Letter from The Laware Project to more than 100 college and university presidents calling for Students for Justice in Palestine to be removed from campus, disciplined according to school policies

*Two versions of this letter were sent, one for private institutions and one for public. The differing portions of the letter are denoted below.

**More than 400 attorneys signed onto the letters that were sent to university presidents, however their names will not be posted online.

November 14, 2023

Dear [University President],

I write on behalf of The Lawfare Project, a non-profit legal organization and litigation fund based in New York City that focuses on matters concerning civil and human rights, antisemitism, and counter-terrorism.

The Lawfare Project, along with the many attorneys who have joined this letter, are appalled by the hostility currently being directed toward Jewish and Israeli students and faculty at colleges and universities nationwide, and equally so by the woefully deficient or nonexistent efforts by institutional authorities to support and protect their Jewish and Israeli populations. As discussed below, Students for Justice in Palestine and similarly aligned student organizations (referred to collectively herein as "SJP") are overwhelmingly responsible for creating and propagating this hostility.

[FOR PRIVATE INSTITUTIONS] Therefore, we call upon [University Name] to follow the example set by New York City’s Fordham University and others by revoking SJP’s recognition as a registered student organization, deeming SJP ineligible to receive and use institutional funding, and instituting robust bias and sensitivity training specifically aimed at protecting Jewish identity in all its forms.

[FOR PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS] Therefore, we call upon [University Name] to identify and implement meaningful steps to safeguard its Jewish community, including but not limited to unequivocally denouncing the recent actions of SJP, implementing robust bias and sensitivity training specifically aimed at protecting Jewish identity in all its forms, and, where appropriate, disciplining SJP and its members to the full extent accorded by applicable school policies.

By now, you are undoubtedly well-aware of the savage, murderous siege undertaken by Hamas — a U.S.-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) — that has claimed the lives of more than 1,000 innocent Jewish and Israeli civilians and wounded countless more. Throughout its attacks, Hamas has raped young women, shot the elderly at point-blank range, paraded the lifeless bodies of their victims, posted videos online of its executions and sent the recordings directly to the victims’ families, and kidnapped more than 200 civilians — nearly all of whom are now either dead or being held hostage in Gaza.

The terror inflicted by Hamas is permeating far beyond the Middle East and has caused Jewish people worldwide, including Jewish college students, to fear for their security and physical safety.

At the same time, across the United States, campus chapters of SJP are: (i) holding “National Day of Resistance” rallies to celebrate Hamas’s brutal attacks as a “historic win”; (ii) producing marketing materials that feature the image of an armed Hamas paraglider approaching a music festival in southern Israel where more than 260 young people were murdered; and (iii) calling for violence against Jewish people by proudly chanting “Intifada, Intifada” (armed uprising) and “From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be Free,” which is widely understood as a call for the elimination of Israel (and Jews).

It must be emphasized and understood that these rallies are not merely expressions of solidarity with Palestinian civilians. Instead — and in the wake of what President Joe Biden called the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust, which was committed by a terrorist organization whose stated goal is to kill Jews — SJP is outwardly legitimizing and applauding Hamas’s slaughter of innocent Jews and Israelis.

This has created, and in some cases exacerbated, a hostile environment for Jewish and Israeli students on campus, as evidenced by numerous recordings and first-hand reports. To add insult to injury, officials at many of these universities have failed to counter this hostility and support their Jewish and Israeli populations — despite having previously taken robust steps to counter discrimination and hatred directed toward other minority groups. These hateful actions by SJP and their allies, coupled with inaction or grossly inadequate responses from campus authorities, have left Jewish and Israeli students feeling unsafe, unprotected, and unheard.

SJP has a lengthy and carefully documented history of intimidating, harassing, and discriminating against Jewish and Israeli students at universities throughout the country. Fordham University in New York City recognized that SJP’s ethos was so antithetical to the school’s values that it denied SJP recognition as a registered student group — a decision that was upheld by New York State's highest court. Awad v. Fordham Univ., 36 N.Y.3d 911 (2021).

Now, SJP has turned a corner and is openly and unashamedly celebrating and justifying the murder of Jews and Israelis. Imagine being a Jewish or Israeli student knowing that the genocide of your people is being promoted by your peers. Imagine sitting in class amidst fellow students who are reveling in the death of your relatives. Imagine that the authority figures responsible for ensuring your well-being responded to this hatred with no more than a short statement or, worse, remained silent.

Mere statements from administrators are not enough to ameliorate the severe and pervasive hostile environment that SJP has created on myriad campuses, the effect of which is to prevent Jewish and Israeli students from feeling safe and secure, and to deny them the ability to meaningfully participate in campus life as equal members of the academic community. We, the undersigned, expect that [University Name] take immediate action to unequivocally support its Jewish and Israeli communities and to protect them from the continued harassment from groups like SJP.

Please do not hesitate to contact The Lawfare Project to discuss this matter further. We are glad to serve as a resource to help you ensure that minority rights are protected on campus.

Sincerely,

Brooke Goldstein
Attorney at Law
Executive Director, The Lawfare Project

Co-Signed by:

[Attorney names omitted]