Northwestern removed a banner hung near The Arch by Jewish Voice for Peace on Monday that criticized Israel and Hillel, citing the sign violated university policy.

The banner read “Israel is Committing Scholasticide” and “Hillel and Birthright Lie.” It also depicted Palestinian professor and activist Refaat Alareer, who was killed by an Israeli airstrike in northern Gaza in 2023. 

The banner is one of the only recent acts of protest against Israel’s war in Gaza at Northwestern, following a significant decline of student activism on campus since the introduction of new demonstration policies in 2024.

“The banner was removed because it did not list the organization name nor was it promoting the event they submitted, both of which are required by University rules,” Northwestern spokesperson Hilary Hurd Anyaso wrote to your hosts in an email. 

The banner contained a QR code that linked to a document written by JVP that condemned Israel’s “deliberate destruction of the Palestinian education system,” Hillel and Birthright, a program that sends young Jewish adults to Israel on a 10-day free trip. 

JVP condemned Northwestern for removing the banner in a Tuesday Instagram post. The organization alleged that it had reserved the banner space and “complied with all banner rules.” 

The banner was hung and removed during Northwestern Hillel’s Israel Week, a week of events meant to provide “students and community with meaningful opportunities for learning” and cultural celebration, according to a statement to The Purple Wire from Hillel Executive Director Michael Simon. 

JVP condemned Hillel’s Israel Week in the document linked on the banner, denouncing Hillel for “celebrating a state that is committing genocide.” 

“We’re aware of the banner and the materials it linked to, which misrepresent Hillel and our work,” Simon wrote. “It was especially disappointing to see this appear just as our community was preparing to mark Yom HaZikaron (Israel’s Memorial Day), a somber moment of remembrance.” 

JVP did not respond to The Purple Wire’s request for comment.

In 2022, former Northwestern football player Jacob Schmidt publicly launched the first NIL collective affiliated with his alma mater.

The model of TrueNU was simple. The nonprofit organization collaborated with an array of Chicago charities, resulting in thousands of hours of service from Northwestern athletes yearly, according to its archived website. Through this model, it raised donations to pay and retain top athletes at the university.

TrueNU was never unique, as other NIL collectives began popping up across the country. These collectives became common after the NCAA ruled collegiate athletes could profit from their name, image and likeness in 2021. Needless to say, there were some major earners here at Northwestern.

In TrueNU’s tax returns from fiscal 2023, basketball star player Boo Buie was the only athlete whose earnings from the organization exceeded $100,000. That year, he received a payout of about $277,045 for his “appearance fee.”

But last July, TrueNU announced that it would close, effective August 2025, in a press release written by Schmidt on its archived website. He cited that the decision to close came after the House vs. NCAA court case, which allowed direct revenue sharing between athletes and schools starting in 2025.

Schmidt clarified that Northwestern Athletics would be responsible for the university’s NIL operations going forward. He now serves as the Chief of Staff at Michigan State University’s football program.

~ Thanks for reading. See you next time!

Correction: A previous version of this newsletter misstated that Schmidt works at the University of Michigan’s football program. He works at Michigan State University.