Letter to the Editor

Dear Editor,
I am writing this letter as a direct response to an op-ed published in The Daily on March 8, titled "KhaderAdnan and the Islamic Jihad." This piece, written by Tufts senior AriellaCharny, conflates Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) with terrorism in Palestine. This is not only unwarranted and offensive, but also indicative of a larger trend in the fight to suppress the Palestinian voice.
SJP held an event called "Hungry for Freedom," which was an event in solidarity with those protesting non-violently against Israel's unjust detention laws. The following is an excerpt from the event's Facebook page.
"Someone who is held on the pretense of being a terrorist should be put in front of a judge. If he is found guilty, put him in prison; if he is found innocent, release him. We believe that an institution that holds individuals without trial is the antithesis of democracy."
Originally, the name of our event included KhaderAdnan's name, as he had just finished a 66-day hunger strike. We highlighted him to promote nonviolent resistance to the injustice of the Israeli legal system. However, when the video Charny references in her article was brought to our attention, we immediately removed his name from the event title. We did this because we didn't want to glorify someone who endorses terrorism. We were not, as Charny claims, "minimiz[ing] or ignor[ing] Adnan's role as spokesperson for Palestinian Islamic Jihad."
There is a second reason that this is troubling: We receive these kinds of hateful accusations all the time. In the past week alone, we have been called terrorist sympathizers, dividers of campus and enemies of dialogue. At SJP, we acknowledge this vitriol as a sign that our movement is threatening the status quo that has been unopposed for far too long. I ask the Tufts community to look past the efforts meant only to divert and distract by those who are fearful of the moral compass that is slowly but surely moving in the direction of justice.

Sincerely,
Dylan Saba
Class of 2015