A Japanese graduate student at Yale University is calling for Israel to end its protracted military campaign in Gaza at a time of high tensions over the issue on U.S. campuses, with prestigious universities under pressure from donors and politicians to suppress anti-Israel protests.
Chisato Kimura, a leading member of Yale Law Students for Justice in Palestine, believes she must speak out for a cease-fire as a 24-year-old native of Japan, which experienced the horrors of war after inflicting violence on its neighbors before and during World War II.
On Oct. 7, the Palestinian militant group Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel, killing some 1,200 people and taking hundreds of hostages. Israel launched hostage-rescue efforts as well as a sustained bombardment of the Gaza enclave in response, leaving nearly 30,000 Palestinians dead.