Jomareun Richardson

On May 3, 2024, seven anti-Israel student protesters at Illinois State University (ISU) were reportedly arrested after staging a sit-in outside the office of ISU president Aondover Tarhule in ISU’s Hovey Hall, as reported by agitationrising.com. WGLT.org reported that arrestees said they held the sit-in to demand that ISU “divest from financial holdings with ties to Israel.”

The sit-in occurred during ISU’s anti-Israel encampment, organized by the Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) chapter at ISU (SJP-ISU) and in support of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement.

The seven protestors, who were all members of SJP-ISU, had refused repeated instructions from ISU officials and campus police to leave before the building’s scheduled closing time, according to WGLT.org. They were also warned that they would be “arrested for trespassing and face a university suspension” if they did not comply with the order to leave. Immediately following their arrest, they were suspended from classes and banned from campus facilities and housing.

Agitationrising.com reported that the arrestees were charged with one count of misdemeanor “Criminal Trespass To Building [sic]” and one count of misdemeanor “Criminal Trespass To State Land.” All seven pleaded not guilty to the charges at the time, but they later accepted a plea deal in October 2024 in which they pleaded guilty to the first charge, while the second charge was dropped. Each was sentenced to 18 months of court supervision and approximately $700 in fines. In August 2024, the seven arrestees had also sued ISU with the claim that the university violated their First Amendment rights.

There were over 200 pro-Hamas and anti-Israel college encampments set up in North America, and over 20 more globally, in the spring of 2024. The first began on April 17, 2024, at Columbia University. The encampments were unofficially known as the “student intifada,” borrowing a term associated with terrorist violence.

Protesters harassed Jewish students, blocked Jews from campus facilities and shouted anti-Semitic slogans. They occupied campus grounds, in many cases illegally, caused property damage, violently took over buildings, celebrated terrorism and promoted the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement.

Activists set up encampments to oppose Israel’s right to wage war against the Hamas terror group following October 7, 2023, when Hamas murdered approximately 1,200 people, including 32 American and 8 Canadian citizens. Hamas also kidnapped 252 people, including 11 Americans and the bodies of 2 murdered Canadians.

SJP is a student organization engaged in anti-Israel activity on North American college and university campuses.

The first chapter of SJP was founded in 2001 at the University of California at Berkeley by Professor Hatem Bazian. Bazian has spread classic anti-Semitism, reportedly promoted religious anti-Semitism and defended the Hamas terror group. In 2004, Bazian called for “intifada” in America.

SJP organizes anti-Israel campaigns, including running annual Israel Apartheid Weeks, often in collaboration with Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) and Muslim Student Association (MSA) campus chapters.

SJP has been a major force in pushing the anti-Semitic Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement on campuses. Chapters have initiated dozens of BDS resolutions in student governments, which have been proposed on or around Jewish holidays, a time when many Jewish students are off-campus.

SJP activists have reportedly physically assaulted, intimidated and harassed Jewish students, disrupted pro-Israel campus events and demonized pro-Israel campus organizations.

Chapters have often endorsed and campaigned for numerous terrorists and whitewashed terrorism.

The Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement was founded by pro-terror activist Omar Barghouti in 2005 to turn “Israel into a pariah state, as South Africa once was.” Barghouti has also called for Israel's destruction and the BDS movement demands would result in that same goal.

BDS initiatives include calling on institutions and individuals to divest from Israeli-affiliated companies, promoting academic and cultural boycotts of Israel, and organizing anti-Israel rallies, protests and campaigns.

The movement’s most notable achievement has been infiltrating university campuses through lobbying for “BDS resolutions.” In these cases, student governments propose resolutions to boycott or divestment from Israel or Israeli-affiliated entities. BDS activity is often aggressive and disruptive. It has been noted that universities that pass BDS resolutions see a marked increase in anti-Semitic incidents and pro-terror activism on campus.