Mission: Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) is a diverse group of students, faculty, staff, and community members at Temple University organized on democratic principles to promote justice, human rights, liberation, and self-determination for the Palestinian people.
Guiding Principles: As an advocacy group, SJP is committed to a core set of principles to which it expects its members to adhere. SJP believes that while the Palestinian people must ultimately be able to decide their future in Palestine, certain key principles, grounded in international law, human rights, and basic standards of justice, will be fundamental to a just resolution of the plight of the Palestinians. These include the full decolonization of all illegally held Palestinian lands; the end of the Israeli occupation of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank; including East Jerusalem; the implementation of the right of return and repatriation for all Palestinian refugees to their original homes and properties; and an end to the Israeli system of Apartheid and discrimination against the indigenous Palestinian population. Just as SJP condemns the racism and discrimination underlying the policies and laws of the state of Israel, SJP rejects any form of hatred or discrimination against any religious, racial, or ethnic group. SJP's strength is in the great diversity of its membership. SJP welcomes individuals of all ethnic and religious backgrounds to join in solidarity with the struggle for justice in Palestine.
Code of Conduct: SJP's activities include educational events, demonstrations, and civil disobedience. SJP will conduct only nonviolent actions. SJP rejects actions that violate the guiding principles as stated above. Individuals or groups acting as members, representatives, or sponsors of SJP agree to abide by the code of conduct and endorse the principles of the organization. SJP may elect to endorse programs or actions of other groups whose principles and code of conduct are consistent with those of SJP.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Q: What are the goals of SJP?
A: To educate the Temple University community about the Palestinian plight for justice & self-determination in a truthful & non-discriminate way. To allow our audience to understand that justice is the most important prerequisite to a true and lasting peace. And to permit our peers to see that the community of Temple University is not powerless in this moral & just struggle.
Q: Does SJP offer or endorse a solution to the Palestinian/Israeli conflict?
A: The role of SJP is not to offer or endorse a solution to the conflict. As a student organization, we do not hold the authority to establish a binding strategy of peace between the parties involved, nor do we believe that it is our place to determine the fate of those involved in the conflict. However, SJP believes that certain key principles, grounded in international law, human rights, and basic standards of justice, will be fundamental to a just resolution of the plight of the Palestinians, and therefore should be enforced in order for peace to insue. These are stated in the above "Guiding Principles".
Q: Who is membership open to?
A: Membership in Temple University’s SJP is open to any member of TU’s student body, staff, or faculty, as well as the general public that upholds the organization’s Mission, Guiding Principles, and Code of Conduct to the fullest extent possible. Members that fail to uphold these three promissory prerequisites to membership in the organization may be asked to leave.
Q: Does SJP support terrorism?
A: SJP does not support or endorse terrorism. We only endorse & employ peaceful, non-violent tactics to bring to an end the violence and organized terror inflicted on the Palestinian people by the Israeli government, as it is being funded by US tax money.
Q: Why do we believe that Zionism is a racist ideology?
A: Zionism is a political ideology that is built on ethnic discrimination and is dependent on the dispossession of another group. Much in the same way the apartheid regime in South Africa diverted resources based on race and prevented access of the native population to their own country’s resources and free movement, Zionism calls for the appropriation of the Palestinian lands to Jewish immigrants wishing to attain a new residence in Palestine. Palestinians are being denied access to their land and its resources, such as water, and their daily life is being systematically disrupted.
Q: Is SJP anti-Semitic?
A: Absolutely not. Many organizers of various SJP chapters throughout the nation are Jewish or Israeli. In fact, TU SJP is supported by many Jewish students & local residents. We believe that an end to the occupation will significantly reduce violence and hatred of Jews. We believe that Israeli policies in Palestine have increased world-wide anti-Semitism, and a just resolution to the conflict will spare the lives of Israelis as well as Palestinians and lessen anti-Semitism in the world. SJP rejects any form of hatred or discrimination against any group based on race, ethnicity, religion, gender, or sexual orientation.
vTo become a member, contact, or subscribe to TU Students For Justice In Palestine's general announcement listserv, please send your request to: Temple_SJP@Yahoo.com.
