At Swarthmore College, even the maps adorning the walls deny the existence of Palestine. Imagine the deep anguish of witnessing your homeland and your people’s history erased with a casual stroke of ink, replaced simply by the word “Israel.” This reality struck me hard during what was advertised as an “inclusive” activity in the computer science hall in September 2023, well before the events of Oct. 7, 2023. Students were invited to place pins on a world map to signify their origins. As I searched desperately for my own country — the land that embodies the history and resilience of my people — I was met only with “Israel” where “Palestine” should have been. In that moment, I felt a crushing weight of despair and humiliation. I withdrew from the activity, shattered by the reminder that even in spaces intended for community and inclusivity, I was forced to confront the violent denial of my existence.
The erasure of Palestine and the Palestinians has continuously been an inextricable outcome of the Zionist project, rooted in the grotesque declaration: “A land without a people, for a people without a land.” In addition to financial complicity in Israel’s ongoing crimes against Palestinians, Swarthmore College actively enacts the erasure of Palestinian identity on campus.
During meetings with student activists, the administration was eager to share its investments in healthcare and education, yet became defensive and refused to do so for defense and aerospace. The reality is Swarthmore NEEDS to erase Palestinian identity in order to protect its financial interests, which also prevents them from being transparent with its community. This is not passive ignorance but a cold, calculated decision. The college is deeply enmeshed in the systems that fuel Zionist apartheid and ethnic cleansing.
How could Swarthmore College remain invested in companies that help sustain Israel’s apartheid and ethnic cleansing, “currently” manifesting as outright genocide in Gaza, if it dared to recognize Palestinians as human beings deserving of life? Must Swarthmore’s endowment be safeguarded at all costs, even if the cost is the very existence of the Palestinian people? Or are a few board members, blinded by their own political prejudices, driving the campus towards immorality?
Over the course of the ongoing genocide in Gaza, Israel has continuously displaced 90% of the Strip’s population and brutally slaughtered an estimated 186,000 Palestinians. As the blood-soaked, Swarthmore-funded genocide in Gaza continues, journalists report that the violence now inflicted is the worst seen since October of last year. Alarmingly, the situation is expected to worsen as Israel intensifies its genocidal practices of withholding food and medical aid, as well as violently displacing the citizens of Gaza by creating unbearable living conditions. Videos of children being burned alive while still on IVs after Israel targeted the tents of internally displaced Palestinians in Gaza are circulating as Israel hints it has implemented General Giora Eliand’s brutal plan to intensify the catastrophe in Gaza. In adopting even some of the tactics outlined by Gen. Eliand, Israel will ensure that “Gaza will become a place where no human being can exist.”
And yet, Swarthmore College’s calculated silence remains unbroken. Through their self-serving, willful actions of erasure, Swarthmore stands in solidarity with violence, ensuring that its profits from murder remain immune to the year-long cries for justice that ring louder than Swarthmore’s ivory tower bell.
But what does Swarthmore’s calculated silence and active denial of Palestinian existence mean for its Palestinian students who bear witness to their people’s escalated suffering and the simultaneous erasure of our very own identities within their academic institution? We are forced to walk these halls, breathe this air, and sit in classrooms that won’t even acknowledge our humanity while bombs are dropped on our families and homes. Swarthmore’s campaign of erasure has left us broken, enraged, and drowning in our fight for survival. This campaign violently reverberates through our bodies, our minds, and our futures.
As a Palestinian activist on campus, seeking to voice the unheard plight of my community, I feel the crushing weight of this erasure in the most direct and explicit way. I’ve had to confront the administration’s willful denial of our existence head-on, carrying a burden that no one else here seems to understand. Last semester, many in the Swarthmore community heard about the seventeen-hour-long negotiations between student activists from the encampment and the college administration. By now, everyone is aware that those negotiations ultimately failed because senior administrators refused to even acknowledge “scholasticide” — the Israeli military’s systematic destruction of education in Gaza, a war crime condemned by United Nations experts. What everyone is not aware of is the brutal dehumanization of Palestinians leading up to that moment, the callousness of erasing an entire people, their history, and their future.
At the start of the negotiations, three Palestinian students, including myself, shared what it felt like to be a Palestinian on campus since Oct.7. The Vice President of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Brook Vick and then Co-Presidents Rob Goldberg and Tomoko Sakumora nodded sympathetically. However, when it came to acknowledging the reason for our pain — the horrific genocide unfolding in Gaza — their sympathy was useless. I’ll never forget the blatant disillusionment I felt when I first laid eyes on the administration’s shallow, performative attempt at recognition. The draft statement they offered us, supposedly meant to address the destruction of Palestinian academic institutions and the direct targeting of Palestinian scholars and students, didn’t even mention Palestinians once. Yet, “Hamas” was the fourth word. The deliberate erasure of my people in a statement meant to acknowledge their suffering was violent, leaving Palestinian students like myself stripped of even the most basic recognition of our humanity that we have been looking for on campus. At the time, all I could do was hold back my tears so as to not show weakness.
