Special Report: Interviews with Pro-Israeli and Pro-Palestinian Protesters

The following is a series of audios recorded on the main quad of the University of Chicago on Thursday, October 19, 2023. It features interviews with pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli community members demonstrating at around 12 p.m. It also features an interview with Maroon News reporter Emma Janssen recorded on November 9, who attended and reported on the rallies.

The rally was organized by a collection of UChicago Jewish organizations, including Law Students for Israel, the Jewish Business Student Association, and UChicago Maroons for Israel, who scheduled the rally with the University from noon to 1 p.m. at the center of the quad to express support for Israel following the October 7 attacks on Israel by Hamas. This rally came as Students for Justice in Palestine continued its daily occupation of the quad from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., which began on Monday, October 16.

The audio is mostly unedited, with some segments omitted for brevity’s sake.

Interviews were conducted by reporters from The Maroon’s Podcasts division, who strived to remain impartial and provide an unbiased record of the events of that day. Some listeners may find the recordings offensive due to antisemitic and Islamophobic language.

Hosted by: Gregory Caesar Featuring: William Kimani, Nolan Shaffer, Emma Janssen, Jake Zucker, and Celeste Alcalay Edited by: Gregory Caesar and Erica Cai