A Stanford University Ph.D. student who testified before Congress on the rise of antisemitism on college campuses likened anti-Israel protesters who have set up an encampment on campus to children and the school to parents who refuse to dole out proper discipline.
Kevin Feigelis, 30, who is studying artificial intelligence at the northern California campus, said anti-Israel agitators have disrupted classes and some professors and teaching assistants have encouraged students to participate in demonstrations.
“I’m a bit older than these youngsters that go to college,” Feigelis told Fox News Digital. “These kids are not really my main enemy. I think of them as children because mostly they’re 18 years old. They’re misbehaving and acting like children, and it’s in the nature of children to misbehave.”
Anti-Israel protests have proliferated on the Stanford University campus amid Israel’s war with Hamas, a Stanford Ph.D. student said. (Getty Images)
“It’s the job of a parent … is to guide us in a direction,” he added. “Unfortunately, it’s the university and the board of trustees of the university and the leadership that are failing in their obligation as surrogate parents of these kids to discipline them and to hold them accountable and tell them that it’s unacceptable to essentially terrorize Jewish students.”
Fox News Digital has reached out to Stanford.
Stanford, like other universities, has seen anti-Israel protests and encampments spring up in recent weeks in opposition to Israel’s war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
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An anti-Israel agitator on the Stanford University campus, right, was spotted wearing a green headband like those worn by Hamas terrorists pictured at left. (Getty Images | Photo obtained by Fox News Digital)
Feigelis, who lives off campus, spoke about antisemitism on college campuses before members of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce in March.
“I’ve watched my campus transform from an idyllic paradise – a center of learning – into a wasteland of hatred where every interaction is a minefield,” he said in his opening remarks. “I do not spend my time attacking other students, but for the past five months, other students have spent their time attacking me.”
Last month, two Jewish students at Stanford snapped a photo of a protester wearing a notorious Hamas green headband at an encampment in White Plaza, near the center of campus.
“We were just in shock that somebody could be like that in the middle of our campus,” one of the students previously told Fox News Digital.
The school submitted the image to the FBI, which declined to comment on the matter. The climate of antisemitism has taken hold at Stanford since Oct. 7, when Hamas terrorists attacked and killed some 1,200 people in Israel.
In response to antisemitism, Feigelis briefly set up the Blue and White Tent, a pro-Israel encampment just outside of campus.
Anti-Israel protesters listen to a speech at an encampment in support of Palestinians at Stanford University in California. (Reuters/Carlos Barria)
On campus, protesters have spray-painted anti-Israel slogans and shouted down Jewish students going about their day, he said.
“I’ve got friends that had to move off of campus because their roommates were shouting for intifada,” he said. “These people just defy my expectations every day.”
In a message to students and faculty on Tuesday, school President Richard Saller and Provost Jenny Martinez said the campus has “remained relatively peaceful physically” compared to other schools like Columbia University in New York City. Both officials noted that the encampment violates a school policy that prohibits overnight camping.
Students who violate school policies could be subject to suspension, and disciplinary cases are being referred to the Office of Community Standards (OCS), which provides students due process in the resolution of their cases, they said.
“Those referred to OCS may have their diplomas held while their cases are processed,” the message states. “Students should be aware that suspension for one or more quarters is a possible outcome. There are ample alternative channels for students to express their ideas without violating university policies.”
Louis Casiano is a reporter for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to [email protected].
