Above photo: Students for Justice in Palestine – Arizona State University march to the Arizona state capitol on January 13, 2024, in to demand a ceasefire in Gaza and an end to U.S. support for Israel. Caitlin O’Hara and Juntos Photo via Arizona State SJP Facebook.
In Face Of Legislative Repression.
In response to attacks on pro-Palestinian activism from the Arizona State Legislature and Board of Regents, Students for Justice in Palestine chapters across the state have formed a united front to challenge our universities’ complicity in genocide.
On Friday, June 28, we formed a coalition of Students for Justice in Palestine chapters throughout Arizona in response to state-wide suppression of pro-Palestine activism.
As leaders in Students for Justice in Palestine at the University of Arizona and Arizona State University, we faced little choice but to respond to the slew of bills targeting pro-Palestinian activism on Arizonas’ public campuses— as the threats to our activism grew, our strategy had to change with them. The only way to combat repressive laws and policies was to take a stand together, facing head-on a historically ruthless, right-wing legislature.
On December 19, 2023, lawmakers held a hearing on antisemitism where almost the entire conversation revolved around groups advocating for Palestinian liberation on campus. Despite being the center of the conversation, no SJP chapters were invited. This hearing was a covert effort to introduce future legislation to suppress these groups. Among the speakers privileged to give long-winded, damaging statements were spokespersons from Zionist lobbying groups, such as the Zionist Organization of America and the Anti-Defamation League.
These speakers championed several lies that are constantly repeated by Zionist entities across the United States. One of the most prominent ones was that SJP is facilitating the indoctrination of terrorism on campuses. These false narratives have clouded any potential dialogue and distracted our efforts from meaningful advocacy, pushing us into a perpetually defensive stance.
Another of these claims is that SJP provides ‘material support’ to Hamas through its connection to American Muslims for Palestine. This was stated by the Foundation for Defense of Democracies’s Jonathan Schanzer at the hearing, as well as at a hearing with the United States Ways and Means Committee back in November. This baseless charge paved the way for H.B. 2759, a bill that passed the Arizona House of Representatives on February 29. The bill’s text purports to prohibit public institutions of higher education from recognizing any student club that “support[s] or promote[s] foreign terrorist organizations.” The bill further reads, “including a foreign terrorist organization that calls for genocide against the Jewish people.” Despite the blatant mischaracterization, it’s clear what they were referencing Hamas, further alleging that Students for Justice in Palestine ‘joins’ calls for genocide.
Of course there are no efforts to disband groups like College Republicans United at Arizona State University, despite their history of inviting white nationalists and distributing antisemitic flyers on multiple occasions.
Similarly, the Arizona House passed H.B. 2178 on February 6, which allows students to individually decide which organizations receive funding instead of relying on student government. Representative Alexander Kolodin directly cited SJP as the reason for the bill’s creation. In response, the SJPs at Arizona State University, University of Arizona, and Northern Arizona University SJPs issued a statement against the bill, co-signed by 66 different student organizations. The bill not only threatens SJP but also disproportionately affects groups representing marginalized communities.
On April 27, Arizona State University became the first school in Arizona to set up an encampment for Gaza. The other two major universities in Arizona, Northern Arizona University and the University of Arizona, followed soon after.
Following the encampment at ASU, state police arrested 72 peaceful protestors, including several Jewish students. Police forcibly removed hijabs from four girls, which is a violation of religious freedom. The ASU police chief is on leave following the protests.
All of those arrested at the ASU encampment faced no charges in May, yet the students were still placed on interim suspension and await the administration’s approval to return to campus.
Meanwhile, at both University of Arizona encampments set up in May, police used rubber bullets and teargas on students and faculty.
A new interim policy relating to expressive activity on campus was created a day after Northern Arizona University’s SJP announced its intent to start the encampment, and it was also used to suspend the student organization.
In early June, the Arizona Board of Regents’ board office proposed a policy to its committee prohibiting support for foreign terrorist organizations or groups that call for the “genocide of a group of people,” echoing the language of H.B. 2178. Although the policy claims to apply to all students, it explicitly mentions those perceived to be Muslim, Arab, Palestinian, or Jewish. By introducing new policies with targeted discriminatory language instead of relying on existing ones, it is clear that their purpose is not to abolish hateful rhetoric but to censor free speech. It is especially concerning in a state claiming to value the First Amendment highly.
While we are accused of funding terrorists, receiving funding from them, and even being them, the reality is that the state of Arizona is employing actual terror tactics in an amoral plan to force our compliance with injustice.
In response to the despicable acts of retaliation, the disparaging and slanderous statements, and the repeated attempts to silence us, we lock arms and push back, forming the most potent student-led social justice coalition in Arizona to date.
We encourage others to make the same move. ‘Strength in numbers’ isn’t just a catchy slogan in our and similar causes. Advocacy in a battleground state like Arizona is complex; suppression is imminent unless there is a considerable, independent force that supports efforts externally. On campus, red tape stifles pro-Palestinian activism and bounds our hands in terms of rhetoric. This precarious position made it untenable to avoid registration and operate unofficially. Political discussion on Arizona’s public campuses rarely strays from conventional capitalist and conservative narratives. Without SJP operating on campus, there isn’t a platform for those interested in Palestine to coalesce around and advocate with.
For this reason, SJPs decided to take an alternative approach: one that united all public university campuses and eliminated our red tape. We hammered stakes into the ground and reinforced each chapter’s presence. This approach allowed us to accrue funding from local community and national organizations without any interrogation instead of constantly playing a ‘PR front’ as to whether or not we are part of a “Jihadist” plan on college campuses. It enabled us to stand united in the face of growing repression and a menacing climate.
As this fall semester approaches, SJP’s are uniquely geared to face the perilous campus format. We are unafraid to speak boldly and against our universities’ complicity in the genocide of Gazans— and we will demand disclosure and divestment without worrying about being wiped off of campus or having our student government funding cut. We are now our own support; we are stronger.