Recap of pro-Palestinian protest at Gallaudet against Rabbi Soudakoff’s visit

On February 29 at Gallaudet University, there was an event with a Deaf Rabbi named Yehoshua Soudakoff. His topic was “Ask Me Anything” on any topics related to Israel, Jewish life, faith, or antisemitism. The event was organized by Gallaudet’s Hillel organization and supported by Gallaudet’s Division of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusive Excellence (DEDI).

A collective of students, staff, alumni and community members who are hoping to create an organization called Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) criticized the idea of Rabbi Soudakoff coming to visit. They called the rabbi a settler who lived on Palestinian land, a racist, a harassing person, and said Gallaudet is ignoring concerns that there is a genocide going on.

The collective wanted the Hillel event to be canceled, but it still took place on February 29.

The event was on a second floor classroom in the Student Academic Building (SAC). Based on pictures and videos on social media, around 25 people attended the Hillel event.

Outside of the classroom, there was a group of about 20 protesters who loudly demonstrated against the rabbi and the event only a few feet away from the upstairs classroom. They had loudspeakers and some kind of drum and did various chants, such as “Free Palestine!”

There were at least three security guards from Gallaudet’s Department of Public Safety (DPS) that stood between the classroom and the protesters. The Hillel event went on for about two hours and the protesters demonstrated outside for the entire time.

The day after, Gallaudet’s Interim Chief Diversity Officer Dr. Jeremy Brunson posted a video and statement on Gallaudet’s YouTube account saying the protesters “marred” the event. Here is a clip.

[Clip] YouTube/Gallaudet University (March 1, 2024)

Dr. Jeremy Brunson: “…Unfortunately, the “Ask Me Anything” program was marred by protesters who did not follow the values, rules, or policies at Gallaudet University… We will conduct a review of what happened and take appropriate steps to ensure future compliance with the expressive activities and assembly policy.”

[End clip]

Alex: My understanding is that the protesters were told that they could protest, but they had to stay on the first floor of the SAC building in the G-Area space. They didn’t do this — they went upstairs and got as close as possible to the classroom. It is said they didn’t follow what was requested.

The week after, on March 6, there was an open letter and video titled, “Statement from Gallaudet students and Deaf community members in Solidarity with Palestine.”

[Full-screen image showing document with the title, “Statement from Gallaudet students and Deaf community members in Solidarity with Palestine]

[Video clips from Student Justice for Palestine at Gallaudet]

Student #1: “Gallaudet allowed a rabbi who lives on Palestinian land that was occupied in 1948 to come speak on campus…”

Student #2: “…Not only did Gallaudet welcome this race (sic) and persistence (sic) onto campus the institution itself has been silent about the ongoing Israeli genocide against the Palestinian people. The Israeli military has murdered more than 30,000 Palestinians in the last five months…”

Student #3: “…Our protest was targeted to the specific issue of the liberation of Palestine, but we recognize the interconnection between the Palestinian struggle and the struggles of Gallaudet students and community members broadly...”

[End clips]

Alex: That letter and statement was signed by over 150 people, including several Gallaudet staff and professors. On the next day, on March 7, Gallaudet University’s Executive Leadership Team released a video and statement that said the protest “violated” the university’s policy. Here is a clip.

[Clip from Youtube/Gallaudet University on March 7, 2024 showing a representative for Gallaudet]

“…The protest violated the university’s policy on expressive activities and assembly. They were given a designated space for this protest. Gallaudet supports various viewpoints but it’s important to keep the campus community safe...”

[End clip]

Alex: So, this is what has been happening the past two weeks at Gallaudet University. I’ve included links to the videos and statements referenced above — they are in the description.

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Alex: I’ve reached out to Rabbi Soudakoff and to the Gallaudet SJP collective with several questions. I will show their responses.

But before I do, I want to explain that the SJP collective, in their previous open letter on March 6 and in their responses to my questions, flagged several comments that were posted by Rabbi Soudakoff on Instagram. They took screenshots of specific comments. They said the comments are the reason why they felt unsafe with him.

I’m not going to show them or discuss specific online comments because I’m missing the context of who said what to whom and during what time. This is too specific and I can’t analyze it. I don’t want to discuss this here and I can’t get into it. It’s between them.

But what I will show is their responses about the Hillel incident on Feb. 29 and the broader concepts about Israel and genocide.

First, here is an interview with Rabbi Soudakoff.

[Begin interview]

Alex: How did you feel about the protest? Did you expect it?

