Fordham University Refuses to Recognize SJP Group On Campus

Keating Hall at Fordham University

Keating Hall at Fordham University

Fordham University denied a request by students to form a Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) chapter on campus. The university, a Jesuit school in New York City, does not allow student organizations which promote the interests of one country.

As Fordham’s Dean of Students Keith Eldredge wrote in an email released by Inside Higher Ed, the goals of the SJP chapter would “clearly conflict with and run contrary to the mission and values of the university.” The group’s political agenda—including support of the BDS movement—and potential polarization were key reasons for Fordham’s denial.

“While students are encouraged to promote diverse political points of view, and we encourage conversation and debate on all topics, I cannot support an organization whose sole purpose is advocating political goals of a specific group, and against a specific country,” writes Eldredge in the email, according to Inside Higher Ed . “Specifically, the call for boycott, divestment and sanctions of Israel presents a barrier to open dialogue and mutual learning and understanding.”

According to a written statement from college spokesman Bob Howe, “for the university’s purposes, the country of origin of the student organizers is irrelevant, as is their particular political stance.” The bottom line is that the SJP group would act more like a political lobby than a traditional campus club.

In the face of opposition from Palestine Legal, the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, and the Center for Constitutional Rights on the grounds that the ban violates students’ civil rights, Fordham University emphasizes that it has and will continue to protect free speech on campus. “Regardless of the club’s status, students, faculty, and staff are of course free to voice their opinions on Palestine, or any other issue,” according to a university statement.

Presently, the university does not have a pro-Israel student group. There is a Jewish students’ club which does not mention Israel.

SJP chapters at institutions across the nation have garnered a reputation for stirring controversy. They organize programs for “Israeli Apartheid Week” and plan “mock eviction” events that simulate the removal of Palestinians from their homes. According to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), SJP is “the primary organizer of anti-Israel events on U.S. college campuses and the group most responsible for bringing divestment resolutions to votes in front of student governments.” ADL maintains that since 2001, the SJP “has consistently demonized Israel, describing Israeli policies toward the Palestinians as racist and apartheid-like, and comparing Israelis to Nazis or Israel to the Jim Crow-era U.S.”

Fordham’s refusal to support a SJP student chapter comes on the heels of disruptions by other SJP chapters. Last year, UC Irvine issued a written warning to its SJP student group, effective until March 29, 2017, for violation of the UCI Code of Conduct’s provision prohibiting “obstruction or disruption of teaching, research, administration, disciplinary procedures, or other University activities.” In May of 2016, an angry mob of fifty UCI SJP chapter members disrupted a small event held by a Jewish student group. The mob blocked entrances and exits, chanted anti-Israel, anti-Semitic, anti-police, and pro-Palestinian sentiments, and chased Jewish student Eliana Kopley. LDB issued a warning letter to UCI Chancellor Howard Gilman, calling for stronger condemnation of the aggressive SJP protest.

Northeastern University suspended its SJP chapter for one academic year from 2014-2015. The SJP group slipped 600 mock eviction notices under dorm room doors to symbolize what the chapter considered arbitrary evictions of Arab residents in Israel. In the past, they had also vandalized university property, disrupted other student organization events, and failed to acquire proper permits, provide a civility statement, and meet with university advisors.

The efforts of Fordham University, along with action taken at UC Irvine and Northeastern University, are steps in the right direction to fighting anti-Semitism and securing justice for Jewish students.