As a Jew, I do not believe that advocating for Palestinian lives is antisemitic. The nation-wide organization Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) is committed to advocacy despite being accused of antisemitism by the U.S. Senate. Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri’s resolution stated, “That the Senate…denounces the rhetoric of anti-Israel, pro-Hamas student groups as antisemitic, repugnant, and morally contemptible for sympathizing with genocidal violence against the State of Israel and risking the physical safety of Jewish Americans in the United States.” The resolution was passed by the Senate on Oct. 26, 2023.
Since then, a host of schools have banned or censored their chapters of SJP and Jewish Voices for Peace (JVP) for “antisemitic” acts. On Nov. 6, the Brandeis chapter of SJP was completely banned by the administration without a warning or consultation with its student union, per NBC Boston. According to NBC, George Washington University suspended their chapter of SJP after students projected statements that were critical of the Israeli government, such as “Divestment from Zionist Genocide now,” on the wall of their library. After Columbia University’s SJP and JVP organized what they described as a “peaceful protest art installation” about the loss of innocent Palestinian life, the institution suspended both organizations, according to Inside Higher Ed.
It is this political atmosphere, one committed to the silencing of Palestinian voices, in which Vassar’s chapter of SJP attempts to have its voice heard by peers and the administration. Although their activism is not perfect, SJP’s message is extremely important and deserves a space on campus.
On Oct. 25, Vassar SJP led a peaceful walkout and march across the campus. The demands of the march, according to SJP’s Instagram, fundamentally highlighted the need for peace; the organization demanded that the Vassar administration call for a ceasefire in Gaza, an important step considering what The Washington Post identifies as a large and growing number of deaths among Palestinian civilians in Gaza. In addition, the protestors called for Vassar to divest from Israeli weapons manufacturers and boycott funding for the Israeli government by canceling abroad programs in Israel. This protest caused the administration to issue Level Two warnings to the organization leaders on the grounds that they violated Sections 5.01 and 10.04 in the student handbook, consisting of “Substantially interfering with the living, learning, or working environment of another individual; regardless of intentionality,” and “Failing to comply with a reasonable mandate or restriction given by a college official.” This result was upheld by the administration despite SJP’s 12-page appeal that reaffirmed the organization’s claim of innocence and offered evidence to corroborate it.
To assume that Palestinian advocacy is antisemitic is to completely misinterpret the movement in harmful and polarizing ways. It is to have a preconceived idea of the purpose of SJP, and it functions to silence the voices of the oppressed.
The biggest issue, from my perspective, is a lack of nuance in the viewpoint of the administration that has led them to begin placing restrictions on SJP. The more voices are silenced, the less space there is for nuance, so the failure to acknowledge nuance in the first place is compounded.
Nuance, of course, is important in both “sides” of the argument. It is important for people to be able to understand the difference between Hamas and Palestinian civilians and between Jews and the government of Israel. Oversimplifications of the situation are not just reductive and inaccurate but extremely harmful, perpetuating Islamophobic stereotypes that all Palestinians are antisemitic terrorists, and antisemitic stereotypes that Jews are always the rich beneficiaries of oppression. These are identified as extremely common stereotypes by the United Nations and the Louis D. Brandeis Center, respectively. According to NBC, “The ADL [Anti-Defamation League] and the Council on American-Islamic Relations have both documented spikes in hate incidents targeting Jews and Muslims across the U.S.” This is precisely why it is necessary for people to have informed understandings of this complex situation. SJP promotes fact-based understanding on their Instagram; multiple posts refer to educational opportunities for students to learn about the history of the area, such as the “collective teach in on Palestine/Israel” held on Oct. 31 and a “Brief History of Palestinian Resistance” on Nov. 5. I have witnessed that complacency is often rightfully condemned by students on their Instagram stories as cowardly, but people must remember that it is just as cowardly to follow one viewpoint without the critical examination that can only come from education.
That being said, I think there is room for improvement when it comes to SJP’s strategy of advocacy. After speaking with representatives of SJP who wish to remain anonymous, they revealed that while they themselves are educated about Hamas, the organization had not explicitly engaged in org-wide education relating to Hamas. Not acknowledging that Hamas is an antisemitic terrorist group is an oversimplification of the situation, and a dangerous one. Even though Hamas is not the focus of the organization, failing to acknowledge the group’s actions at all risks misinterpretation and the dismissal of the whole movement. When I discussed this with members of SJP, they were open to implementing more education, and this open-mindedness distinguishes the attitude of the organization from that of the College administration.
Contrary to antisemitism, SJP acknowledges that the position of Jews in this conflict is critical. Our people have felt the effects of genocide and thus it is our duty to advocate for collective liberation of all who are oppressed.