Jewish students in the Boston area said they're "stunned" by anti-Israeli sentiment being shared across the country.
"I'm not scared," said Sev, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology student who previously lived in Israel, of the environment in Massachusetts. But "we're aware of the animosity and the pure hate that exists."
About 200 students and community members from Boston-area colleges gathered at MIT Tuesday night for a vigil supporting Israel. People lit candles, sang and shared stories.
Another student from Israel said he felt safe being in the U.S. but was discouraged by some of the rhetoric from university students and pro-Palestine demonstrators.
"They're thinking they're supporting Palestine, but it's not really supporting Palestine 'cause they're supporting terrorists," Yossi said. "This is not about freedom of speech. It's about the freedom of hate."
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More than 2,000 people have been killed in the war between Israel and Hamas after the terrorist group launched a surprise attack Saturday, firing thousands of rockets into residential areas from the Gaza Strip.
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Attendees at the MIT vigil also condemned Harvard University's response to students who penned a letter blaming Israel for the terror attacks that killed hundreds of civilians.
"Harvard's response was late, weak and cowardly," Tomas, a Harvard graduate, told Fox News at a vigil for Israel. Thirty-four student organizations justified "terrorist attacks, beheadings of children, shooting teenagers in the back while they're at a music festival."
Nearly three dozen Harvard student organizations signed onto a statement released Saturday declaring Israel "entirely responsible" for the terror that resulted in the deadliest day for Jewish people since the Holocaust. As of Tuesday night, at least five of the groups had rescinded their signatures.
Harvard President Claudine Gay issued a statement Monday condemning the attacks and distancing the centuries-old university from the statement.
"While our students have the right to speak for themselves, no student group — not even 30 student groups — speaks for Harvard University or its leadership," Gay wrote.
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Anti-Israel demonstrators clashed with counter-protesters earlier this week in Cambridge, hurling insults. Police had to hold the opposing sides back at times.
"We were honestly incredibly stunned to see the initial messages and Instagram stories going out in support" of Hamas, Sev said. "We expected at minimum for there to be either condemning of these attacks or just silence from the more pro-Palestinian side."
Tomas said this is a moment in which "everybody needs to just say this is something terrible that happened."
"There should be no justification. There is no moral equivalence to what happened," he added. "This is not decolonization. This is terrorism and mass murder."
To hear more from Boston-area students, click here.
