Interview with Two Student Organizers from the University of Pittsburgh’s Students for Justice in Palestine Chapter
Last week, I had the opportunity to sit down with two passionate student organizers from the University of Pittsburgh’s Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP). In a candid conversation, they shared their insights and experiences regarding their anti-apartheid work and the impact of their activism on campus and in the wider Pittsburgh community. As the situation in Gaza continues to worsen, their dedication to raising awareness and advocating for justice has become increasingly vital. Delve into their thoughts on the support they have garnered over the past year, the challenges and repression they face, their views on solidarity, and their vision for future activism.
To maintain the privacy and safety of the individuals interviewed, I have chosen to use two pseudonyms in the article instead of their real names.
The following interview has been shortened and edited for clarity.
Thank you both so much for your time today, I want to start our discussion off by asking you both to discuss your work and involvement with SJP.
Lily: As members of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), our focus this year has been on increasing awareness about the ongoing genocide in Palestine. We’ve organized rallies, educational events, and film screenings. We’ve also done a lot of fundraising this year for Human Development Fund, Islamic Relief USA, and for family and friends in Gaza, collaborating with our university’s Muslim Student Association and conducting outreach with the broader Pittsburgh community, particularly with the Pittsburgh Palestine Coalition.
Adam: This year in particular, we have been focusing on education and humanizing the Palestinian experience. We are trying to also focus on advocacy, which is really meant to humanize the Palestinian narrative, who are obviously a people that have been so long dehumanized and portrayed in a way that palatizes colonization.
I’d love to hear how you first learned about the Apartheid-Free Pledge. What does it mean to each of you to be part of an anti-apartheid student group, and what role do you think students play in the anti-apartheid movement?
Lily: We first learned about the Apartheid-Free Pledge through the Pittsburgh Palestine Coalition. I believe it was someone from the Pittsburgh Palestine Solidarity Committee who initially brought it to our attention. Once we heard about it, we knew it was something we wanted to support. Ending apartheid and the occupation are some of SJP’s core goals, so signing onto the pledge aligned perfectly with our values. Seeing other student and grassroots organizations supporting the pledge was also encouraging; it reinforced that this movement is nationwide and deeply connected to our objectives.
Adam: Yes, exactly. And to your second question about the role of students in the anti-apartheid movement, as an SJP chapter, our role isn’t just about responding to current events or military campaigns but pushing for an end to the occupation as a whole. Even after periods of intense aggression fade, Palestinians will still live under an apartheid system, facing daily injustices where they can’t access roads or enter certain communities. To be a part of an anti-apartheid organization means advocating, from more than just the humanitarian perspective. We need more than a cease-fire. We really need collective justice to bring an end to the systems that continue to be justified through the twisting of narratives. It’s unbelievable that that there is still much apologism and justification for the maintenance of these systems. University students, especially here in the U.S., have really planted the legacy of organizing around issues of justice, and this has built a foundation for movements like ours today.
You both touched on it briefly, but I’d like to dive deeper into your divestment initiatives at the University of Pittsburgh. Can you describe the work that SJP has taken to advocate for the university to divest, particularly in response to Israel’s assaults on Gaza, Lebanon, and all of occupied Palestine?
Adam: Absolutely. Our divestment efforts stemmed from the work we have done at SJP’s along with a broader coalition of student groups, and it all really took shape in the spring of this past year. It all started with drafting demands, and those demands of course evolved over time. At that time, we had already had multiple big rallies, actions, and met with campus administration, who told us that to even begin the process of divestment that we would need to have a lot of community support. So, we knew that there would not be a real outcome if people would not be willing to put their bodies and safety on the line in order for divestment to happen.
The encampment first began as a sit-in at the Cathedral of Learning, our main academic building, in late April of last school year. The goal of the encampments, to get the university to divest from Israeli apartheid and genocide [see the entire list of demands here], wasn’t fully met, but the action helped build coalitions, like our collaboration with the Student Government Board, which released a statement supporting divestment, challenging the media’s dominant framing of what is happening in Gaza as merely a “war on terrorism.” Instead, they framed it as a military occupation affecting an entire people, which was a really good outcome. We also gained support from various cultural organizations like the Middle Eastern and North African Association and the Asian Student Alliance.
