(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Ahead of the first night of Passover, organizers at Northwestern’s Jewish student organization are on alert for safety concerns like those that have arisen at Columbia University amid protests over the war in Gaza.
Northwestern Hillel Executive Director Michael Simon said they’ll do everything possible to make sure students feel safe and cited great support from campus police and administrators.
“It’s important for students to know when they come into this Hillel building that it is a place where they’re safe to be who they are,” he said.
They expect about 200 Jewish students to attend their seders on Monday and Tuesday night at 7 p.m.
Simon said the war has raised all kinds of emotions and asks that students come with questions and open hearts.
“Within individual people there are a lot of feelings about what is happening,” he said. “It’s really important that we look, first and foremost, to what brings us together — ways that we are united and connected.”
He’s hopeful that the peaceful nature of protests at Northwestern continues.
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