The National Students for Justice in Palestine (NSJP) has designated Thursday, October 12, 2023 as the “National Day of Resistance.”

• The National Students for Justice in Palestine (NSJP) has designated Thursday, October 12, 2023 as the “National Day of Resistance.”
• The “National Day of Resistance” is celebrating the vicious, unprovoked murder of more than 1,200 innocent people and the kidnapping of dozens more, including many Americans.
  • While announcing the Day of Resistance on Instagram on Saturday, @NationalSJP wrote “We witness a historic win for the Palestinian resistance,” describing Hamas’ brutal terror attacks against Israel on October 7. 
  • Organizers have overtly stated “Responsibility for every single death falls solely on the Zionist entity” and that the attacks “are the natural and justified response” to poor conditions for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
  • They have also praised Palestinian “martyrs,” Hamas terrorists who were killed in the effort to attack Israeli civilians.
• The “National Day of Resistance” is siding with a known terrorist organization, Hamas, that deliberately targets civilians, and calls for the death of all Jewish people.
  • Hamas’ charter explicitly rejects efforts for peace in the Middle East and instead calls for the destruction of Israel and death to all Jews.
  • Hamas has received vast international support to build a society in the Gaza Strip, but has used the funds to build weapons instead of taking care of the Palestinian people.
  • As President Biden said, “Hamas does not stand for the Palestinian people’s right to dignity and self-determination. Its stated purpose is the annihilation of the State of Israel and the murder of Jewish people. … Hamas offers nothing but terror and bloodshed with no regard to who pays the price.”
• The “National Day of Resistance” is not seeking peace with the Israelis or a shared society; they are seeking the destruction of Israel as a Jewish, democratic state.
  • They call for “dismantling Zionism,” meaning Israel’s desire for a Jewish state
  • While many Jewish students have deep concern for the plight of the Palestinians, the killing of more than 1,200 innocent Israelis cannot be justified or celebrated.
• The “National Day of Resistance” is creating a hostile atmosphere for Israelis and American Jews who are in mourning, including on our campus.
  • Israel is the ancestral Jewish homeland and the present-day home of more than 7 million Jews. Jews all over the world are devastated by this weekend’s terrorist acts
  • Many American Jews on this campus have family and friends in Israel right now impacted by Hamas’ brutal  terrorism
• The “National Day of Resistance” creates an unsafe environment for Jewish students on campus
  • National SJP organizers have made clear their movement is focused on “not just slogan and rallies, but armed confrontation with the oppressors.”
  • Anti-Israel demonstrations like this have led to a rise in antisemitic activity on American college campuses across the country, including attacks on Jewish students
• We stand with Israel against terror and Israel has every right to defend itself. 
  • In doing so, we stand with the U.S. government and international leaders from around the world who have condemned the terrorist actions against Israel
  • There is no justification for the killing of more than 1,200 innocent civilians, including at least 14 Americans. 
• Our university must make clear that support for terrorism and the celebration of the death of innocent civilians is not in keeping with our campus values.
  • This is not a moment for moral equivalence. We want our university to make clear their opposition to protests in support of Hamas and the attacks against Israel
  • We call on university leaders to ensure the safety of Jewish students, faculty and staff on campus and to speak out against antisemitism

GENERAL TALKING POINTS

• This was an unprovoked, vicious attack that deliberately targeted civilians within Israel, including those at a music festival.
  • At 6:30 AM October 7, on the joyous Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah, Iranian-backed Hamas terrorists from Gaza launched a surprise attack and infiltrated Israel with one goal: to murder Israelis. 
  • More than 1,200 Israeli citizens have been murdered. 
• This is an unspeakable crime that deserves the world’s condemnation
  • The world awoke to horrific images of brutal violence from Hamas terrorists: indiscriminate shooting of Israeli civilians, videos of alleged kidnappings, and celebrations of death and destruction. 
  • There have even been reports of Hamas terrorists posing as IDF soldiers and Israeli police.
• Hamas is an Iran-backed terror group
  • Hamas is an Iranian-backed terrorist organization. 
  • Like many terror groups across the Middle East, including Hezbollah in Lebanon, Palestinian Islamic Jihad in Gaza, and Houthi militants in Yemen, they are funded, trained, armed, and supported by the Iran regime.
  • Hamas’ mission is to destroy the Jewish State of Israel and its inhabitants. The Hamas charter explicitly states that “Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it, just as it obliterated others before it.” and that “The Day of Judgment will not come about until Muslims fight Jews and kill them.” 
• Israel has every right to defend itself.
  • Hamas, and any allies that come to its defense, must be held accountable.
  • Israel has every right – and obligation – to defend its citizens against terror.