Illustrative: Students Supporting Israel and Reservists on Duty protests the SJP National Conference at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities / Source: SSI

i24 News – Extremist campus group Students for Justice for Palestine issued a demand for UC Santa Cruz to boycott both Israeli and Jewish community organizations, a move described by Jewish groups and student and blatantly antisemitic.

SJP demanded that the university “Cut ties UC wide with all zionist [sic] organizations — including study abroad programs, fellowships, seminars, research collaborations and universities. Cut ties with the Hellen Diller foundation, Koret foundation, Israel Institute and Hillel International.”

US campuses have been roiled for weeks by anti-Israel and pro-Hamas encampment and riots, including scenes of violence at UCLA and other top universities, where anti-Israeli rhetoric has consistently glided over into antisemitism.

However, this latest demand is noteworthy in its apparent lack of interest in the usual fig leaves of anti-Israeli activism.

“Three of the four organizations cited in the academic boycott demand by encampment activists at UCSC are Jewish charities and communal groups,” the Bay Area Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) said in response.

“They are pillars of the Jewish community. This isn’t just about opposing Israel’s Gaza actions but seems aimed at Jewish institutions, revealing underlying antisemitism.”