Rabbi Soudakoff: Before the event started, I was already warned by Gallaudet that there were some students who wanted to protest the event. They were told that they had a specific area to protest. We were upstairs and they were supposed to be downstairs. But I was then told that they refused to follow Gallaudet’s instructions or policies. They wanted to be closer to our area. So Gallaudet was a little worried about this. At that point, I asked them to please bring DPS officers prior to the event so I can ensure there is a safe space for all, so it’s not out of control. They did send DPS officers, who were there from the beginning of the event. During the event, the (protesters) were near the entrance. Those who attended didn’t know about it and it was an uncomfortable experience for many.

Alex: Do you consider the protest over the top? Is it blaming you for the war in Gaza? Is it anti-semitic? Is there hate because you represent Israel? Or do you feel that you understand that they are generally protesting the war? Or do you feel targeted because of your identity? Can you share?

Soudakoff: I think they did target me because of the fact that I was visiting from Israel. It gave them an opportunity to protest. And what does anti-semitism mean? It’s when you do something that you wouldn’t do for other people. For example, many countries do different things that we’re not happy about. But if they came to visit, you wouldn’t protest them. You would understand that they don’t represent the government. I don’t work for the Israeli government. I’m just a regular citizen. So when I came to visit and meet with Deaf students, with my Jewish Deaf community, I was targeted. They’re blaming me for the war, for the policies of the military. I’m not involved with the military nor the government. In a way, it was very anti-semitic and it was targeted towards me. I feel shocked because this was an event where you can ask and have a discussion. That’s the entire point. I could see that they weren’t interested in this but wanted to stop, to cancel the event, and when they failed to do so, they were harassing to the point where people felt uncomfortable.

Alex: Did you feel unsafe? Concerned for your safety and for others? Like, suppose the door burst open and the protesters came in? Could there have been physical violence? Did you feel afraid for your safety?

Soudakoff: I assumed that they wouldn’t kill me or something like that. But I was unsure about whether they would enter. That was one of our concerns. That’s why DPS was there the entire time so they wouldn’t enter or cancel the event. The fact that we had security really helped us feel safe. If they weren’t there, we would feel worse.

Alex: I’m going to bring up the open letter from the Gallaudet (SJP) organization and it was signed by many Gallaudet professors and others. There was a lot of criticism against you, calling you a Zionist, a supporter of the Israeli military, or encouraging others to be loyal to Israel. They also brought up your old Instagram posts. Well, not old, but recent comments. How do you feel about that open letter?

Soudakoff: I saw that the letter allowed no room for conversation or for coexistence because that letter basically did not accept the existence of Israel as a country. They wanted to destroy that country. That’s a part of the reason why they protested against my visit — they called me a settler. But I live in a land that is not in the West Bank or in Gaza. I live in a land that is recognized by the international community as a part of Israel. And they got to the point where they didn’t recognize the country. That letter was very extreme from my perspective. No room for dialogue. No room to figure out how Palestinian people and Israeli people can live together in peace. They just criticized and wanted Israel gone. That’s why many Jewish people in our community feel uneasy. They’re shocked at those who support that position. Does it mean they don’t accept us? Remember, 90% of Jewish people are Zionists. What does that term mean? It’s not a bad word. It means that a person believes that Jewish people, like all people in the world, have a right to their homeland. Just like Armenian people or Russian people or Ukrainian people have their homelands. Jewish people have a homeland as well. That’s the point. So if they don’t recognize that, it feels very hurtful. The protesters were screaming, “Free Palestine. All Zionists off campus.” For that statement, “All Zionists,” remember that I said 90% of Jewish people in America are Zionists. Does that mean they want 90% of all Jewish people to go away? Is that the message? The protesters said they were trying to protest me, but they ended up protesting the entire Jewish people. So that’s what makes me feel uncomfortable. They have one message but there is another agenda behind it to add different issues. They want to destroy Israel, they want all Zionists out, they want to make Jewish people who support Israel scared. It’s got nothing to do with me personally. It’s mixed. That’s why I said the event was not just about me. Maybe they latched on to a certain statement I made to bring all of their issues to it to the point where all of us feel uncomfortable. It’s not just me, we all feel shook.

Alex: Many of those who signed the letter and the organization Gallaudet SJP said they’re taking action because Israel is actively commiting a genocide. They referred to the International *Court of Justice and the charge brought by South Africa and other countries that Israel is commiting a genocide. Can you comment on that? Do you feel that Israel is committing a genocide or is it just a part of a war? Can you explain on the genocide question?

