SJP: Fueling Antisemitism, Not Justice

Students for Justice in Palestine, the controversial student group, encompasses hundreds of chapters and thousands of students across the United States. It has rarely missed an opportunity to support violence and antisemitism.

There’s nothing that students love more than a good protest. That’s why, before the dust had even settled in Kibbutz Be’eri, Students for Justice in Palestine chapters were organizing pro-Hamas and anti-Israel marches nationwide.

Students for Justice in Palestine was founded in 1993, but didn’t take off until the Second Intifada started in the early 2000’s. The Second Intifada was a five year long series of violent shootings, stabbings, and suicide bombings encouraged by Palestinian terrorist groups and only symbolically discouraged by the supposedly “moderate” Yasser Arafat and his PLO government. The half decade of violence saw thousands of dead on both sides and did nothing to further the Palestinian cause. Yet, during its height, Students for Justice in Palestine picked up steam again, emboldened by what many saw as Israeli human rights violations in the wake of the violence.

The man behind the Students for Justice in Palestine group is Hatem Bazian, a former UC Berkley lecturer on the subject of Asian American and Asian Diaspora Studies. On the surface, he might seem like a reasonable two-state solution proponent, but his true face is shown by a quick sweep of his Twitter account, where he has  shared antisemitic imagery, and blames Jews for Western imperialism. Even more blatantly, he’s also the founder of American Muslims for Palestine, a non-profit which Dr. Jonathan Schanzer, president of research at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies tied to the Holy Land Foundation, KindHearts for Charitable Humanitarian Development, and the Islamic Association of Palestine, all known Hamas fronts shut down by American courts after being found guilty of funding terrorism. With this in mind, the actions of Students for Justice in Palestine are less surprising.

Students for Justice in Palestine is supposedly decentralized, relying on each chapter to organize itself as it sees fit. Despite this, National Students for Justice in Palestine releases statements on certain things it deems necessary. For example, on October 8, 2023, it released a statement calling the Simchat Torah massacre a “historic win for the Palestinian resistance”, and calling for a national “day of resistance” where individual chapters would organize protests in support for the Hamas atrocities. This shocking statement from the national organization was followed by similar actions from local chapters. Notably, the Columbia chapter stood in “full solidarity” with the terrorists who, according to them, “launched a counter-offensive against their settler-colonial oppressor”, the UCLA chapter praised the “show of unity from the Palestinian resistance”, and the Boston University chapter declared “long live the Palestinian resistance” and “Victory is Ours”. All of this was said even before Israel had launched its invasion of the Gaza Strip. These statements are easily found through the chapters’ social media accounts, where they make no effort to conceal their true beliefs.

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During the course of the war, Students for Justice in Palestine has introduced a new tactic of protesting Israel: by calling for an Intifada. The Intifadas, as briefly described above, were two eras of increased Palestinian terrorism and harsh Israeli responses. For years, no Israeli could step onto a bus or sit down at a restaurant without fearing for their life. By 2005, thousands lay dead and a barrier separating Israel from Judea and Samaria was under construction. Neither Intifada led to any real progress for either side, and both Israelis and Palestinians alike realize the damage the violence did to any chance of peace. Yet, Students for Justice in Palestine have not been shying away from calling for another one, even dubbing their movement to be the “Student Intifada”. Chants like “intifada revolution” and “globalize the intifada” can be heard on college campuses from coast to coast, showing that the group is not pro-Palestinian or pro-justice, merely pro-violence.

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Students for Justice in Palestine doesn’t just glorify violence, but actually acts on its words. Jewish students have been trapped inside buildings, harrassed, and physically assaulted by members, and statistically, antisemitic incidents on American campuses increased by over 700 percent from 2022 to 2023. Data from the American Jewish Committee shows that 51 percent of Jewish students feel unsafe as a result of pro Palestinian protests and encampments, and over one third reported experiencing antisemitism themselves at college. Their fears aren’t unfounded, as chapters all across America have called for the defunding of Hillel, the Jewish student organization which serves hundreds of thousands of Jews nationwide. Chabad houses, also serving Jewish students, have also been threatened by protests.

These shocking statistics, coupled with the specific actions of Students for Justice in Palestine have led to several chapters being shut down or suspended by individual universities. For example, Brown University suspended their chapter in October of 2024 for “alleged threatening, intimidating and harassing actions“, Brandeis withdrew recognition for its chapter in November of 2023 in order to sustain  “an environment that is free of intimidation and harassment“, and George Washington University suspended theirs for 90 days over “antisemitic” messages which were projected onto buildings. Yet, over 200 chapters still remain open to this day, spreading uncontrollable levels of hate against Jews and Israel.

Despite its systemic antisemitism, Students for Justice in Palestine is a largely mainstream organization, and not generally treated like other hate groups. With millions of combined followers, including high profile celebrities and organizations on the internet, this group has been legitimized in political discourse. This is a testament to the unfortunate normalization of antisemitism in today’s society.

In spite of all this, Students for Justice in Palestine chapter will never admit to being antisemitic. They will point to their few Jewish members and allies (who more often than not are not even Jews), claiming that they speak for all Jews, when in reality data shows that over 80 percent of Jews consider Israel important and have some sort of emotional attachment to Israel.  Instead, this hate group attempts to portray itself as purely pro-Palestinian in intent, and many people accept that explanation, choosing to overlook and ignore the very real Jewish suffering that it is bound to. The facts are clear. In a world where Students for Justice in Palestine is accepted, antisemitism is accepted. It’s time to stop playing this violent game of dress up. It’s time to put a stop to Students for Justice in Palestine once and for all.