June 20, 2020

Campus organizing has always been a catalyst for social change. From the anti-war movement in the U.S to the South African anti-apartheid movement, the strength, tenacity, and steadfastness of students globally have aided the movement towards the destabilization, delegitimization, and even defeat of a multitude of oppressive systems and regimes.

Student voices are repeatedly met with institutional and systematic deplatforming which strips students of their rightful expression, voice, and sense of safety. The history of repression of student activism––specifically of Palestine student activism––is the result of students challenging and building power. Over the past two decades, Palestine solidarity activists in the US have led more than 70 successful divestment campaigns on their campuses.

Student repression aims to intimidate those who organize in solidarity with the Palestinian people in order to to quell the growing movement for Palestinian liberation. Most recently, Trump signed an executive order which urges government agencies, including the Department of Education, to consider a spurious definition of antisemitism which was designed specifically to censor Palestine solidarity activists. The increasing power of campus Palestine solidarity activism, as well as the heightened widespread awareness of Israeli atrocities against Palestinians, has intensified student repression on campuses.

As student organizers persist in their Palestine solidarity activism, they are met with increasing pushback from Zionist organizations and faculty. Administrative sanctions, censorship, frivolous investigations, subjective restrictions of advocacy, and criminal prosecutions are just a few examples of the attacks on Palestine solidarity organizing on college campuses. Ahmad Daraldik, the student senate president at Florida State University (FSU), was subjected to brutal smears and ad hominem attacks by leaders of the Florida Legislative Jewish Caucus, the Director of Florida Division of Emergency Management, and the university President. At Pomona College, Malak, the senior-class president, is currently facing unfounded accusations by the online publication Claremont Independent along with the “Claremont Progressive Israel Alliance.”

The deliberate and widespread targeting of Palestine solidarity activists on the grounds of baseless allegations have placed advocates in precarious and compromising positions––especially Palestinian students. Palestinians have the right to speak against the demolition of their homes, the continued theft of their homeland, and the right of return for them and their families.

National Students for Justice in Palestine vehemently condemns campus repression against Palestine solidarity activists. We admire the steadfastness of student organizers everywhere, and organize to uplift, sustain, and propel the movement for Palestinian liberation in spite of attempts to silence the righteous fight for justice.