Sophie Levitt, a Jewish student at Arizona State University in Tempe, joined the campus chapter of Students for Justice for Palestine when she was a freshman, eager to broaden her worldview after what she describes as a sheltered upbringing in suburban Illinois.
“I learned more about Palestine and how the movement for Palestinian freedom goes along with my own values,” said Levitt, 21, who is now a junior majoring in justice studies and one of the chapter’s key organizers.
In recent weeks, Levitt watched as people across the country — advocacy groups and politicians and fellow student activists — excoriated Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), a network of campus groups that are affiliated with a national wing but operate autonomously.
In a court filing, the American Civil Liberties Union described the national wing as a “coalition and networking group for SJPs and other like-minded groups on college campuses across the nation.”