Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP; ) is a pro-Palestinian college student activism organization in the United States, Canada, and New Zealand. Founded at the University of California, Berkeley in 1993, it has campaigned for the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement. The SJP praised Hamas's October 7 attacks on Israel as a "historic win for the Palestinian resistance". The group has faced accusations of antisemitism and some of its campus chapters have been suspended.
Names Some SJP chapters in the U.S. have adopted the name Palestine Solidarity Committee or Students for Palestinian Equal Rights. In Canada, some SJP chapters have adopted the name Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights (SPHR). In Quebec, some use the name Solidarité pour les droits humains des Palestiniennes et Palestiniens (SDHPP), which means the same thing in French.
History Students for Justice in Palestine was founded at the University of California, Berkeley in 1993. It was cofounded by Hatem Bazian, now the chairman of American Muslims for Palestine. It held several events in spring 1993, and was officially recognized by the university in the fall. After the organization's status briefly lapsed in 1999, it was revived at the time of the Second Palestinian Intifada, which began in September 2000.
In 2002, the Berkeley chapter organized the first National Student Conference of the Palestine Solidarity Movement (PSM) to coordinate Palestine solidarity activism nationwide. Subsequent national conferences were held at the University of Michigan–Ann Arbor, Ohio State University, Duke University, and Georgetown University.
On 16 October 2011, the SJP held its first national conference at Columbia University. That same year, The New York Times called it "the leading pro-Palestinian voice on campus".
As of 2024, SJP reported having over 350 chapters in North America.
Mission and organization The SJP's mission statement is to develop "a connected, disciplined movement that is equipped with the tools necessary to contribute to the fight for Palestinian liberation", with an emphasis on intersectionality. SJP chapters agree to guard against "homophobia, sexism, racism, bigotry, classism, colonialism, and discrimination of any form".
The organization claims over 200 chapters nationwide, though this cannot be confirmed.
Structure and funding The National Students for Justice in Palestine is sponsored by the Westchester People's Action Committee (WESPAC) Foundation. WESPAC also sponsors Adalah NY, International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network, Palestinian Feminist Collective, Palestine Freedom Project, and Within Our Lifetime. WESPAC does not disclose information about its donors, which include organizations such as Elias Foundation and Tides Foundation. The Palestinian Solidarity Movement (PSM), the previous national hub organization, was sponsored by American Muslims for Palestine (AMP).
At a hearing of the House Ways and Means Committee, author Jonathan Schanzer criticized the SJP and AMP for the AMP's links to several now-defunct charities the U.S. government shut down for alleged indirect funding of Hamas, including the Holy Land Foundation.
Protests Students for Justice in Palestine became known for theatrical protests dramatizing Palestinian life for people on university campuses, including through protests recreating Israeli military checkpoints, detentions, and the West Bank separation wall, which they call an "Apartheid Wall".
Some SJP chapters encourage activists to cover their faces when protesting, and to avoid using their real names and photos on social media, to avoid doxing.
Occupation of academic building at UC Berkeley In 2001, SJP's University of California, Berkeley chapter chose the memorial of the Deir Yassin massacre to occupy a campus building and disrupt a midterm exam in progress for over 600 students as part of a protest against the university's investments in Israel. Police broke up the occupation after warning the students of trespassing. Seventy-nine protesters were arrested for trespassing and resisting arrest. One protester was jailed on a charge of felony battery after he bit a police officer.
After the arrests, SJP was banned from operating at UC Berkeley, prompting an SJP protest by 200 demonstrators a month later. University Chancellor Berdahl said, "It is important to understand that this is neither an issue of free speech, nor of the right to hold demonstrations on campus. The issue is the occupation of an academic building, interfering with the rights of other students to continue their education."
Students and faculty members at Berkeley said SJP's protests heightened polarization and were more "hostile" than other protests at Berkeley. One student remembers a demonstrator with a sign comparing the Star of David to the swastika. Students for Justice in Palestine picked up a nickname among critics, "Students for Just Us in Palestine."
Wheeler Hall sit-in
On April 9, 2002, SJP staged a sit-in at Wheeler Hall, one of the University of California, Berkeley's largest classroom buildings. Police were called to the scene, and the students were ordered to leave or face arrest. 41 students did not leave and were arrested and charged with various violations of the university's Code of Student Conduct. The university also banned SJP from engaging in on-campus protests.
New Zealand In 2006, Auckland University's SJP led demonstrations against the local weapons industry Rakon, a company that sells components to the U.S. military. On 28 September 2015, members of the Victoria University of Wellington's SJP branch picketed a talk by two visiting former Israeli soldiers that had been organized by the Australasian Union of Jewish Students.
