NYU SJP’s Rally Can Help Spread Safety
May 1, 2017
For the third time this year, the student organization NYU Students for Justice in Palestine received death threats directed toward its members. In response to this outburst of aggression, NYU SJP is planning a rally to help spur a sense of unity amongst the NYU community. This rally could help quell the tensions on campus and give support to the many students who feel their lives are being threatened.
No matter where one stands on the Palestinian-Israeli issue, it is hard to disregard the inhumane and horrific nature of the threats received by SJP last week. The anonymous troll not only threatened to kill various members of the student club, but went as far as to describe such violence in horrific and gruesome detail. The all-caps threat stated, “WE WILL KILL ALL OF YOUR TROLLS WITH GUNS AT YOUR NEXT PROTEST YOU WILL ALL DIE WE WILL MURDER YOU ALL THE BLOOD WILL RUNS SLOWLY ON THE STREETS OF NYC.”
The person or persons behind the threats did not stop there, as the messages went on to specifically address an SJP club member. This is undeniably an intolerable act, fueled by ignorance and blind hatred. As a result, a rally is an appropriate response to convey the discontent and concern we have as a community for remarks like these.
In this atmosphere of hate and hostility, rallies like the one SJP is holding this Friday can be a great tool for fostering community around campus. Solidarity within the Palestinian community and its allies is essential in these dangerous times. The protection and wellbeing of the students in this organization should be a priority to the NYU community, and this rally is a place to showcase that exact sentiment. The existence of this rally challenges the hateful vitriol espoused in this message, and NYU students should be proud of the fact that they will not be scared away from expressing their identities.
The anonymous threats against SJP are unacceptable and involve a hatred that must be acknowledged and condemned. Whether the person behind these anonymous threats intends to act on them or not, acts of hate such as this have the ability to threaten the strength and voice of organizations like SJP. The upcoming rally has the power to solidify a sense of community and solidarity among the group and should be supported by the members’ peers and the university.
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lia • May 9, 2017 at 7:31 pm
@Arafat, I have no idea why you’re quoting from news articles about Cornell, Toronto Ryerson, and George Washington University. None of that has anything to do with the circumstances at NYU. NYU SJP is not responsible for the work of other SJP groups on different college campuses, and as such, your comments are irrelevant.
Furthermore – pointing out the colonialism and apartheid in the Occupied Palestinian Territories is not anti-semitic. Do you consider pointing out that the sky is blue and water is wet to be anti-semitic as well? Facts are facts. I did not see 1 anti-semitic comment in all of those articles. Also, Palestinians are semites. In fact, Palestinians are MORE semitic than Ashkenazi Jews who are a mix between Semites and Eastern Europeans.