UNLV ‘tolerating hate speech,’ protester says at antisemitism rally

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Amid violent protests on college campuses nationwide, several Jewish groups held a rally at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in support of Jewish students.

The groups are calling on UNLV leadership to take action against the rise of antisemitism.

“UNLV is trying to play it safe, they want to keep the peace. They want to keep their heads down. They don’t want bad optics or make it on to a map. They don’t want to irritate anybody, but they’re tolerating hate speech,” Miriam Borvick, a first-year medical student at UNLV, said.

Supporters arrived at the UNLV Amphitheatre waving the flags of Israel and the United States.

They also sang hymns in Hebrew.

The biggest message from Monday’s rally was that the Jewish community won’t stand for antisemitism on college campuses. Borvick said UNLV leadership isn’t doing enough to protect Jewish students.

“If this were any other minority that people were calling for their deaths, or calling for the end of their people, there would be zero tolerance,” Borvick said.

Last week, several Pro-Palestinian protesters were at the very same amphitheater, calling for UNLV to divest from companies that are building weapons used against Palestinians.

“We’re demanding to see if UNLV is supporting this,” a protester who didn’t want to be identified said.

Some students accuse those from last week’s event of spreading hate speech.

“The school definitely needs to be harder and give out severe punishments on students who disrupt classrooms and do threats against Jewish students,” Nadav Levaton, a UNLV freshman, said.

8 News Now reported in March that Pro-Palestinian protesters stormed into the UNLV classroom of an Israeli professor who was invited to speak on the scientific topic of black holes.

The professor’s lecture was canceled and postponed for another time.

UNLV hasn’t seen the type of violence that other college campuses around the country have experienced.

“Like, don’t intervene with our finals. You can protest whatever, but like we want to take our finals,” David, a junior at UNLV, said. He declined to give his full name.

“We don’t want any more problems. I personally don’t want any more problems on our campus. I just want everything to be peaceful,” David said.

While no counter-protesters showed up Monday, David said there was a difference between Monday’s rally and the one on May 1.

“There was people starting problems, and like going back-and-forth, and today it just seems that’s how it should be, like a protest,” David said.

According to the Anti-Defamation League of Nevada, there has been a 210% increase in antisemitic incidents being reported locally compared to the same time period last year.

Below is a statement UNLV released on the rally:

Today, students and members of the community at-large came to the Maryland Parkway campus to exercise their first amendment right of free speech and assembly, expressing their views on the war in Israel and Gaza in a civil manner.

The UNLV administration continues to have an ongoing dialogue with faculty and student groups to get their input and hear their specific concerns on this topic.

Finally, UNLV soundly rejects antisemitism and Islamophobia.

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