Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) called OU Students for Justice in Palestine’s campus demonstration upsetting to see and poorly timed in a post on the social platform X Monday.
“It’s heartbreaking and extremely troubling to see antisemitic messages displayed on the University of Oklahoma campus on the eve of the anniversary of the deadliest attack on Jews since the Holocaust,” Lankford wrote. “Every student should feel safe on campus and not be faced with discrimination.”
Lankford’s comment was made in response to a Monday video from OU Daily showing signs and flags displayed on the South Oval.
SJP member Cruz Richardson, who appeared in the Monday video, told OU Daily Tuesday the organization believes antisemitism is an issue, but that none of the organization’s messaging at Monday’s demonstration was antisemitic.
“We do believe that there's an issue of antisemitism, but we do not think that it is SJP-specific, nor do we think the language that we used was antisemitic in any form,” Richardson said. “Sen. Lankford is so focused on this specific point, rather than acknowledging that the students in his community and the students in our state are angry at our university's complicity in genocide. It’s appalling.”
In the video, Richardson said that each white flag placed on the South Oval was meant to represent a family that died during the war in Gaza.
“We want to show how complicit OU is and really stand on that. We don’t want our tuition funding genocide,” Richardson said in the video.
SJP has consistently called for OU to end its partnerships with Lockheed Martin, Chevron and Motorola, which “are active agents in the genocide in Gaza, occupation of Palestine, and deadly militarism all over the globe,” according to an SJP Instagram post.
OU SJP posted a video on Instagram Monday that showed OU staff taking down a Palestinian flag put up as part of the demonstration.
OU’s Expressive Activities Guidelines prohibits “affixing posters/banners/leaflets/flags to University buildings, artwork, landscaping, flagpoles, or walls.”
OU Daily reached back out to SJP for context about the removal of the flag and did not receive a response by the time of publication.
According to Yasmine Ali, a biology junior and member of SJP, an art demonstration and Maghrib prayer will be held at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday on the North Oval.
OU Daily reached out to OU Marketing and Communications for comment but did not immediately hear back.
Students for Justice in Palestine’s history
On Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas, a Palestinian militant group, launched a series of attacks on Israel that killed around 1,200 people, according to the U.S. Department of Defense. The attack set off a series of retaliations by the Israeli Defense Force, including a siege of Gaza, that characterized the war in Gaza. According to NPR, over 66,000 Palestinians have been reported dead or presumed dead as of late September.
Since the war in Gaza began, SJP, formerly known as the OU Student Coalition for Palestinian Liberation, has hosted numerous events to raise awareness.
SJP held a teach-in at the Physical Sciences Center 10 days after the Hamas attacks. On Instagram, the group reported over 200 people attended the event. The following week, the organization held a walkout to support Palestine.
In March, SJP held a protest in the Oklahoma Memorial Union food court. Protesters at the event were met by pro-Israeli counter-protesters organized by OU College Republicans, who issued an OU mass email to publicize their counter-protest.
About a year after Oct. 7, 2023, SJP hosted a series of events titled “Week of Rage” for the week’s programming including a vigil, a teach-in, a walkout and a film screening.
On Nov. 21, SJP and the Student Socialist League held an educational strike, featuring a series of lectures and activities. Held in Farzaneh Hall, the event consisted of 7 hours of programs ranging from education on health in Gaza to bracelet making.
In early December, SJP hosted a study-in protest in the Great Reading Room of the Bizzell Memorial Library. SJP hung flyers and flags in the room that were removed by university officials.
In an Instagram post publicizing the university's actions, SJP wrote it was a move by the university to “further demonstrate their commitment to genocide.”
This story was edited by Ana Barboza, Natalie Armour and Thomas Pablo. Kennedy Johnson and Sophie Hemker copy edited this story.
