(Bri Nitsberg | Student Life)

Around 60 Jewish students and community members gathered on Mudd Field for a Tisch commemorating the Israeli people killed and taken hostage during Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, March 5. The event took place on the 150th day after the attacks.

A Tisch, which is Yiddish for “table,” is generally a celebratory event, according to Washington University Chabad Rabbi, Hershey Novack. The evening event took a more solemn tone, however, as students reflected on the attack as well as on the recent Student Union (SU) resolution calling for divestment from Boeing, which some students have called antisemitic.

“A Tisch is typically a circle of singing. Usually, it’s at a happy occasion,” said Novack. “This is a more somber Tisch, but certainly it is tasteful and appropriate.”

Sophomore Kobe Deener-Agus, who helped organize the Tisch, said that the event offered students a chance to come together to pray for the release of Israeli hostages taken on Oct. 7.

“We’re praying for the hostages to come home safe, and a Tisch is a very relaxing, social way of prayer,” he said.

Deener-Agus said that he found one prayer, called “Acheinu,” to be particularly moving.

“‘Acheinu’ talks about releasing hostages,” he said. “It was very beautiful to sit down with.”

First-year Emily Seligson added that the Tisch offered the students pause and gave them time to reflect on the experiences of the hostages.

“Singing gives strength,” Seligson said. “It lets us, in a somber way, respect [the hostages] and take a moment to think about what’s going on.”

The event was staged just a few days after the Jewish Student Association (JSA) posted a petition against a draft of an upcoming Student Union (SU) resolution calling for divestment from Boeing, which produces bombs that the Israeli military uses.

The JSA said in an Instagram post that the resolution was anti-Israel and in line with the goals of the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement. The BDS movement calls for non-violent action through boycotts against, divestment from, and economic sanctions on Israel.

In a written statement to Student Life, Speaker of SU Senate sophomore Sonal Churiwal denied that the resolution promotes BDS.

“The resolution is not a BDS resolution, as communication from other entities conveyed. It is a resolution calling on WashU to divest from Boeing,” Churiwal wrote. 

An earlier draft of the resolution, according to a screenshot obtained by Student Life, mentioned the student government of the University of California–Davis’ decision to adhere to “the principles of the [BDS] movement” but did not say whether SU would do the same upon the resolution’s passage.

Though frustrated by the resolution, attendees like junior Lydia Cohen of St. Louis University appreciated that there was a Tisch.

“I think it’s a really nice and peaceful way to come together as a Jewish community,” Cohen said. “And I think that’s what we strive for as a Jewish community, peace.”