Florida Senate - 2025 (NP) SR 1684
By Senator Fine
19-00569A-25 20251684__
1 Senate Resolution
2 A resolution condemning Students for Justice in
3 Palestine for its support of foreign terrorist
4 organizations and antisemitic actions.
5
6 WHEREAS, on October 7, 2023, the Jihadist terrorist
7 organizations Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad carried out a
8 secretive, barbaric attack on unarmed, innocent civilians in
9 Israel, and
10 WHEREAS, in that attack, over 1,000 Israelis, Americans,
11 and other nationals were murdered, more than 3,000 were wounded,
12 and over 250 Israelis and Americans were taken hostage, and
13 WHEREAS, following the attacks in Israel, Students for
14 Justice in Palestine planned and organized a series of
15 demonstrations on college campuses around America, and
16 WHEREAS, Students for Justice in Palestine released a
17 toolkit for these demonstrations, stating that “Palestinian
18 students in exile are PART of this movement, not in solidarity
19 with this movement...This is a moment of mobilization,” and
20 WHEREAS, some of the demonstrations turned violent and were
21 declared riots and unlawful occupations, and
22 WHEREAS, Jewish students on American college campuses
23 became the targets of violence and antisemitic persecution
24 during and after the riots and demonstrations, and
25 WHEREAS, the demonstrations, in effect, provide material
26 support to Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, two
27 organizations officially designated as Foreign Terrorist
28 Organizations by the United States Department of State, and
29 WHEREAS, in response to Students for Justice in Palestine
30 identifying themselves as part of the terrorist attack, the
31 State University System of Florida issued a memorandum on
32 October 24, 2023, deactivating student chapters within state
33 universities and citing s. 775.33(3), Florida Statutes, which
34 provides that it is a felony in this state to provide material
35 support to a designated foreign terrorist organization, and
36 WHEREAS, Students for Justice in Palestine has denied that
37 Hamas is a terrorist organization, characterizing it instead as
38 a “social organization” focused on resistance and stating that
39 “liberating colonized land is a real process and requires
40 confrontation by any means necessary,” and
41 WHEREAS, Senan Shaqdeh, identified as a “former member of
42 the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP)
43 Mountain Brigade,” is one of the self-identified founders of
44 Students for Justice in Palestine, and
45 WHEREAS, on April 23, 2024, the PFLP posted a public
46 statement of support for students involved in pro-terrorist
47 protests on college campuses in which they expressed support for
48 Students for Justice in Palestine by name, and
49 WHEREAS, the Canada-based charity Samidoun has been
50 designated by the United States Treasury Department as a “sham
51 charity that serves as an international fundraiser for the
52 Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine terrorist
53 organization,” and
54 WHEREAS, the designated PFLP charity Samidoun publicly
55 described Students for Justice in Palestine as their “comrades
56 and colleagues,” and
57 WHEREAS, according to a May 3, 2024, Wall Street Journal
58 article, pro-terrorist and antisemitic campus protestors were
59 trained for months by members of Samidoun and Students for
60 Justice in Palestine, and
61 WHEREAS, the Students for Justice in Palestine organization
62 has been described as being “founded and controlled by American
63 Muslims for Palestine (AMP),” and
64 WHEREAS, Students for Justice in Palestine co-founder Hatem
65 Bazian is also the co-founder of American Muslims for Palestine
66 (AMP), and
67 WHEREAS, AMP is currently under investigation by the
68 Virginia Attorney General for violations of state charity laws,
69 and
70 WHEREAS, AMP has been credibly accused in civil court of
71 serving as the alter ego of the Islamic Association for
72 Palestine, a designated Hamas charity, and
73 WHEREAS, both AMP and Students for Justice in Palestine are
74 currently being sued by victims of the October 7, 2023,
75 terrorist attack over allegations of serving as a public
76 relations firm for Hamas, and
77 WHEREAS, during a search of the home of two Students for
78 Justice in Palestine leaders in Virginia, police allegedly
79 uncovered Hamas and Hezbollah flags, firearms and ammunition,
80 foreign passports, and documents calling for “Death to America,”
81 and
82 WHEREAS, Students for Justice in Palestine has promoted and
83 supported the discriminatory movement looking to boycott,
84 divest, and sanction Israel, actions that this Legislature has
85 prohibited and condemned through laws and resolutions, and
86 WHEREAS, despite an order from the State University System
87 of Florida, the University of Florida and the University of
88 South Florida have failed to remove the organization from their
89 campuses following the dismissal of Students for Justice in
90 Palestine at the University of Florida v. Raymond Rodrigues, and
91 WHEREAS, a number of universities nationwide have suspended
92 the Students for Justice in Palestine chapters on their
93 campuses, including, but not limited to, Brandeis University,
94 Brown University, Columbia University, George Mason University,
95 George Washington University, Rowan University, Rutgers-New
96 Brunswick University, Tufts University, the University of
97 California-Los Angeles, the University of Georgia, the
98 University of Michigan, and the University of Vermont, and
99 WHEREAS, Students for Justice in Palestine promotes an
100 antisemitic ideology and supports terrorist organizations that
101 advocate for violence and hatred against others, NOW, THEREFORE,
102
103 Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of Florida:
104
105 That the Senate of the State of Florida condemns the
106 organization Students for Justice in Palestine as an anti
107 American, antisemitic, and racist organization that has no place
108 in American life and urges all Florida colleges and universities
109 to remove Students for Justice in Palestine from their campuses.