Amid airstrikes and continued violence in Palestine and Israel, Cleveland State University’s Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) collectively spoke about the impacts they are feeling here in Cleveland and CSU.
The student group has noticed and acknowledged members of the local community standing in solidarity with Palestinians in various ways, such as by wearing the keffiyeh, the Palestinian scarf, and speaking up for the rights of Palestinians in Gaza.
“We only hope and pray that the awareness for children in Gaza will be spread and that they will receive the aid that they need to fulfill their rights to a stable and prosperous healthcare system,” the group shared in a statement with The Cauldron.
With 56 members listed on VikesConnect, SJP highlighted the impact each member has felt due to what the group described as the “barbaric and inhumane attacks on our Palestinian brothers and sisters in Gaza.”
SJP emphasized their distress and hope for peace.
“Seeing the matters in which the international community has responded to the attacks on Israel on October 7th, we are saddened to see that the same attention was also directed toward hatred for the innocent Palestinians in Gaza. We wish nothing but peace for our people, but no one has stood by our side to recognize the atrocities committed to our fellow Palestinians. We are sad, and we are angry.”
The group reiterated the history of the ongoing violence, citing a start date of May 15, 1948, Nakba Day. On this day, thousands of Palestinans were displaced and killed, including family members of SJP members.
“This isn’t a conflict; this is a genocide. Due to the consistent media coverage on the matter, there have been numerous hate crimes against both Palestinian and Muslim people.”
One such hate crime in Illinois saw a six year old, Wadea Al Fayoume, stabbed 26 times earlier this month. His mother was also attacked and hospitalized due to her injuries.
SJP commented on the crime:
“His death has struck the homes of many Palestinians, and to us, it’s as if he was one of the thousands of children killed in Gaza. We know full and well that this country has seen us as the enemy, simply by the murder of a single Palestinian American citizen who will never get to see another day.”
SJP’s Public Statement
On Saturday, Oct. 7, Hamas, the military organization and governing body of the Israeli-occupied Gaza Strip, launched an attack in Israel that killed over 1,000 Israelis. Vowing to inflict an “unprecedented price,” Israel has since continually launched a series of strikes on Gaza that has killed over 5,700 Palestinians, 700 of whom were killed in the last day alone. Over a million Gazans have been displaced.
While Hamas’ attack has often been labeled as “unprecedented” or “a surprise,” many Palestinians have rejected this label, saying that the attack was a response to “the cruel and brutal oppression and illegal occupation that the Palestinians have been enduring for decades from the Israeli apartheid state.”
In a statement shared on Instagram on Oct. 9, SJP aligned with the Palestinian resistance.
“As Palestinians, we firmly stand with Palestine and its enduring struggle for justice, and freedom. While we do not condone any acts of violence, we unyieldingly support the Palestinian resistance, which embodies the resilience and determination of a people striving for their rightful place in the world.”
SJP also shared the importance of developing a lasting resolution to a decades long series of Palestinian suffering and injustices.
“We believe in the power of a peaceful resistance, diplomacy, and international solidarity to bring about a just and lasting resolution to the Palestinian-Israeli issue.”
Response to CSU
When prompted about CSU’s statement released in light of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, SJP expressed frustration with the content and language.
“The statement in essence was very wishy-washy, and we don’t appreciate how backhanded it was toward our [the Palestinian] community,” the group explained. “This issue is not something new to the world, and we wish that this would have been recognized in the email as well.”
SJP encouraged the importance of accurate information and developing a fuller understanding of the conflict for society at large.
“The world is not entirely informed of the Palestinian struggle, and the misconceptions of this have led to many Palestinians feeling unsafe in their own homes,” SJP shared. “We wish more could have been said, but we hope to urge our community to look into this matter and make sure that the leaders of our school release a statement condemning the actions of a force that has placed a siege on our people.”
The group found CSU’s statement insulting as it cited a statement released by countries that have not acknowledged the Palestinian cause, but exclusively condemns the actions of Hamas and expresses support for Israel’s right to defend itself.
SJP explained their disappointment in CSU’s inability “to condemn the humanitarian crisis that is caused by Israel to the Palestinians in Gaza, which at this point is an evident example of a war crime.”
The group continued by saying, “It would be more than appreciated if CSU cared about the Palestinian lives lost, as generations of Palestinian students have attended their university.”
Response to Israeli Prime Minister
SJP also commented on statements delivered by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday, Oct. 13.
Prime Minister Netanyahu said, “’We are striking our enemies with unprecedented might,” and “I emphasize that this is only the beginning.”
In response to these statements, SJP said:
“We have all witnessed the horrific events made by the Israeli Defense Forces, as they have stated that they are aiming to destroy the entity of Gaza if they have to. This ‘beginning,’ has cost the lives of at least 4,000 Palestinians and 11,000 have been wounded, when will it end?”
The Cauldron also reached out to the Muslim Student Association and Hillel at Cleveland State University for comment on Tuesday, Oct. 17, but the organizations did not respond.
Ele Solovyov 
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Mays Turabi