However, there’s still a lot of work to do. Unlike some other universities, we haven’t been able to pass a formal resolution or hold a student body vote since those mechanisms don’t really exist within our student government structure [Note: while there is no mechanism for a spontaneous, broad referendum by the student body at UPitt, students can submit a referendum question to be included in the SGB election ballots. This limited type of referendum occurs only during elections, which take place during the spring, allowing students to vote on specific issues alongside voting for candidates]. So, we’re still brainstorming other ways that we can generate these kinds of wins, which are admittedly symbolic, but even in that symbolism, we really have the potential to show the popular support that divestment has among the student body.
Lily: The encampment experience taught us a lot and helped shift the broader student perspective. Our goal is an end to the occupation and a bring recognition of Palestinian rights at every level. The encampments helped to make that shift in perspective more visible, emphasizing that the Palestinian cause isn’t just a crisis in need of aid; it’s an issue of justice and self-determination. We really do want to end the apartheid system entirely—the prioritization of one people’s rights at the expense of another’s subjugation.
The encampments, in particular, also showed people how repressive the state could be, even toward Americans, supposedly the most privileged citizenry in the world, who weren’t even able to exercise their first amendment rights on their college campuses, where they pay thousands of dollars in tuition. Universities are supposed to be places for critical thought and political consciousness, but they’re operating as the opposite: suppressing critical perspectives, and actively ignoring the wishes of the student body, which is that we do not want our tuition or tax money funding genocide, occupation, and apartheid.
The encampments shifted the issue from “This is happening; let’s raise funds for relief” to “We must engage politically and figure out how we can actually start making a change in our political system through U.S. policies which enable these injustices.” And the fact that there was such a huge amount of physical repression that we faced in the encampments was a huge wake-up call—students were brutalized by Pitt police, city police, and state police in riot gear. Over 19 students are still facing charges after they themselves were physically brutalized by police in the second encampment and were essentially put under siege, cut off from medical aid, food, and water, and ultimately shut down within just two days. The charges that the students and community members are facing include aggravated assault, intent to commit felony, disorderly conduct, trespassing, fail to disperse upon official order, just to name a few. This really alarmed people, making them realize this issue isn’t only about Palestine. It’s also about how dissent and criticism of state policies are suppressed here in the U.S.
When people witness such state violence for simply standing up and speaking out, they start to see the parallels between the fascism Palestinians face and the repression we’re dealing with here. We are not able to protest where our own money is going without facing real tangible consequences in terms of violence and loss of opportunities in careers, all because we’re saying what’s happening in Palestine is wrong.
Adam: Absolutely. The encampments were about more than just pushing for divestment. I think realistically, we didn’t expect divestment to happen through the encampments. We realized that this is ultimately going to be a marathon and not a sprint. The encampments were just one tool of student dissent in the same way that there were multiple different techniques employed by students who were protesting Vietnam and South African apartheid. The encampments were a powerful way to raise awareness among not only the student body but the broader Pittsburgh community.
We’ve managed to gather substantial support from the student community, thanks to the encampments, and now we’re looking to build on that momentum. We’re pushing for a resolution or referendum with the Student Government Board, or maybe even a petition, that can clearly show the administration that the majority of the student body wants divestment. And this isn’t just about saying we want divestment; it’s about forcing the administration to actually respond to the will of the student body and engage with us meaningfully. Getting them to even meet with us and address our demands has been a struggle, but with each action, we’re learning more about effective advocacy—and hopefully, other universities and SJP chapters can learn from this as well.
It sounds like the encampments really helped you gain support from the student community. Over the past year, have you noticed a shift in perspectives about Palestine from students and faculty, would you say you’re seeing a lot more support and/or backlash?
