A pro-Palestinian protest full of antisemitic chants and bullhorns “terrified” Harvard students this week, as Jewish groups urge the university to hold the protesters accountable for disrupting classes and their anti-Israel hateful slogans.

The protesters on Wednesday interrupted Harvard classes, using bullhorns to blast antisemitic calls to “globalize the intifada” and call for the elimination of the Jewish state “from the river to the sea,” according to Harvard Hillel.

The disruptive protest is not protected by Harvard’s free speech guidelines, the Jewish student group said.

“These calls for genocide and anti-Jewish violence throughout the world represent antisemitic speech and are not protected by the University’s community standards,” Harvard Hillel said following the protest.

Harvard Hillel is pushing for the university to hold both the protesters and the protest groups accountable.

They also called on Harvard President Claudine Gay to send a university-wide email to students, staff, and faculty about why the disruptive protest violates the free speech guidelines — and what the consequences are for breaking them.

“We wholeheartedly support free speech on campus — a sacred right necessary in a free and democratic society,” Harvard Hillel said. “Yet that right does not encompass disruptions to University classes nor hateful slogans chanted on University property. Harvard recognizes this distinction, and therefore rightly does not protect threatening speech or speech that is disruptive to learning on campus.

“Students were terrified by this protest and the violence it endorsed, and some were unable to resume work for hours after the protests passed,” Hillel added. “Protests of this nature have become increasingly normalized on our campus, causing Jewish and Israeli students to avoid class, University events, and dining halls.”

ADL New England is also calling for the university to hold the protesters accountable.

“Yesterday’s disruption of classes @Harvarduniv with bullhorn-amplified #antisemitic chants flies in the face of President Claudine Gay’s description of Harvard as ‘a place of civil behavior and civil discourse,’ ” ADL New England posted.

“We join in @HarvardHillel’s demand for accountability through Harvard’s free speech guidelines and codes of conduct,” ADL New England added. “Harvard has committed that it will not ignore ‘antisemitism, Islamophobia, acts of harassment or intimidation, or threats of violence.’ Those words call for action.”

Yesterday’s disruption of classes @Harvarduniv with bullhorn-amplified #antisemitic chants flies in the face of President Claudine Gay’s description of Harvard as “a place of civil behavior and civil discourse”.  We join in @HarvardHillel‘s demand for accountability through… pic.twitter.com/gBU2XD2h3G

— ADL New England (@ADL_NewEngland) December 1, 2023

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This week’s protest comes as the campus is facing a federal investigation for potential discrimination following antisemitism complaints since Hamas’ terrorist attacks on Oct. 7. The U.S. Department of Education has added Harvard University to its list of schools that are under investigation for possible civil rights violations.

One notable incident on campus involved pro-Palestinian protesters surrounding a Jewish student, which led to reports being filed with the FBI and Harvard Police.