Brandeis University In April 2011, while speaking at Brandeis University, Avi Dichter, a member of the Knesset and of Israel's centrist and Kadima party, was interrupted by protesters from the university's SJP calling him a war criminal and accusing him of torture and crimes against humanity.
Vassar College
Every year, the International Studies (IS) program at Vassar College offers a course that sends students abroad. In 2013, it was decided that the trip would be to Israel and Palestine to study water issues for a course called The Jordan River Watershed.Schneiderman, Jill S. "A Field Geologist in Politicized Terrain." Anti-Zionism on Campus, Pessin and Ben-Atar, Indiana UP, 2018, pp. 317-333. The trip drew the ire of SJP for, among other things, being coordinated with the Israeli research institute Arava Institute for Environmental Studies. On February 6, nine SJP members picketed an IS class and handed out leaflets criticizing Israel.
Loyola University Chicago
On September 9, 2014, at Loyola University Chicago, students were manning a Hillel table promoting Birthright Israel, a program that subsidizes Jewish visits to Israel. A group of Palestinian students affiliated with SJP lined up at the table and tried to register for trips to Israel. After conversations with the students manning the table, they were turned away because they were not Jews. The Palestinian students then lined up for a photo op some distance away with signs that read: "My family is from the ethnically cleansed village of [each place name] BUT I DO NOT HAVE THE RIGHT TO RETURN."Matt Lamb, "SJP Students Hurl Insults at Jewish Peers, Protest Their Israel Display (Video)," The College Fix (September 16, 2014).
The Hillel students complained and accused the Palestinian students of having harassed and verbally assaulted them "in an attempt to intimidate Jewish students." After two months of investigation, the university cleared SJP of those allegations, but found both Hillel and SJP responsible for having violated the university's Free Expression and Demonstration policy, Hillel for not having registered its table and SJP for not having registered its impromptu action, having learned about Hillel's tabling the night before.
As punishment, Hillel was required to attend an event on how to register events, while SJP was sanctioned with probation for the remainder of the school year, which prohibited it from requesting funds from the school for the duration. It was also required to attend "InterGroup Dialogue Training."
Campaigns
Bowdoin College In May 2015, after a more than year-long campaign, the SJP boycott of Israel at Bowdoin College ended with 20% voting in favor, 21% abstaining, and 59% voting against.
Hampshire College In February 2009, after a two-year campaign by SJP, signed by over 800 students, professors, and alumni, Hampshire College in Massachusetts became the first U.S. college to divest from companies involved in the Israeli occupation of Palestine. The board of trustees decided to divest from Caterpillar Inc., United Technologies, General Electric, ITT Corporation, Motorola, and Terex.
Hampshire College president Ralph Hexter said the decision to divest from those companies was not aimed at Israel but related to socially responsible investing criteria, and criticized SJP for suggesting otherwise.name="Harris 2009"> SJP representatives replied that the college was shying away from the "political implications of its action".
DePaul University In November 2010, SJP at DePaul University began a campaign to have Sabra-brand hummus removed from the university. The parent company of Sabra is the Strauss Group, an Israeli food company. The university initially agreed, but reversed its stance a few days later and reinstated Sabra hummus in the dining halls. A university spokesperson said: "In this instance the sale of Sabra hummus was temporarily suspended, by mistake, prior to review by the Fair Business Practices Committee. We have reinstated sales to correct that error by staff personnel."
In May 2011, the DePaul SJP presented a referendum to the student government with regard to Sabra. The result was 1,127 in favor, 332 against, and 8 extraneous write-ins. The number of votes was 32 short of the 1,500 needed for the referendum to be valid.
Stanford University Stanford University's Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) group's defeat was notably followed by two quick BDS victories at University of California, Riverside (UCR), and University of California, San Diego. On March 8, 2013, substantial SJP campaigning at UCR culminated in a victory, with the school's senate voting 11–5 to endorse BDS and divest from Caterpillar and Hewlett-Packard. The vote in support of BDS at UCR was large enough to override a veto by the undergraduate student body president, who opposed the resolution.
Columbia University
In 2016, Columbia University's SJP and Jewish Voice for Peace chapters formed the Columbia University Apartheid Divest coalition. The organization's campaigns led to two student referendums: one held by the Barnard College Student Government Association in 2018 and one by the Columbia College Student Council in 2020. Students voted to divest from Israel in both votes, but Columbia University president Lee Bollinger declined to divest the university's holdings.