Minneapolis, MN – On Wednesday The David Horowitz Freedom Center, a nonprofit organization dedicated to American-Israeli causes, sent out a press release stating they are responsible for hanging posters all over the University of Minnesota campus that claim the University’s Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) group is a front for the terror group Hamas and the Hamas intermediary American Muslims for Palestine (AMP).
According to the Freedom Center, recent congressional testimony revealed AMP is funneling terrorist dollars to Students for Justice in Palestine to support the Hamas-sponsored, anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign in America.
The University of Minnesota is the latest of several campuses targeted by the Freedom Center’s poster campaign.
“Virtually every major university campus in America is host to student organizations dedicated to spreading the propaganda lies of the Hamas terrorists which are designed to weaken and delegitimize the Israeli state. These student organizations promote Hamas campaigns like Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) whose goal is Israel’s destruction,” explained David Horowitz, founder of the Freedom Center. “Our goal in placing these posters on prominent campuses across America is to expose the true motivations and allegiances of these groups who have chosen to join forces with terrorists.”
Individual campus leaders—both student and faculty—who support the BDS movement are identified on the posters. The posters are part of a larger Freedom Center campaign titled Stop the Jew Hatred on Campus.
The posters have some students outraged at the claims. While SJP at the UMN could not be reached for comment, Ashley Hussein, a Nutrition Major Senior and Palestinian student not involved with SJP says the claims have little merit, stating, “Supporting divestment does not mean supporting Hamas. Indicating that people in the US supporting divestment from Israel is terrorism or anti-semitism is not true. The BDS movement aims to get organizations to not support companies in the US that directly or indirectly invest money into the occupation of Palestine/Palestinians.”
Hussein says several people outside of SJP supported the divestment motion last year at a Minnesota Student Association meeting, stating, “there were a lot of Jewish folks who also support the BDS movement and supported UMN SJP when bringing the divestment resolution to MSA last year. It is more about the occupation, and not supporting Zionists, and the Israeli government/military actions. Claiming that supporting Palestine is anti-semitic, or supporting Hamas is preposterous.”
The campaign also recently released a report on the “Top Ten Schools Supporting Terrorists.” Images of the posters that appeared at the University of Minnesota and at other campuses may be viewed here.