Adam: We’ve definitely faced more backlash recently. While the encampments garnered more support—not just from students, but also from other communities like Greek life—the increased visibility has also meant more repression. Among the 20+ people facing charges, about half are students, while the rest are community members. And the administration is keeping a closer watch on us. Anytime a local organization organizes a protest, we get vague emails and threats of disciplinary action, even for events we didn’t plan or participate in.
Lily: Absolutely. Beyond the new protest restrictions, we’ve seen a consistent pattern of student surveillance and monitoring. Last year, at the Student Union where we hold meetings, we noticed campus staff closely monitoring our meetings. [Adam] also mentioned the vague emails with conduct warnings demanding that we meet with the administration at short notice. This doesn’t happen with other student groups planning similar events.
Our advocacy is constantly under scrutiny, and as a result, we have to be extra careful with everything we do. Other universities, like West Virginia University (WVU), experience far less hostility from their administration. At WVU, students advocating for Palestine report far less police intervention. But here, the administration and University of Pittsburgh police seem to dedicate a lot of resources specifically to monitoring and suppressing our activities.
I really want to commend you on the amazing work you all are doing. All of the repression you are facing is occurring at a time when what’s happening on the ground in Gaza is getting worse every day. Yet, you are working tirelessly to raise awareness about the violence while being full-time students. I’m wondering, what is giving you hope right now? What is sustaining you?
Lily: It’s a really tough question to answer, especially now with what we see happening in northern Gaza, with the blatant escalation and clear intent of the IOF to empty all of northern Gaza and resettle there. We’re seeing escalation after escalation, bombing after bombing. Even though it’s nothing new, we didn’t expect this to go on for even six months, much less over a year now. And to see that even though the international community has raised the concern time and time again, Isreal has been rampantly escalating its attacks. It’s been hard to say that there’s anything that’s been giving me hope.
Something that I’ve constantly said is that we as humans are not supposed to be able to deal with seeing these types of brutal images and videos every single day and even become desensitized by them. The biggest thing I try to stress is that we should be upset and angry that Israel is stealing our humanity by having us see this content so often. But really, that’s just our reality as Palestinians. We should still have the rage we had from late October when we were fed up. Even after a month, we thought “this should be enough.”
Trying to keep this anger going, it’s hard to say there’s any hope because many of us are becoming desensitized. I wouldn’t frame anything as giving hope. I see it as a responsibility, out of duty to our people. If there’s ever going to be a change, it’s going to come from America. The only country that will stop this is the U.S., and as Americans, we must force our government to end it.
More than anything, it’s our responsibility, especially as Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim Americans. We owe it to our people when our parents and grandparents emigrated here to give us a better life, so we could talk about what’s been happening to our people for not just the last seventy-six years, but for centuries of colonization and imperialism from the West. We can finally bring awareness to it and hopefully end it.
Coupled with that is the resilience and steadfastness of the Palestinian people, especially in Gaza. It’s been over a year for them. What right do we have to complain about the work we’re doing? I say work loosely because I don’t feel like it’s work at this point; it’s something that has to be done. What right do we have to complain? It’s our duty. We have so much privilege and power to end this. It’s something we must do. This is what Palestinians are asking of us: to continue to speak about them, influence policy, not normalize Zionism, end ties with Israel, and ultimately get an arms embargo to stop what is happening in Gaza and across Palestine.
It’s hard for me to articulate that as hope. It’s more about responsibility, necessity, and urgency of what all of us in this student movement are doing.
Adam: I think back to the adage, ‘put yourself in someone else’s shoes.’ It’s a cliché, but it’s true. If I were in that situation, I would expect people to stand up for me. There are glimmers of hope every day in the steadfastness of the Palestinians in their refusal to be displaced from their ancestral land.
What motivates me, and probably many others, is the human imperative to stand up to injustice against fellow humans, regardless of race, nationality, or creed. That’s what propels me, seeing the horrors being propagated so freely and with such impunity by certain media sources.
To stay updated on the ongoing efforts of the University of Pittsburgh’s Students for Justice in Palestine chapter, follow their social media page, where they share their latest initiatives and advocacy work.