A few weeks ago, SSI Columbia reached out to SJP (Students for Justice in Palestine) and JVP (Jewish Voice for Peace) with great hope and expectations of finally doing something productive about the long-debated issue of holding civil and constructive discussion on campus regarding the Israeli- Palestinian conflict. We asked nothing more than a phlegmatic setting to discuss different views and narratives, hopefully, provided by newly elected CCSC. Today, in a public statement, SJP has not only rejected our open offer but also virulently used made up claims and half-truths to justify their insistence on marginalizing and boycotting pro-Israel voices on this campus.SSI took up SJP on their claim of wanting dialogue - and they called their bluff beautifully.
SSI’s invitation to host a joint event came as a result of SJP claiming that they want to promote dialogue on this issue on campus.
SJP not only rejected the call for dialogue - they admitted that they would never have spoken to SSI anyway:
Normally, an invitation such as this would be rejected due to SJP’s anti-normalization policy, which means that we don’t participate in collaborative events with Zionist groups on the grounds that such events do more to obscure, rather than expose, the fundamental power imbalance at the heart of the settler-colonial situation in Palestine.But then they said that SSI was "racist" with examples that are not at all racist by any definition. For example, "Most recently, SSI hosted a 'social activism' workshop with a representative of Act.Il, an Israeli propaganda app closely linked to the Israeli Ministry of Strategic Affairs and other clandestine intelligence organizations." All of their examples are equally bizarre.
SJP doesn't stop there. They not only say that SSI is "racist," but "We believe organizations like SSI, given their racist rhetoric and their recorded history of harassment, must be effectively deplatformed."
They don't stop there. They say that every pro-Israel organization must be boycotted: "We call on our peers and allied organizations to boycott all pro-Israel advocacy groups and clubs..."
SJP's own words show how intolerant they are towards anyone who disagrees with them. SSI is obviously the only party here that is acting like adults.
As usual with anti-Israel and antisemitic organizations, they don't want to talk or debate - because they know that they will lose on facts. Instead, they do everything they can to silence any pro-Israel voices.
Logic would dictate that the organization that wants to disenfranchise their opponents is the one that should be disenfranchised.