A group has become a new registered student organization at the University of Oklahoma even as its national parent and associated state chapters have often been linked to antisemitism.

OU officials have provided that designation to OU Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) even as state officials are considering legislation that targets antisemitism on state college campuses.

Earlier this month, the OU Daily reported that OU Students for Justice in Palestine had become a registered student organization under the Student Government Association at the University of Oklahoma. As a result, the group will be eligible to receive funding through the Student Government Association within a year.

The student group was formerly known as the OU Student Coalition for Palestinian Liberation.

OU Students for Justice in Palestine has called for divestment from companies such as Chevron, which the SJP criticizes for operating a pipeline that is “an essential part of Israel’s crude oil supply chain.”

The group also called for boycotting the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl that pitted the University of Oklahoma football team against Navy last December. OU Students for Justice in Palestine renamed the event the “death bowl” since Lockheed Martin “manufactures weapons for genocide in Gaza and beyond.”

About a year after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel, which included acts of mass murder, rape, and kidnapping, OU Students for Justice in Palestine hosted a series of events as part of a “Week of Rage” directed at Israel’s response to the terrorist attacks.

And in a letter previously released by the OU Student Coalition for Palestinian Liberation (the precursor to SPJ), the group declared that Israel is “an apartheid state” engaged in “a genocide campaign” and “crimes against humanity,” and that Israel’s actions are “not self-defense.”

Students for Justice in Palestine chapters, as well as the organization’s national umbrella group, have been linked to antisemitism at colleges across the United States.

A 2018 report issued by the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, “Students for Justice in Palestine Unmasked,” declared that Students for Justice in Palestine “is not a ‘grassroots’ student organization; it is a terror-supporting, anti-Semitic network that harasses and intimidates Israel-friendly students and operates with autonomy and impunity at scores of colleges and universities across the United States.”

The Anti-Defamation League notes that various Students for Justice in Palestine chapters have “justified and/or glorified the Hamas-led October 7 attack on Israel,” and that the group’s members often engage in “antisemitic rhetoric and propaganda.”

One such observance of the Oct. 7 anniversary occurred in Oklahoma and drew national attention.

Oklahoma State University received national scrutiny after a message from Students for Justice in Palestine was distributed touting a “week of rage” to oppose Israel’s response to the Hamas terrorist attack of Oct. 7, 2023.

Oklahoma lawmakers are currently considering legislation that would crack down on acts of antisemitism with one bill specifically focused on college campuses.

Senate Bill 942, by state Sen. Kristen Thompson, R-Edmond, requires Oklahoma universities and public schools to integrate the definition of antisemitism, as defined by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, into student, faculty, and employee codes of conduct. The bill also requires colleges and K-12 schools to treat antisemitic discrimination “in an identical manner to discrimination motivated by race.”

House Bill 1218, by state Rep. Kevin West, R-Moore, requires Oklahoma state agencies to consider whether an alleged act of discrimination was the result of antisemitism, “including intentionally selecting any victim or group of victims or any property as the object of the offense because of such victim’s or group of victims’ actual or perceived race, color, religion, or national origin.”

The website of the OU Student Government Association states that its mission is “to promote civic engagement and community involvement across campus.”

“The SGA allows students to organize and make a difference in their academic and extracurricular experience,” the association’s website states.

[Photo Credit: Olivia Lauter/OU Daily. For more stories about higher education in Oklahoma, visit AimHigherOK.com.]