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Brandeis student senate that declined to condemn Hamas doesn’t speak for us, say 2 student statements
(JTA) — The decision by Brandeis University’s student government senate to reject a resolution condemning Hamas is drawing significant dissent from within the university’s community.
Two statements published Tuesday aim to demonstrate that the vote Sunday night does not represent the majority view at the university, which was founded in 1948 by leaders of the U.S. Jewish community. One of the statements suggests that the vote did not even represent the majority view of the student government.
The first statement to appear was written and circulated by Eitan Marks, a senior and the president of Brandeis Hillel. Structured as an open letter, it had garnered more than 1,000 signatures by Thursday morning from current students and their families, university faculty and staff and alumni dating back to 1960. Brandeis Hillel has also signed it.
“We, the undersigned, strongly condemn the atrocious and barbaric Hamas terror attacks against the people of Israel this month, including many connected to the Brandeis community,” the letter begins. It adds, “Failure to denounce these atrocities without reservation is a moral stain.”
The letter goes on to commend Brandeis president Ron Liebowitz for his support for Israel, and calls on more campus leaders to speak out as well. Liebowitz put out statements on Oct. 7, the day of Hamas’ attack on Israel, and again this week, emphasizing that Brandeis supports Israel’s right to defend itself.
“I’m really proud of our students for mobilizing so quickly,” Rabbi Seth Winberg, the executive director of Brandeis Hillel, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Winberg also signed the letter.
The second statement, from by the Brandeis Undergraduate Student Union, similarly condemns Hamas. It was emailed to all undergraduate students Wednesday afternoon and posted on social media.
Brandeis’ government, called the Student Union, consists of five branches, including a senate that passes legislation and an executive board that oversees the entire government. The senate — which voted down the resolution condemning Hamas 6-10, with five abstentions — typically sets policy positions for the entire Student Union.
The Student Union letter suggests that the Marks’ letter was a better barometer of sentiment than the senate vote.
“We agree wholeheartedly with this statement and the need to support our community during this time,” reads the Student Union’s letter, referring to the letter written by Marks.
“We want to send a message to all of our students, including our Jewish, Israeli, Muslim, Arab, and Palestinian students, we are here to support you,” it continues. “We are here for you as your student government.”
Marks told JTA that he viewed the Student Union’s letter as an important corrective at a challenging time.
“It is clear that on this issue, the vote of a few students on the student government does not actually represent the Brandeis community,” Marks told JTA via email, referring to the senate vote. “I am glad they corrected their mistake and unequivocally condemned Hamas terrorism. Brandeis is, and will always be the best university for Jewish students in the United States.”
But Stephan Gaughan, a Jewish sophomore who resigned from Brandeis’ student government over the senate’s decision, told JTA that the overwhelming response he has heard from students on campus is that the Student Union’s letter is “too little too late.”
Gaughan signed the student-led letter but said he finds it troubling that the student government letter is not signed by any individuals by name. (He did note that Student Union President Noah Risley shared the letter on Instagram.)
“I’m glad to see a statement, but I think what we need right now is transparency,” Gaughan said. “Specifically as to whom in the union this represents.”
The Brandeis Israel Public Affairs Committee, a pro-Israel student group, released a statement on Tuesday rejecting the senate’s decision. “BIPAC is disappointed and frightened by the decision of our Student Union against adopting the proposed resolution to condemn ‘all acts of terrorism, violence and hatred,’” the statement reads. The group called on Brandeis students to “be loud about your commitment to human rights.”
Many campuses have been roiled since Oct. 7 over their leaders’ handling of Hamas’ attack on Israel and Israel’s ensuing war against the terror group in Gaza. Some have seen donors cut off funding to protest responses that they perceived as insufficiently supportive of Israel or Jewish students.
Aside from the senate vote, Gaughan said the campus response to Hamas’ attack has been largely in support of Israel and Brandeis’ Jewish community, which includes about a third of undergraduates. He said there have been isolated incidents of anti-Israel graffiti on campus.
