On Monday, Cornell University’s Hillel hosted Lilah Lavan in celebration of Israel’s Yom Ha’atzmaut (Independence Day). The festivities included Israeli food and music sponsored by Hillel and other pro-Israel organizations on campus.
Amidst the celebrations, the Cornell chapter of SJP (Students for Justice in Palestine) disrupted the event and held a “die-in.” Some SJP members held a banner that read “Celebrating 69 years of genocide,” while the rest lay down on the floor in protest of the supposed “genocide.”
The claim of genocide in relation to Israel is a vile lie and does not correspond with the facts. One such fact (of many) — the Palestinian population growth rate in the Palestinian territories is 2.4% per year, 33% higher than Israel’s population growth rate, as footnoted below. SJP’s protest had no grounding in fact and was aimed at targeting students who support Israel.
“What I’m saying is that it is a little odd that you’re here to attend an event and everybody is getting ready to pull out a flag,” a policeman guarding the entrance told protesters. “We’re not saying you can’t protest, you’re just going to do it outside because you are not going to disrupt the event.”
While SJP had permission from the police to protest outside the event, they were let in on the condition that they would not disrupt the event. Shortly after this promise, they disrupted the event anyway for a sustained period of time (25-30 minutes). Police did not intervene at the request of staff present. Despite the tolerance for the SJP members’ unlawful behavior, somehow in the article written in the campus newspaper, an SJP member accused the police: “We are really disappointed by the way CUPD treated us and are certain it was a result of racism.”
In response to the die-in, students and other community members at the event formed a circle hand-in-hand and sang along to Matisyahu’s “One Day.” As the SJP members continued their protest, the student’s continued to sing and hold hands in a message of peace and openness.
The following day, The Cornell Daily Sun’s article headline was “Pro-Palestine Protesters Disrupt Celebration of Israel Independence Day.” While the article provided a plethora of details regarding how SJP entered the event and conducted their protest, there was no mention of the peaceful counter-protest. By completely ignoring the response of the students to the die-in, The Sun made it appear as if there weren’t any positive reaction. A significant portion of the article focused on the details of the SJP’s die-in, and not on the actions in response to the matter. What failed to be included was vital to the information that was reported.
Additionally, the first line of the article read: “Cornell Students for Justice in Palestine protested and held a die-in at an Israeli Independence Day celebration in Anabel Taylor Hall on Monday, angering many of the event’s student hosts and leading to arguments with Cornell Police who provided security at the event.” This title made it appear as though the students at the event responded with anger and animosity, when most of the students responded with a message of peace. This first line also created some obscurity around who the “event’s student hosts” were. It did not clarify whether these were Cornell Hillel staff members or students at the event. “Obscure facts” fail to provide Cornell students with any concrete understanding of what actually occurred.
Especially at a university like Cornell, it is absolutely necessary to report on all facts about the event. Many students either do not care or do not know much about the issues surrounding Israel.
In the current climate of alternative facts and fake news, refusing to deliver the facts to students perpetuates misinformation and allows students to form opinions founded on incomplete reporting. It is crucial to the students at Cornell and to all universities across the country, that their reporters exhibit the highest caliber of reporting and acknowledge all the facts even when some are less convenient to report.
SJP has repeatedly refused to engage in a dialogue with Hillel/Jewish organizations on campus.
As of now, Cornell University has not released a statement or responded publicly to this event.