Northwestern SJP holds anti-Israel protest calling on activists to be 'thorn in the throat of the oppressor'
Pro-Palestine protesters from Northwestern University, led by Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), marched while chanting slogans and accusing Israel of 'genocide.'
During the march, demonstrators reportedly shouted 'Free, free Palestine,' carried a banner reading 'This is GENOCIDE,' and held Palestinian flags.
On June 3, pro-Palestine demonstrators from Northwestern University gathered to protest in Evanston, Illinois against Israel, with one group calling for other activists to answer Palestine’s “call” to be a “thorn in the throat of the oppressor”
The event was organized by Northwestern’s chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), according to The Daily Northwestern. The group hosted the event in memory of the one-year anniversary of the encampment it erected last spring.
During the march, demonstrators reportedly chanted “Free, free Palestine,” carried a banner reading “This is GENOCIDE,” and held Palestinian flags.
Around 15 police officers also attended the event, watching on as the march unfolded. In response, Northwestern’s chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) complained about the “overwhelming police presence” at the protest.
“JVP stands in solidarity with the efforts of SJP to conduct popular education around Palestinian liberation in the face of an ever-escalating genocide,” a JVP spokesperson told The Daily Northwestern. “We condemn the overwhelming police presence on campus and the university’s fascist threats of arrest in response to a peaceful and educational event.”
“Northwestern University once again demonstrates a shameful prioritization of appeasing the pressures of congress, the Trump administration and Pro-Israel voices over the physical safety and academic freedom of its own students,” the group added.
Online, Northwestern’s SJP group advertised the protest on its social media accounts, posting to Instagram on June 2, “EMERGENCY MOBILIZATION: CHICAGO WIDE CALL FOR ALL OUT PRESENCE AT THE NORTHWESTERN POPULAR UNIVERSITY.”
“Wear a mask and keffiyeh, bring a friend! We will do de-arrest trainings and have legal observers!” the post continued.
The SJP group additionally reiterated its condemnation of what it called Israel’s “ground invasion of Gaza.” The group referred to the Jewish state as “the Zionist entity” and accused Israel of perpetrating “genocide” against Palestine.
“We are left, now, with no choice,” the group stated. “We must resist, we must take up space, we must answer Palestine’s call to truly become a thorn in the throat of the oppressor.”
In May, Northwestern’s SJP group distributed a pamphlet which contained a quote from a Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) official urging students to “destroy Amerika” and “build an Intifada.”
“A message to the student intifada: Let us not dialogue with our persecutors,” the pamphlet stated.
During the fall 2024 semester, the Northwestern administration suspended Professor Steven Thrasher because he took part in the anti-Israel encampment organized by SJP.
Campus Reform has contacted Northwestern University for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