A university spokesperson told JTA there have been no demonstrations on campus in support of Hamas and noted that in the aftermath of the Oct. 7 attacks, multiple vigils have been organized by Jewish and Israeli students.
The campus chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine, which drew national attention when it held a rally on campus in February, has not advertised on-campus activity on its Instagram page. It participated in a Boston-wide pro-Palestinian rally on Sunday and on Tuesday initiated an open letter of its own.
The letter, whose signatories have not been made public, denounces the “the Israeli genocide” and says Brandeis’ founding “by the American Jewish community that has experienced anti-semitism and genocide for decades by white supremacists” requires the university to stand with Palestinians now.
“Realistically, we realize that the school cannot and will not show any support for Palestine,” the SJP letter says. “However, the least we can expect as advocates for Palestinian students on campus is acknowledgment of the suffering that they and their families have been going through for the past 75 years.” The letter also asks for special resources for Palestinian and Muslim students, including an Arab social worker at the university counseling center.
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The post Brandeis student senate that declined to condemn Hamas doesn’t speak for us, say 2 student statements appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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Iran Says It Has Replaced Air Defenses Damaged in Israel War
The S-300 missile system is seen during the National Army Day parade ceremony in Tehran, Iran, April 17, 2024. Photo: Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
Iran has replaced air defenses damaged during last month’s conflict with Israel, Iran’s Defah Press news agency reported on Sunday quoting Mahmoud Mousavi, the regular army’s deputy for operations.
During the conflict in June, Israel’s air force dominated Iran’s airspace and dealt a heavy blow to the country’s air defenses while Iranian armed forces launched successive barrages of missiles and drones on Israeli territory.
“Some of our air defenses were damaged, this is not something we can hide, but our colleagues have used domestic resources and replaced them with pre-arranged systems that were stored in suitable locations in order to keep the airspace secure,” Mousavi said.
Prior to the war, Iran had its own domestically-made long-range air defense system Bavar-373 in addition to the Russian-made S-300 system. The report by Defah Press did not mention any import of foreign-made air defense systems to Iran in past weeks.
Following limited Israeli strikes against Iranian missile factories last October, Iran later displayed Russian-made air defenses in a military exercise to show it recovered from the attack.
The post Iran Says It Has Replaced Air Defenses Damaged in Israel War first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Calm Reported in Syria’s Sweida, Damascus Says Truce Holding
Members of Internal Security Forces stand guard at an Internal Security Forces’ checkpoint working to prevent Bedouin fighters from advancing towards Sweida, following renewed fighting between Bedouin fighters and Druze gunmen, despite an announced truce, in Walgha, Sweida province, Syria, July 20, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Karam al-Masri
Residents reported calm in Syria’s Sweida on Sunday after the Islamist-led government announced that Bedouin fighters had withdrawn from the predominantly Druze city and a US envoy signaled that a deal to end days of fighting was being implemented.
With hundreds reported killed, the Sweida bloodshed is a major test for interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, prompting Israel to launch airstrikes against government forces last week as it declared support for the Druze. Fighting continued on Saturday despite a ceasefire call.
Interior Minister Anas Khattab said on Sunday that internal security forces had managed to calm the situation and enforce the ceasefire, “paving the way for a prisoner exchange and the gradual return of stability throughout the governorate.”
Reuters images showed interior ministry forces near the city, blocking the road in front of members of tribes congregated there. The Interior Ministry said late on Saturday that Bedouin fighters had left the city.
US envoy Tom Barrack said the sides had “navigated to a pause and cessation of hostilities”. “The next foundation stone on a path to inclusion, and lasting de-escalation, is a complete exchange of hostages and detainees, the logistics of which are in process,” he wrote on X.
Kenan Azzam, a dentist, said there was an uneasy calm but the city’s residents were struggling with a lack of water and electricity. “The hospitals are a disaster and out of service, and there are still so many dead and wounded,” he said by phone.
