amherst Hillel’s posters present, our posters would not have been educative.

We hope that this note clarifies any hints that any of us vandalized the posters advertising the party. Although we would have hoped that either Amherst Hillel or The Student would have made the correction themselves, we want to end any mistaken beliefs that distract us from the original reason we protested, which was the Israeli occupation. A focus on that matter will ensure that we at Amherst can fulfill a promise of equality and respect both here and abroad.

Marc Daalder ’18
Kyle Ferendo ’17E
Alexander Jiron ’15
Caroline Katba ’15
Andrew Lindsay ’16
Laura Merchant ’15
Samuel Rosenblum ’16
Frank Tavares ’18