Demand Duke University Ban SJP

For years, Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) has been promoting antisemitism on Duke University’s campus, making Jewish students feel ostracized, harassed, and unwelcome.

After Duke SJP posted an image on social media that invoked antisemitic tropes and made Jewish students feel targeted, the group was rightfully suspended. But less than two weeks later, Duke revoked the suspension and reinstated SJP.

Enough is enough. Demand Duke University ban SJP and restore the campus to a welcoming place for Jewish, Zionist, and Israeli students.

To the administration of Duke University,

On March 13, 2026, Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) at Duke University published an Instagram post advertising an SJP general body meeting. The post featured a cartoon invoking antisemitic tropes that left Jewish students feeling targeted.

Ten students filed complaints about the antisemitic post with Duke's Office for Institutional Equity (OIE), and SJP was rightfully suspended. Mere weeks later, however, the OIE reversed the suspension — even though, by the OIE's own account, SJP's post was "offensive" and "alluded to antisemitic tropes," according to Associate Vice President for Institutional Equity, Equal Opportunity, and Compliance Sharon Gooding.

Gooding justified her office's reversal of SJP’s suspension by claiming “there was insufficient information to support the existence of a hostile educational environment.” This rationale, however, ignores the long history of SJP’s inflammatory, antisemitic incitement.

For years, Duke SJP has escalated its activities and rhetoric, making Jewish students feel ostracized, harassed, and unwelcome on campus. A few examples that illustrate this pattern:

In 2019, a member of Duke SJP retweeted a photo of a pro-Israel group and wrote, “Because y’all are a bunch of racist clowns…So, I’m going to repeat myself again, f**k DIPAC and every Zionist on campus.”

In March 2022, Duke SJP hosted notorious antisemite Mohammed El-Kurd.

On October 7, 2023, as Hamas terrorists were slaughtering, torturing, raping, and kidnapping Israeli civilians, Duke SJP shared an Instagram post “contextualizing” the massacre.

In November 2023, Duke SJP shared an Instagram post endorsing terrorism against Israel and rejecting calls for peace.

In March 2024, Duke SJP protested a memorial for the 1,200 victims of the October 7 Hamas massacre, accused the Duke chapter of Students Supporting Israel of “supporting genocide,” and referred to Jewish students as “Zios.”

In April 2024, Duke SJP joined the antisemitic encampment launched at the University of North Carolina.

In May 2024, Duke SJP staged a walkout during the commencement address given by Jewish comedian Jerry Seinfeld.

In November 2024, Duke SJP disrupted an event featuring former Israeli Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit, hosted by the Duke Program in American Grand Strategy.

In September 2025, Duke SJP staged a “die-in” on campus, demanding that the university divest from companies that do business with Israel and chanting “From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be Free,” which is a call for violence against Jews. Vice Provost and VP for Student Affairs Mary Pat McMahon acknowledged as much in October 2023, when Duke administrators painted over the slogan, which had been graffitied on the East Campus Free Expression Bridge.

In October 2025, Duke SJP shared an Instagram post glorifying the Hamas-affiliated Gaza Sumud Flotilla.

In December 2025, Duke SJP staged a walkout during an event featuring former Secretary of State Antony Blinken, whom SJP referred to as a “Zionist bigot.”

In March 2026, Duke SJP posted an image that depicted a pig holding a Star of David, a direct invocation of antisemitic tropes.

And for years, Duke SJP has been demanding that the university sever ties with Israel, consistent with the antisemitic Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions campaign.

SJP has been a primary driver in cultivating a hostile, antisemitic environment at Duke. The time for accountability is long overdue. I urge you to take swift and decisive action to restore Duke’s campus as a welcoming place for Jewish, Zionist, and Israeli students. Banning SJP is the right place to start.

Signed,
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