To the Editor:
Paul Lazarow's recent column ("Crossing the Line," April 10) cites cases of Students for Justice in Palestine groups around the United States that "resort to intimidation and incitement," hold "racist" views toward Israel and aim to "harass supporters of Israel" to question whether SJP upholds the values of tolerance and respect. He draws an implicit association between these groups and the Dartmouth SJP.
Lazarow's article is based on a rather unskillful distortion of facts. He recognizes SJP National as an "umbrella organization." Each SJP chapter has an independent mission statement and its own nuanced views on how to represent Palestinian interests. We acknowledge that groups on other campuses have acted with animosity, but such practices do not reflect the values of our campus SJP. It is unsurprising that Lazarow's article fails to document a single example of misbehavior by SJP-Dartmouth.
Last year, we decided to change our name from Students Concerned for Palestine to SJP, and we did not turn radical as a result. Currently, we are collaborating with members of SJP, Hillel, J Street U and Dartmouth Students for Israel to organize an Israeli/Palestinian Film Festival Week in place of last year's Palestinian Film Festival Week. We have always strived to build an organization that is supportive of dialogue. Lazarow's article gravely undermines our effort and, frankly, offends us.
Lazarow's article has already encouraged unwarranted criticism of SJP, as shown by the comment on his article online. We hope that this article does not further polarize students' views regarding campus discourse on the conflict but instead encourages a collaborative discussion.
Maryam Zafer '12 and Ala Alrababa'h '12Presidents of SJP-Dartmoiuth