This is just one example of how Swarthmore systematically erases Palestinian identity through its manipulative use of language. Our deaths are framed as collateral damage, our suffering as an inevitable consequence, and the perpetrators of our genocide as not guilty.
Even more painful is that any acknowledgment of Palestinian existence comes only when it’s accompanied by condemnation. The college has thus placed guilt on Palestinians on campus by default. It’s a relentless burden, forcing us to defend our humanity in every space on campus and to justify the simple fact that we have the right to exist there.
The only spaces where we, as Palestinians, have ever felt genuinely welcomed and recognized are those forged by pro-Palestinian students and faculty. Yet even within these havens, our sense of belonging remains precarious, perpetually endangered by the administration’s watchful eyes and their relentless efforts to undermine us through counter-programming. Our gatherings are not mere expressions of solidarity; they have become battlegrounds where we are continuously surveilled, policed, and suffocated.
Take vigils, for example — spaces that are meant for mourning and healing, where we come together to honor the lives of those brutally taken by the violence funded with Swarthmore’s blood money. Yet even here, our grief becomes stifled, suffocated by the presence of public safety officers who crack jokes among themselves as we read the names and stories of Palestinians slaughtered by the very weapons Swarthmore profits from. In these moments, the sacred act of remembrance is overshadowed by an atmosphere of callousness, turning our mourning into a spectacle for their amusement.
For Swarthmore College, our mourning is merely an inconvenience. The administration’s cold indifference, disguised as “public safety,” sends a crushing message: even in our darkest moments of sorrow, we are not safe. We are not permitted to grieve without being reminded that our humanity has become questionable and our existence has become unwanted. In these times of profound loss, instead of solace, we are met with scrutiny, forcing us to navigate our pain amid an atmosphere that dismisses it and us.
Despite our natural inclination for peace and safety, the relentless provocation enforces an environment where every moment feels like a violent battle of endurance. When our identity is systematically erased, we are left with no choice but to fight back or accept Swarthmore’s campaign of erasure.
Swarthmore College fundamentally triggers me personally; the emotional toll is so profound that I often find myself wishing I could endure the brutal military occupation of Israel that raised a sniper at my dad, that imprisoned and broke the legs of my thirteen-year-old cousin, and that brutalized me in my place of worship during my two-week visit in August, rather than continue to navigate the toxic landscape of this campus. The atmosphere of erasure at Swarthmore College has suffocated the Palestinians on this campus.
This all occurs at a time when we so desperately want to mourn. Because of what Swarthmore has done, we are forced to channel all the grief over the genocide of our people into a seething rage to drive action rather than the alternative of sorrowful defeat. This, however, only leaves us vulnerable — our wounds are left open and unhealed, ready to be indexed and inflamed to the point of irreparable damage. This cycle of grief and anger is exhausting; it tears at the very fabric of our being. Swarthmore College is responsible for this. Yet, all they can do is throw around meaningless referrals to mental health resources on campus. To confront the mental health crisis facing Palestinian students, Swarthmore College must first acknowledge their presence. Only then can meaningful steps be taken to address the systemic erasure and provide the support needed for healing. Otherwise, how can we survive in an institution that profits from our oppression and denies our right to even exist?
In the meantime, we will not allow the Swarthmore-funded genocide of our people to be forgotten, nor will we allow our own humanity to be stripped away. This fight is not just for our survival; it’s a fight for the soul of our community, for the recognition of our struggle, and for the assertion that we too, deserve life. As we confront these obstacles, we remind ourselves and others that our fight is far from over.
Swarthmore is minding the might.
I have lost so much respect for my alma mater, and for alums, whom I expected to be able to see the light of truth , with the strength to proclaim it.
Israel is committing genocide, in a tragic historical irony of grotesque proportions.
At the very least, a Quaker institution should promote peace.
But, alas!, so many in the Swarthmore community are deep the the depths of Plato’s cave and are not even seeing the light, let alone minding it. They justify the horrific ethnic cleansing, colonisation, and genocide of a people.
History will judge them as wanting, of basic caring, and even of intellectual clarity, which would be without question were it any other conflict.
But those supporting the genocide are minding the might, as did many Germans during the Holocaust, not the light.
“South Africa has just submitted a huge trove of evidence to the ICJ of Israel’s genocide in Gaza that “will show that undergirding Israel’s genocidal acts is the special intent to commit genocide””
https://x.com/cjpme/status/1850944318116376765?s=46&t=9mtXqNca0Qw9qob_FmKhPg
Thank you for sharing your perspective. The lack of moral courage in the administration is appalling. It should not be hard to unequivocally condemn genocide and divest from parties that are complicit in genocide.
The author’s feelings are shaped by believing a false narrative, propaganda, lies. Truth, rigorous academic study, vigorous respectful debate based on fact and reason are fundamental Swarthmore values. However the presence on campus of some malignant propagandaists as professors are causing the current distress. The author would benefit from accurate information which he does not currently have.
