Multiple US colleges with a history of anti-Israel activism will stage a play featuring survivor testimony from the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led terror attacks.
The play, titled October 7, is based on interviews with survivors and will be performed at Northwestern University and Cornell University.
What happened
Northwestern University's Hillel will host the play as a staged reading on October 6, while Cornell University will stage the production on December 8.
The play's directors, Irish journalists Phelim McAleer and Ann McElhinney, conducted interviews with survivors in Israel after the attacks and used their accounts to create the play.
Students at both universities have expressed hope that the play will help to educate their peers about the human impact of the attacks and foster more productive conversations about the conflict.
Northwestern University has a history of anti-Israel activism, and in 2025, it agreed to a $75 million federal settlement over allegations of Jew-hatred.
Cornell University has also faced criticism for allowing antisemitic speech on campus, including a recent event where student leaders chanted from the river to the sea, a phrase that Jewish organizations say calls for Israel to be erased.
