Clocktower Quad at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. Photo: Warren LeMay/Wikimedia Commons.

In their latest slur against the United States, Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) at Duke University designed and posted an infographic equating the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks with Israel’s war against Hamas and Iranian-backed terrorists.

SJP’s post made a pathetic and insulting attempt to draw sympathy to its cause, with a headline that read: “For the past 11 months every day and night is september 11th in Gaza.”

Unsurprisingly, SJP posted this on September 11, 2024, when families whose lives were shattered by the Al-Qaeda terrorist attacks were deep in mourning and reflection. 

The members of Duke SJP did not, however, post a story commemorating the nearly 3,000 victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. 

In fact, the only parallels between 9/11 and 10/7 are that both were cowardly acts of terror by groups who were — and are still — committed to killing Israelis, Jews, and Americans.

Although SJP claims to sympathize with the 9/11 attacks, they have celebrated the massacre of 1,200 people of all nationalities in Israel on October 7. Furthermore, SJP also repeatedly speaks about its hatred for America. 

SJP chapters across the country have called for the “Destruction of the American empire.”

They also praised Iran and the Houthis’ attacks on Israel, which are often backed by a slogan of “God Is Great, Death to America, Death to Israel, Curse on the Jews, Victory to Islam.”

Just a few days prior to their 9/11 story, Duke SJP posted a vile response to the recent murder of the six Israeli hostages by. Hamas, including 23-year old Israeli-American citizen Hersh Goldberg-Polin.

When it was publicly known that Hamas terrorists shot these starved and tortured hostages execution style, 11 months after they were abducted, Duke SJP posted “Israel is Killing the Hostages in Gaza One by One.”  

This reversal of the narrative takes away any blame from Hamas, and enables the terrorist group. Hamas not only uses bombs, torture, kidnapping, rape, human shields, theft of humanitarian aid, and execution of dissenters, but is versed in psychological warfare and the promotion of vile propaganda. And SJP is a shouting voice for this Hamas propaganda.

The message and tactics of SJP should be anathema to what universities stand for — and more universities should follow the lead of schools like Rutgers that have banned SJP for this behavior. 

We are less than a month away from the one year anniversary (more accurately yahrzeit) of the worst terror attack on Israel ever, and the deadliest single day for Jews since the Holocaust. And what will Duke SJP be doing the weekend of October 7th? They will be joining a North Carolina statewide rally titled “One Year of Genocide, One Year of Resistance.”

SJP will be honoring Hamas as resistance fighters and praising them as martyrs, when in fact, they are the ones sacrificing the civilians of Gaza, and treating them as pawns in their fanatical quest to wipe Jews and Israel off the map. 

It’s unconscionable that students who show no remorse for victims of terror are walking around Duke’s campus without consequences. SJP is not a voice for justice or peace; it is a mouthpiece for terror. 

Ben Stone is a graduate of Trinity College at Duke University, and a Duke CAMERA Fellow. Ben currently works in the acceleration of food startups in New York City.