A Palestinian on X has gone viral after sharing a photograph of their bombed college in response to ongoing drama at Yale University over the name of a salad.
On Tuesday, a Yale student garnered widespread attention on the platform after noting that the college’s dining hall had removed the word “Israeli” from its couscous salad.
Although the word was later put back, many Palestinians saw the issue as overblown in light of the growing death toll from the conflict. In response, Palestinian author Jehad Abusalim highlighted the current pressing issue at his former university: mainly, its existence.
The post has since garnered more than 15,000 shares and has sparked comparisons from others regarding the condition in Palestine.
“Meanwhile, Palestinian children watch their parents get burned alive after airstrikes on their homes,” another wrote. “This conflict is really not complicated.”
Many took to mocking the complaint as well while noting that the student had tagged everyone from President Joe Biden and CNN anchor Jake Tapper to conservative commentator Ben Shapiro and professor Jordan Peterson.
Despite the pushback, those opposed to the word’s temporary removal say the incident is yet another example of anti-Jewish and Israeli sentiment on campus.
“Words hurt, they don’t want to offend anyone, unless it’s calling for the genocide of Jews, then it’s context based,” one user said.
In a statement to Newsweek, a Yale spokesperson said that the university began changing the names of dishes on their menu earlier this year after students raised concerns over the “authenticity of the food and naming of the recipes.”
“There were times that they felt our food did not ‘authentically’ represent the country or ethnicity referenced in the name,” the spokesperson said.
The university, however, later said it discovered that “Israeli Couscous is indeed an actual ingredient and is explicitly listed on the ingredient list.”
“Considering it is the main ingredient, it is appropriate to remain in the title, and we will correct this oversight,” the spokesperson concluded.
Following the attack by Hamas against Israelis on Oct. 7, which resulted in the death of more than 1,200 people, Israel has launched an aggressive campaign against Hamas. As of last week, according to Gaza Health Ministry figures, at least 17,487 Palestinians have been killed.
