Now that Donald Trump has been reelected president, PNW’s Students for Justice in Palestine organization sees its role as being more important than ever.

“The primary mission of the Students for Justice in Palestine organization is to do actions that publicize what is happening in Gaza and Palestine and in general do solidarity work — to advocate on behalf of the Palestinians but also take actions that would be beneficial for them,” said Lee Artz, PhD., the group’s faculty advisor. 

He said the organization’s work is critically important to maintain awareness about Israel’s massive military offensive against Hamas in Gaza following the group’s Oct. 6, 2023 attack on Israel that killed about 1,200 and took more than 250 hostages. Though social media drew significant attention to the military action last year, the coverage has decreased. 

“Social media was on the rise when it came to publicizing this war but eventually those social media companies filtered what individuals can and cannot see,” Artz said. “Images and videos were being taken down by these companies. Some news sources canceled shows that interviewed Palestinians. They removed … interviews they would claim … were anti-semitic or biased.”

The organization last spring partnered with other groups and raised $5,000 for a humanitarian charity that supported justice for Palestine. 

Today, Artz said the group is weighing options. 

“We have discussed the possibility of petitioning the Hammond City Council to adopt a resolution against the Israeli war,” he said. “One hundred cities have adopted this movement, and we want the Hammond City Council to join that growing number.

“Another possible action we … could take is petitioning that PNW disinvest from a company that is involved with assisting and contributing to the war,” said Artz. “This is to not only show the advocacy for peace but to [also] show that we as a community are fighting for justice.”

He said the organization creates an opportunity for students all over the country to voice their opinions about the conflict, which has escalated in the past year. 

“We are on the verge of a full-scale regional conflict,” said Artz. “It is hard to predict what is going to happen in the next six months. Unless the U.S. does something dramatic and stops funding the war, Israel will continue to attack. 

“The commercial media would like to convince us that there is nothing we can do about it but organizations such as SJP would like to see change and finally peace,” he said.