Soudakoff: Genocide is a very emotional word. The word means that a person or a country wants to kill all the people in another group. Like some say Israel wants to kill all Palestinians. I think that’s a very powerful word and unfortunately it’s been abused. Because what Israel is doing now is not targeted towards all Palestinians. They’re targeting Hamas, which is a terrorist organization. It’s recognized as a terror group by many countries, including the U.S. and other European countries. Hamas wants to destroy Israel. So Israel responded by targeting them. Unfortunately, in all wars, you will have many people who are in the way. Because Hamas will hide behind civilians and use them as shields. It’s a terrible war. Honestly, no Israeli wants war. Everyone wants peace. But Oct. 7 happened. So we are now fighting to defend ourselves and make sure Hamas never threatens us again. Did they target all Palestinians? No. And I think many people forget that in Israel itself, there are over 2 million Palestians/Arab citizens that are a part of our country. So it doesn’t make sense that we would welcome them as a part of our society and live together and at the same time want to kill them. It’s contradictory. People just don’t understand what is happening here. So they may use pictures and videos of people who have died. It’s true. It’s horrible. It’s sad. It should never happen. But it’s a part of war. I understand if you support or do not support war. But to make it something that is terrible, that a country wants to kill all others — no, that’s not what is happening here. Israel has done a lot to make sure that people are okay, for them to stay at a place as they target Hamas. People don’t understand what is happening here.

[End clip]

Alex: Thank you. Now, here are comments from Gallaudet SJP. I originally requested an interview, but we agreed for me to send questions and for them to send responses in a video.

I asked, among other questions, about why they wanted to protest against the rabbi, why they didn’t simply enter the classroom and ask questions instead of doing a disruptive protest, and whether they regretted making others feel unsafe. Here is their general response.

[Gally SJP response] (Video has been edited for length) (Captions provided by Gally SJP)

[Begin clip]

Gallaudet SJP Student Representative: “Our protest was not organized by any specific organization, but by frustrated students, staff, alumni, and community members. We are hoping to create a Students for Justice in Palestine at Gallaudet University. SJP is a student activism organization fighting for the liberation of Palestine on university campuses all over the United States, Canada and New Zealand.

The definition of genocide is “the deliberate killing of a large number of people from a particular nation or ethnic group.” For any human being paying attention, it is easy to identify that israel is committing a genocide.

We have clearly stated that our problem with the rabbi is not his religion, as many protesters with us that day, including myself, are Jewish. We do not accept colonizers, racists, misogynists, or homophobes, like this rabbi, on our campus.

It has been almost 6 months of complicity and enabling from Gallaudet University. We have made our complaints and feedback to Gallaudet clear, and we are continuously ignored. By neglecting us, by spinning this genocide as a war implicitly erasing the dynamic of occupation, by ignoring 76 years of context before the past few months, and by never acknowledging the 31,000+ Palestinians murdered by Israel in Gaza over the past few months, Gallaudet is supporting genocide. Because Gallaudet loves to boast about their accessibility, inclusivity, diversity and progressiveness, we expect Gallaudet to uphold their supposed values. Gallaudet has a responsibility to provide their Deaf students access to the whole story. But by only exposing them to one narrative, Gallaudet is actively oppressing their own students. We tried our very best to work with the University, and after 6 months we realized that Gallaudet has decided the side of history they are standing on. We decided, if Gallaudet will not listen to us, we will make our voices and hands heard.

As for entering the room. Students were already aware of who the rabbi was, so students did not feel safe to enter the room to debate. We also believe that genocide should not be a debate. We also thought it was important for the entire university administration to see that they have failed us, and that we have demands for them to meet.

Thursday evening was a peaceful assembly. DPS was there and did not tell us to move to the G-area or anything about policy. And one DPS officer actually applauded us and told us we were doing a great job. Isn’t it a little ironic for the university to claim that they support student’s right to protest but then condemn us and try to dictate how we protest. Gallaudet especially should know how protests are crucial in making change. Deaf President Now was an amazing win for Gallaudet and the Deaf community, but it would not have been successful if the students did not push back against the university. We feel unsafe every day that Gallaudet enables genocide.

Because of Gallaudet’s silence and ostensible “neutrality” the past 6 months, campus has been very unsafe for pro-Palestinian students as they have received death threats from Zionist students. Additionally, we have faculty that are very vocal about their support for Israel and attendance in Israeli protests.

The response from Gallaudet, including President Bobbi Cordano, stated that our protest was conducted safely as no one was hurt and no property damage was done.

[End clip]

Alex: Thank you for your willingness to respond to questions.

So, this is what has been going on the past two weeks at Gallaudet. On one side, some people are demanding that the protesters who may have violated Gallaudet policy to face consequences. On the other side, people are demanding that Gallaudet apologize and do more to support the Palestinian cause.

Gallaudet DEDI Statement: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHh_Hdbh2Jk

SJP Statement in ASL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kE37l5gcUgo

SJP Statement in English: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1zpYpv9cbtYeI4_0OlYqMYXXqzimhyD7W/view

Gallaudet Leadership statement: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prexYnPloXE