At around 5 p.m. on Friday, a truck was parked on the southwest side of the Main Quad with images projected on each side of Israeli hostages taken on Oct. 7 by Hamas, the Palestinian political and militant organization that holds power across sections of the Gaza Strip.

According to Jonah Long, senior in Business, the truck was organized and paid for by groups of University alumni.

Long said the truck, which is visible from the encampment on the south end of the Main Quad, was not brought to campus as a form of counter protest. 

Protesters declined to comment on the truck and its placement between Lincoln and Gregory Halls.

According to Long, benefactors of the truck sought to bring awareness to antisemitism on campus and to remind the public of the Israeli hostages taken by Hamas.

“We want to bring attention to the number of hostages that are still being held by Hamas, kind of raising the awareness that they are still there,” Long said. “They still need our help to get freed.”

Long stated he and other Jewish students have experienced a rise in antisemitism in the months following Oct. 7. Long also said the encampment and other protests have made him and other Jewish students feel unsafe.

“When students have to walk past the encampment every day and hear antisemitic chants and signs, that is blatant hate speech,” Long said. “The US government identified and classified from the river to the sea as hate speech, which is a crime in this country.”

lisamc3@dailyillini.com

The post Truck seen on campus depicting Israeli hostages appeared first on The Daily Illini.

A local school helped celebrate a local teacher after awarded the Golden Apple Award.