Pro-Palestinian activists at the University of Washington in Seattle have recently begun selling T-shirts supporting the October 7 Hamas-led massacre in Israel and distributing flyers that include credit to the “Hamas Media Office.” When Sigal Buchman, who fights antisemitism on campus on behalf of the international Jewish student organization Hillel, alerted university administrators, she was stunned by their response.
“To my astonishment, the university didn’t ban the shirts because they promote terrorism or incite violence against Jews, but simply because of a technical violation: unauthorized sales on campus grounds,” she said in an interview.
Pro-Palestinian protesters at the The University of Washington
(Video: Sigal Buchman)
Buchman, who began her work at UW in November 2024, sees both positive and negative developments. The good news, she says, is that since Donald Trump’s return to the White House, university leadership across the U.S. has become more responsive to antisemitic threats and intimidation. “During the protest encampments, Jewish students understood there was no point in filing complaints. A student wearing a Star of David necklace was attacked and received no support. Many students simply hid their Jewish identity out of fear,” she said.
“But now, with Trump back in office, things have changed. When a student recently reported a ‘Free Palestine’ message scrawled in a bathroom, university officials immediately removed it and emailed me to update me—that’s a dramatic shift.”
But there’s bad news too
“When I showed UW President Ana Mari Cauce flyers bearing the name ‘Hamas Media Office,’ she said the First Amendment prevents her from restricting free speech,” Buchman said. “But she ignored the fact that Hamas is a designated terrorist organization. When a shirt displays an Israeli tank from October 7, or another bears the slogan ‘A Flood Is Coming’—a direct reference to the Hamas operation ‘Al-Aqsa Flood’—that’s incitement to violence and glorification of terrorism.”
Asked how President Cauce responded to her request to halt the sale of the shirts, Buchman said, “She sent police officers to stop the sales on campus grounds, citing policy violations. But she also said there’s no legal basis for action unless someone is directly threatened or weapons are involved. To be fair, Cauce fears for her life and her family’s. In November 2024, masked individuals vandalized her home and car with graffiti calling her a ‘genocide accomplice,’ writing ‘blood on your hands’ and ‘free Palestine.’ Her car tires were slashed, and she broke her leg during a confrontation.”
She adds, “Unfortunately, the overall atmosphere on campus is toxic. Even some Jewish professors are anti-Zionist, lending credibility to the pro-Palestinian side.”
"A clear call for violence"
Pro-Palestinian rallies at the university have included chants such as “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free”—a call to erase the state of Israel—as well as “There’s only one solution: Intifada revolution.”
The Cholent, a self-described “Jewish newsletter of Seattle,” published an article on March 17 signed by Jewish-American professors at the University of Washington. Instead of defending Jewish students who had been harassed or physically attacked, the signatories warned against the “cynical use” of antisemitism accusations. They argued that claims of antisemitism are sometimes used to stifle criticism of Israel or suppress pro-Palestinian voices on campus.
Marni Merritt, a senior at UW, published a scathing rebuttal titled “They Took the Spirit of My University Away.” She quoted classmates describing the fear and alienation Jewish students have felt since October 7.
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One student, identifying only by the initials E.O., said: “During the time of the encampment, I hid my Star of David necklace. I didn’t feel safe. A student in class said Adolf Eichmann shouldn’t have been extradited to Israel, and the professor said nothing. I knew I was the only Jew in the room. I was shaking. I felt terrified on campus.”
Merritt wrote: “If you had asked me on October 6, 2023, how I felt about my time at UW, I would have told you how much I loved it and how at home I felt. I always smiled talking about how I knew I had made the right decision by coming to this university. But if you had asked me the same question any day after October 7, 2023, I wouldn’t be able to hide the sadness in my eyes or the heaviness in my heart. I was abandoned by my peers and by my university’s leadership. I was isolated, hated, cursed at for being Jewish. They stole the spirit of my university, my sense of belonging, and my passion to one day be a proud alum.”
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A student on the University of Washington's gymnastics team salutes Jewish students with a raised hand
(Photo: Sigal Buchman)
Buchman says Merritt’s article resonated deeply within Seattle’s Jewish community—but not with the university’s leadership. “At a T-shirt sale two weeks ago, a group of about 50 young people gathered, led by a masked woman shouting through a megaphone, ‘Yahya Sinwar, we’re proud of you. You will lead the way. Al-Qassam, we’re proud of you. Martyrs, we’re proud of you,’” she recalled. “The university calls that free speech. I call it a clear call to violence.”
As of publication, the University of Washington had not responded to a request for comment.