PHOENIX — "I haven't worn this Star of David in weeks," Emily Fox-Million said, standing outside at ASU's downtown campus.
Around her neck is a diamond Star of David. It wasn't a crisis of faith, she said. Not wearing the Star of David is a matter of safety.
"I just don't feel comfortable being openly Jewish on my campus," Fox-Million said.
For weeks, she's watched pro-Palestinian protests grow larger and spread to college campuses across the country.
Early Saturday morning, police moved in to break up a pro-Palestinian encampment at ASU's Alumni Lawn. Over 70 people were arrested by the end of the night and are facing trespassing charges. Fox-Million was there earlier in the day.
"My boyfriend was there with me and he was like, 'I don't want you to go,'" she said. "It wasn't safe. It wasn't... it was scary."
It's a feeling that Fox-Million said she's lived with for a while. Being openly Jewish, she said, invites criticism, stares and comments. Nothing overtly physical or violent, but enough to make her feel ... different.
"I think when you're saying that Jews don't have the right to have a safe place to go, that can kind of be taken as antisemitic," ASU Junior Nate Eisenberg said.
Eisenberg is talking about a phrase that has appeared at protests nationwide, including the protest at ASU last week: "Anti-Zionist, not Anti-Jewish."
But the Anti-Defamation League in Arizona said there's no distinction between the two.
"We believe that anti-Zionism is antisemitism," Jolin Brislin with the ADL said. "Denying Jews the right for self-determination, that is antisemitic."
The conflict between Palestinians and Jews has been going on for decades since Israel became a country with Palestinians in separated parts of the country.
But the latest protests began in earnest months after Israel declared war on Hamas in retaliation for the October 7th, 2023 attacks that killed more than 1,100 people. Hamas captured more than 200 prisoners.
"I've spent a lot of time in Israel over the past year and a half," Eisenberg said. "It was really hard watching [the attack] happen, and it's been hard seeing the response being positive for the terrorist organization that carried out the attack."
Fox-Million said she's not against protesting or even criticizing the Israeli government. But she said it is conversation that can change things, not violence or personal attacks.
"Even all of us disagree on how to handle the situation best," Fox-Million said. "But at the end of the day, we really just need to start listening to each other and having this open dialog."
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