Students for Justice in Palestine [SJP] at Illinois State University held an event Monday to discuss the history of Israelis and Palestinians, and promote boycotts aimed at a peaceful resolution to the war in Gaza.
The meeting, promoted as an open discussion and teach-in, began with a narrative of the conflict's history, a century littered with broken international accords and cyclical violence. Blame was placed on the two sides, but also on “western colonialism,” the interference of outside nations in the region for their own interests.
Hamas' attack was launched against Israel on Oct. 7, killing more than 1,200 people and taking over 200 hostage. Israel’s retaliatory campaign in Gaza has leveled infrastructure and killed more than 34,000 Palestinians, with many more rendered refugees struggling for limited humanitarian aid. Death tolls are disputed, with some estimating well over half of those killed in Gaza are civilians. Israeli officials have regularly accused Hamas of using human shields as an explanation for civilian deaths.
The United States, which previously vetoed three United Nations resolutions calling for a ceasefire, had its own such proposal shot down in March by Russia and China. The resolution draft called for “an immediate and sustained ceasefire… in connection with the release of all remaining hostages.”
How does SJP respond?
In the midst of the many encampments and recent protests in support of Palestinians on college campuses, SJP hosted an audience of about 50 students on Monday.
Leading members voiced strong objections to the Israeli government’s actions. Among the accusations were the use of white phosphorus weapons, the targeting of hospitals, civilians and journalists, obstructing humanitarian aid, and sexual violence.
An SJP member who requested anonymity emphasized a belief that confronting the problem of Hamas through violence is not an effective solution, especially when civilians pay the price.
“If we want the conflict to be over, if we want to see this end, carrying on bombing people’s families isn’t necessarily going to help end a terrorist organization,” the student said.
The latter portions of the meeting were dedicated to identifying ways for students to advocate for Palestinians. Encouragement was drawn from student protests during the Civil Rights Movement and the Vietnam War. Lists of companies supporting the Israeli government’s actions were presented and identified as boycott targets.
The SJP member also addressed concerns of antisemitism in pro-Palestinian movements, saying the accusation is sometimes used as a tool to shut down discussion, but “If the movement is being co-opted by people saying truly antisemitic statements, I don’t think anyone who’s truly for human rights would accept that. I wouldn’t accept that.”
“We said in our meeting we don’t want to hear anything against Jewish people, because it’s not Jewish people. There’s a big difference between Jewish people and the State [Israel].”
Speakers at the meeting struck an optimistic tone about the action by students to induce change in the form of a ceasefire. The SJP member had a message for universities about what protesters around the country are after.
“The best response is engaging in conversation with these people. These peaceful protests, that’s what they want. They want conversation, they want people to listen to them. They want to be heard.”
