Outrage Erupts Over SJP's Tone-Deaf October 7 "Vigils" at UCLA and Stanford 

UCLA's SJP chapter, which has faced repeated suspensions for protest violations and alleged ties to disruptive activism, is set to host a demonstration in Dickson Court on October 7, 2025, as part of a broader "week of action" declared by the national SJP network.

The national SJP has branded the week around October 7 as a "Week of Rage," explicitly tying it to the Hamas incursion as a catalyst for their movement, despite the attack's brutality, including documented cases of limb-ripping torture and sexual violence against Israeli civilians at sites like the Nova music festival. SJP's rhetoric often hails the assault as "resistance," with chapters across the U.S. posting content that defends Hamas's actions and accuses Israel of "genocide" in response.

At UCLA, this comes after the university banned SJP as an official group in March 2025 following vandalism during a protest at a UC regent's home, and an interim suspension in February for policy breaches. Protests against those bans drew over 150 demonstrators, but the group persists informally, fueling accusations of fostering a hostile environment for Jewish students.

Counter-events are planned: Bruins for Israel will hold a "silent walk" from UCLA Hillel, honoring victims like Gila Peled, one of the 1,200 killed. Jewish students report feeling "the world turned upside down," with raw emotions rekindled by SJP's refusal to acknowledge the date's significance to them.

At Stanford, SJP's plans are even more brazenly juxtaposed with Jewish remembrance. The group is organizing a vigil in White Plaza from 6 to 9 p.m. on October 7, 2025, explicitly to "reflect on the ongoing catastrophe in Gaza" and amplify Palestinian voices, directly on the anniversary of the attack that ignited the war.

These events aren't just poorly timed, they're a masterclass in moral blindness. October 7 wasn't an abstract "spark" for Palestinian "resistance"; it was a meticulously planned orgy of barbarism by Hamas, a U.S.-designated terror group, involving beheadings, gang rapes so violent they disfigured bodies, and families charred in their homes. UN reports and survivor testimonies detail terrorists ripping limbs from civilians in sadistic acts, yet SJP chapters, from UCLA to Stanford, have repeatedly justified or celebrated it, posting Hamas propaganda and calling the attack a "miracle" or "military victory."

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) labels SJP a key driver of campus antisemitism, with a Brandeis study linking active chapters to spikes in anti-Jewish incidents.

By mourning "Palestinian loss" on a day etched in Jewish blood, SJP erases the 1,200 lives, many civilians at a peace festival, and the 48 still held hostage, including Americans. It traumatizes Jewish students already facing harassment, as petitions with thousands of signatures demand SJP's ban for creating "hostility."

Critics, including LA Mayor Karen Bass and UK politicians, decry it as enabling terror glorification under free speech guise. At a time when Europe sees synagogue attacks and U.S. campuses report record antisemitism, these "vigils" aren't solidarity, they're a disgraceful rewrite of history, turning victims' screams into background noise for chants of rage.

As delegations head to Egypt for hostage talks, the contrast couldn't be starker: While families pray for release, SJP toasts the kidnappers' "triumph." Allowing this on October 7 crosses into complicity with hate. Jewish communities are resilient, but enough is enough, this isn't dialogue; it's desecration.