Another resident, Raed Khazaal, said aid was urgently needed. “Houses are destroyed … The smell of corpses is spread throughout the national hospital,” he said in a voice message to Reuters from Sweida.
The Syrian state news agency said an aid convoy sent to the city by the government was refused entry while aid organized by the Syrian Red Crescent was let in. A source familiar with the situation said local factions in Sweida had turned back the government convoy.
Israeli public broadcaster Kan reported on Sunday that Israel sent urgent medical aid to the Druze in Sweida and the step was coordinated with Washington and Syria. Spokespeople for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the Foreign Ministry and the military did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The Druze are a small but influential minority in Syria, Israel and Lebanon who follow a religion that is an offshoot of a branch of Shi’ite Islam. Some hardline Sunnis deem their beliefs heretical.
The fighting began a week ago with clashes between Bedouin and Druze fighters. Damascus sent troops to quell the fighting, but they were drawn into the violence and accused of widespread violations against the Druze.
Residents of the predominantly Druze city said friends and neighbours were shot at close range in their homes or in the streets by Syrian troops, identified by their fatigues and insignia.
Sharaa on Thursday promised to protect the rights of Druze and to hold to account those who committed violations against “our Druze people.”
He has blamed the violence on “outlaw groups.”
While Sharaa has won US backing since meeting President Donald Trump in May, the violence has underscored the challenge he faces stitching back together a country shattered by 14 years of conflict, and added to pressures on its mosaic of sectarian and ethnic groups.
COASTAL VIOLENCE
After Israel bombed Syrian government forces in Sweida and hit the defense ministry in Damascus last week, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel had established a policy demanding the demilitarization of territory near the border, stretching from the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights to the Druze Mountain, east of Sweida.
He also said Israel would protect the Druze.
The United States however said it did not support the Israeli strikes. On Friday, an Israeli official said Israel agreed to allow Syrian forces limited access to the Sweida area for two days.
A Syrian security source told Reuters that internal security forces had taken up positions near Sweida, establishing checkpoints in western and eastern parts of the province where retreating tribal fighters had gathered.
On Sunday, Sharaa received the report of an inquiry into violence in Syria’s coastal region in March, where Reuters reported in June that Syrian forces killed 1,500 members of the Alawite minority following attacks on security forces.
The presidency said it would review the inquiry’s conclusions and ensure steps to “bring about justice” and prevent the recurrence of “such violations.” It called on the inquiry to hold a news conference on its findings – if appropriate – as soon as possible.
The Syrian Network for Human Rights said on July 18 it had documented the deaths of at least 321 people in Sweida province since July 13. The preliminary toll included civilians, women, children, Bedouin fighters, members of local groups and members of the security forces, it said, and the dead included people killed in field executions by both sides.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, another monitoring group, has reported a death toll of at least 940 people.
Reuters could not independently verify the tolls.
The post Calm Reported in Syria’s Sweida, Damascus Says Truce Holding first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Pope Leo Calls for End to ‘Barbarity of War’ After Strike on Gaza Church
Pope Leo XIV leads the Angelus prayer in Castel Gandolfo, Italy, July 20, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Yara Nardi TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
Pope Leo called for an end to the “barbarity of war” on Sunday as he spoke of his profound pain over an Israeli strike on the sole Catholic church in Gaza.
Three people died and several were injured, including the parish priest, in the strike on the Holy Family Church compound in Gaza City on Thursday. Photos show its roof has been hit close to the main cross, scorching the stone facade, and shattering windows.
Speaking after his Angelus prayer, Leo read out the names of those killed in the incident.
“I appeal to the international community to observe humanitarian law and respect the obligation to protect civilians as well as the prohibition of collective punishment, of indiscriminate use of force and forced displacement of the population,” he said.
The post Pope Leo Calls for End to ‘Barbarity of War’ After Strike on Gaza Church first appeared on Algemeiner.com.