Laura Goldstein
Laura Goldstein served as faculty advisor for an anti-Israel activist group that expressed support for the Hamas terrorism of October 7, 2023, which included mass murder and rape.
Goldstein has also engaged in anti-Israel activism and spread hatred of Israel online.
As of December 2023, Goldstein served as the faculty advisor for the Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) chapter at Loyola University Chicago (SJP LUC) during the 2023-2024 academic year. SJP LUC promoted the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement during that academic year.
Goldstein’s SJP chapter showed support for Hamas on the day of the terror group’s atrocities and war crimes against Israeli civilians, including mass murder, torture, rape, beheadings and kidnappings. The attacks left over 1,200 Israelis dead, hundreds kidnapped and thousands wounded. Israel retaliated with a war called “Swords of Iron.”
As of February 2024, Goldstein was listed on the LUC website as a senior lecturer in the Department of English. LUC is located in Chicago, Illinois.
As of the same date, Goldstein’s Loyola bio said Goldstein had graduated from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) with a master’s degree in fine arts.
Also as of February 2024, Goldstein’s Facebook page said Goldstein was located in Chicago, Illinois. Goldstein had the username “Laaura Goldstein” on Facebook.
On October 7, 2023, while Goldstein served as the SJP LUC faculty advisor, the group posted a flyer on Instagram for a protest titled: “PALESTINE RESISTS OCCUPATION.” The protest was scheduled for October 8, 2023, outside the Israeli Consulate in Chicago, Illinois.
Anti-Israel activists use the term “resistance” to refer to violence and terror perpetrated against Israeli civilians and their allies. It is used to glorify and encourage anti-Israel and anti-Semitic violence. Anti-Israel activists chant slogans such as: “Resistance by any means necessary!” and “Resistance is justified when people are occupied!” in response to terror attacks.
In the post, SJP LUC included a statement by SJP Chicago, one of the event's co-organizers and an umbrella group for SJP chapters in the Chicago area.
The statement said: “...we will be holding a protest to voice our support for Palestinian resistance back home against years of occupation and apartheid!”
The statement also claimed: “On October 6th [sic], 2023, Palestinians exercised their right to resist their oppressor and their occupier.” The statement also claimed that Israel was engaged “in an ongoing project of settler colonialism.”
The statement concluded: “Palestinians have decided enough is enough. Oppressed peoples have a right, affirmed by the United Nations, to engage in resistance against their oppressor…Freedom from violence can only be achieved through resistance. Join us at the israeli consulate tomorrow to continue the ongoing fight for justice and liberation for Palestine.”
On Saturday, October 7, 2023, approximately 2,900 heavily armed Hamas terrorists breached Israel’s border with Gaza. They executed numerous war crimes on civilians, including mass murder, beheadings of children, rape of men and women, torture, kidnappings and mutilation.
Hamas broadcast videos of their butchery on social media, often to victims’ accounts for families to see. Israel retaliated with a war called “Swords of Iron.” As of November 10, 2023, approximately 1,200 Israelis, the vast majority of them civilians, were murdered during the attacks. Hamas kidnapped 242 Israelis, including at least 30 children. At least 3,500 people were wounded, many severely.
A terrorist detained by Israel admitted he raped an Israeli woman when he broke into a kibbutz house during the October 7, 2023 attack. In March 2024, a former hostage of Hamas publicly stated she was sexually abused and tortured while in captivity.
For more information on the October 7, 2023 terror attacks, see the Canary Mission page on Hamas.
Hamas has been designated as a terrorist organization by the U.S., Canada, European Union, Israel and other countries. Founded in 1987, it has killed thousands of Israeli civilians through mass shootings and suicide bombings. Hamas has also kidnapped children, families and the elderly and held them hostage in Gaza. It has desecrated [slide 7] dead bodies and launched numerous rocket attacks against Israeli civilians.
On December 5, 2023, Goldstein posted on Facebook: “...i am reading at this event THIS THURSDAY at CO-PROSPERITY SPHERE that is PACKED with amazing poets raising money for @thepcrf (Palestinian children’s relief fund)...” Goldstein’s post included a flyer for an event called “POETS FOR PALESTINE,” scheduled at the Co-Prosperity Sphere in Chicago, Illinois, on December 7, 2023.
The Palestine Children's Relief Fund (PCRF) is a nonprofit organization reportedly set up “to address the medical and humanitarian crisis facing Palestinian youths in the Middle East.” It has been financially linked with the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development (HLF), which was shut down by the U.S. government for funneling donations to the Hamas terrorist organization.
On November 2, 2023, while Goldstein served as the SJP LUC faculty advisor, the group posted images on Instagram encouraging people to participate in the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement.
One slide listed [slide 3] companies to boycott and other slides listed [slide 4-6] companies to support. The final slide listed [slide 7] organizations that SJP LUC believed should receive donations, including PCRF and Amnesty International (AI).
Amnesty International (AI) is a non-governmental organization (NGO) that claims to combat global human rights abuses. AI is often criticized for singling out and demonizing Israel, as well as mischaracterizing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The organization frequently releases “reports” in which it accuses Israel of apartheid and war crimes. These reports have been shown to contain multiple lies and are regularly debunked.
On November 21, 2020, Goldstein shared a Facebook post from November 17, 2012. The post included an image of two women holding the same signs in different years. One sign said: “I am a Palestinian arab / I was born in Jerusalem / Palestine is my homeland / but I cannot return there.” The other sign said: “I am an American Jew / I was born in U.S.A. / Israel is not my homeland / but I can ‘return’ there.”
The “right of return” is a Palestinian demand discredited as a means to eliminate Israel. International law mandates no absolute right of return and UN Resolution 194, which defined principles for “refugees wishing to return to their homes,” was unanimously rejected by Arab nations following the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.
One way anti-Israel activists spread anti-Semitism is by denying [00:17:45] Jewish history, with the aim of delegitimizing restored Jewish sovereignty, attacking Israel’s legitimacy and portraying Jews as foreign to the Land of Israel.
SJP is the leading 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, who has spread anti-Semitism and defended the Hamas terror group.
SJP organizes anti-Israel campus campaigns, including running annual Israel Apartheid Weeks and pushing the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement. SJP activists have reportedly physically assaulted, intimidated and harassed Jewish students, and SJP chapters have often endorsed and campaigned for terrorists.
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.