12 | MARCH 7 • 2024 
J
N

J

ewish students and parents of 
the Upper School of Roeper 
said that there have been 
rising tensions in the months fol-
lowing the Oct. 7 attacks in Israel, 
culminating with the appearance 
of posters with pro-Palestinian 
messages calling for a ceasefire 
and accusing Israel of committing 
genocide on the week of Feb. 12 just 
before the private school’s scheduled 
winter break. 
Some students requesting ano-
nymity are saying that the climate 
has become inhospitable to Jewish 
students, with a few feeling socially 
ostracized for expressing pro- 
Israel views and others concerned 
that this ostracization may hurt 
their academic standings and their 
scheduled trajectory toward gradu-
ation during the final years of high 
school. One student said they were 
verbally bullied in the hallway after 
the appearance of the posters. 
Days after the Oct. 7 Hamas 

attacks, the Jewish Student Union 
(JSU) released a statement to the 
student body informing them how 
Israelis were attacked and killed 
from air, land and sea. To gain 
approval from the administration, 
the JSU had to amend the statement 
to include the death of Palestinians 
as well. 

DISCUSSIONS QUELLED
As the months went on, members 
of the JSU were divided about the 
idea of bringing Metro Detroit’s 
Shinshinim Israeli delegates into the 
school to offer an Israeli perspective 
of the events before and after Oct. 7. 
However, some JSU students did not 
want to have Israelis in the building, 
and the JSU was told by the admin-
istration that if the Shinshinim were 
to speak to the organization as invit-
ed guests, they were not allowed to 
talk about Oct. 7 or the ensuing war. 
After some debate, the JSU decided 
they were no longer going to dis-

OUR COMMUNITY

Jewish Upper School students meet 
with pro-Palestinian propaganda.
Tensions at Roeper

STACY GITTLEMAN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

