VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. – The Israel-Hamas war continues to escalate, and the death toll climbs.
The devastation is felt by thousands overseas and by families in Florida with close ties.
The first barrage of rockets was launched Saturday, Oct. 7 from the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip.
A day later, students at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach felt led to do something.
Hannah Braslawsce is the president of Hillel — a campus club that creates a safe space for Jewish students.
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She and her group painted the campus spirit rock with the Israeli flag.
“We were trying to create a memorial for lives lost and show our support for Israel,” Braslawsce said.
She said a lot of the students have relatives, friends and family members in Israel.
“They’re not okay right now, so we needed to come together,” Braslawsce said.
The spirit rock is a tool students use for free expression.
According to the university, its policy states that students must leave messages in place for 24 hours before painting another message.
Another group of students came the next day. They painted a Palestinian flag on one side of the rock with the message “Free Palestine.”
The two flags abutting caught the attention of students walking to class, like Erica Bryant, who said it made her very upset to see “hatred” displayed on her college campus.
She sent News 6 a statement that reads:
“My heart goes out to our Israeli students who had to look at the Palestine flag painted over their own on their way to worship or to class. It makes me upset that my school supported the gesture and for the first time I am not proud to say I attend ERAU. I acknowledge the Palestinian flag is not synonymous with (Hamas). However, I believe it was used in that manner in the time and way it was displayed.”
Braslawsce said everyone should be able to express their opinions.
“I thought that they followed university policy. You know, obviously I support Israel, but again, there was no profanity, there was no violence,” Braslawsce said. “When we painted the Israeli flag, students probably found that offensive as well.”
Braslawsce said it was not their intention to stir up conflict.
“I think for everybody is we want to have peace. You know, with everything going on, that’s all we want,” Braslawsce said.
More than 11% of ERAU’s foreign students are from the Middle East.
Hannah said campus administration has been very supportive during what has been an emotional time for many students.
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