For instance , the author says 186,000 Gazans have died in this war. The Gaza health ministry , which is run by Hamas , says its 43,000. That 43,000 numbet is likely inflated given the source. And half of even the 43,000 numbers are Hamas fighters. That 1 to 1 ratio of fighters to civilians is by far the lowest number of civilians killed compared to fighters of any urban warfare by any parties anywhere. That is because Israel has gone to unprecedented efforts to avoid civilian casualties, according to multiple retired generals and admirals from USA and European countries. The only genocidal parties are Iran and Iran’s proxies such as Hamas , who perpetrated the Oct 7 horror , are still holding 100 hostages , and have said repeatedly they intended to do Oct 7 again and again until all Jews are dead. Self defense to neutralize the military ability of a genocidal foe is not genocide. Hint: the one who took babies hostage and is still holding them a year later is not the victim.
The author also rues no mention of “ Palestine “. There has never in history ever been any independent or unified polity for the people who , since 1964, have called themselves “ Palestinians”. There has never been a polity called “ Palestine “ . The region now Israel , Gaza and WB was a small part of the former greater Syria . It was a remote and sleepy ottoman backwater. After WWI , under the Sykes picot treaty , the League of Nations sought to create states for self determination of various peoples. To that end , the greater Syria region was divided into a French mandate and a British mandate. The French mandate was divided into Syria , a multi ethnic , multi religious state , and Lebanon for self determination of Maronites. The British mandate was apportioned 78% to the Hashemites for Jordan , no Jews allowed to live there by law from its inception , and 22% to the Jewish state , Israel. Local Arabs living within the Jewish state’s area protested , and were offered land for a state from Israel’s land three times : in the peele commission offer and twice in the partition plan. The local Arabs leaders refused all offers. The League of Nations then determined those local Arabs had ample opportunity for self determination in Syria , Jordan or Lebanon , the other states formed from the greater Syria region : same culture, language, cuisine , clans , families, and in the countries from which half of them were recent work migrants.
The British mandate for Palestine was not a country or state or polity of any kind. It was a short term mandate to form a Jewish state. Prior to kgb propaganda division guidance in 1964, to call themselves “ Palestinians “, the local Arabs were insulted to be called Palestinians, as that meant Jews. They called themselves southern Syrians or simply Arabs.
It is sad that a Swarthmore student is so misinformed. Swarthmore needs to provide better education.
@alum – I assume the author is referring to the Lancet study conservatively estimating a death toll of 186k.
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(24)01169-3/fulltext
Anyone who denies that Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian population of Gaza should read the material South Africa has assembled in its ICJ case.
There was no “Lancet study.” There is a non-peer reviewed LETTER TO THE EDITOR in Lanclet at invented the 186,000 by taking Hamas’ inflated death toll (which includes Hamas soliders and PAlestinians killed by Hamas) and multiplying that inflated death toll by 6. That is where the number came from. How is this a “conservative” estimate. It is not an estimate. It is a number made up out of thin air.
There is no genocide. There is not intent to destroy the Palestinian people. By contrast, Gaza and a plan to make Jews leave Israel with Hamas’ October 3, 2023 RAPE, KIDNAPPING, KILLING, and TERRORISM spree.
The South africa material is a joke. It is a bunch of snipets of cherry picked statements taken wholly out of context. Any first year law student could see right through South Africa’s bogus arguments.
A more resilient response to PinGate would have been to take a pin, tape on a little sticky saying “Palestine”, and stick it in Jerusalem. Don’t catastrophize.
Except that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel.
Thank you for sharing. I cannot fall asleep thinking about how difficult it must be for you at Swarthmore right now. I have been writing and rewriting a response because I care about you, as a human being with infinite potential to make a positive impact on the world. Why else would I respond to a post where you are sharing some of your most intimate struggles? How can I look at myself in the mirror if I were to attack someone when they are in pain? Why would I use the gift of language to harm? There is enough violence in the world.
I’m sure I speak for most alums when I say we know how difficult it is, as a baseline, to juggle Swarthmore’s courseload and manage the pressures of getting a job that will make you proud. I’m sorry that you have been forced to remember trauma that words cannot capture, trauma that you are trying to process, trauma that nobody will fully understand. I’m sorry that Swarthmore has not been the most supportive environment for you during some of your most transformative years, especially at a time when you are reminded that your family, friends, neighbors, and you do not matter.
I want to challenge you to not fall down this rabbit hole because it is a FACT that every human being matters. No matter what you do, no matter who you are, no matter what side you are on, there will always be haters out there. These haters are often obtuse, easily identifiable, and sadly undermine positive values that underpin their cultural, familial, political, etc. identities. Although not perfect, Swarthmore’s admissions office does a great job with filtering them out.
There are also so many genuinely good people at Swarthmore and I urge you to try to look past the surface. Swarthmore is one of the most diverse schools in the world and has some of the nicest, smartest, and most genuine people I have ever met. You’d be surprised by how much you have in common with people you never thought you could not be friends with.
I promise you that you will heal and there is light at the end of the tunnel. Have faith, take care of yourself, and make sure you submit your homework on time!