Group of Jewish Pitt students calling for release of 133 hostages being held by Hamas

PITTSBURGH — A group of Jewish students at the University of Pittsburgh is calling for the release of 133 hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza.

Thursday night, the group gathered in Schenley Plaza, steps away from where Pro-Palestinian demonstrators have been camping out since Tuesday.

>> No arrests, citations as police continue to monitor encampment by Pitt

“There’s Jewish, Muslims, Christians in Gaza being held right now and we’re just working to bring them home,” said Pitt student Ilan Gordon, who was among the group of Jewish students and community members making their voices heard.

“At the end of the day we want peace and we want the hostages home and we want Hamas to surrender and eventually live in peace and prosperity,” Gordon said.

The demonstration countered the pro-Palestinian group camping out for its third night in a row.

“We as students, as a part of their body, and just as a Pittsburgh community in general, will not stand for something like genocide in any way, shape, or form,” said pro-Palestinian Pitt student Muhammad Ali.

The camp of Palestinian supporters is one of several that has popped up at college campuses across the country including at schools like Columbia, Harvard and Yale.

“We want to support, in any way possible, rhetorically, materially, the people of Palestine in any way that we can,” Ali said.

But Gordon feels like the university and the city treat the two groups of demonstrators very differently.

“We think that the fact that the City is giving these people the platform right now when they do not have a permit to be on the park, they had many code violations, and just completely ignoring that is completely unacceptable. As Jewish people on campus we’re also told we can’t go on the grass, we have to be on the sidewalk,” Gordon said.

Channel 11 reached out to the city and the university about Gordon’s concerns but we have not heard back.

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