STATEMENT FROM ROB DERDIGER

CEO OF ALPHA EPSILON PI INTERNATIONAL

ON ACTIONS TAKEN AT BRANDEIS UNIVERSITY

“On behalf of the Brandeis University students who are members of Alpha Epsilon Pi, the world’s largest and leading Jewish fraternity, we applaud actions taken to disband the Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) on that campus. These actions are a step to making the campus environment safer and more hospitable to our members and all Jewish students.

To be clear: we are fierce advocates of students’ First Amendment rights to free speech and assembly, which is especially important on college campuses. However, on campuses and in the context of university supported organizations, this right does not apply to hate speech, attempts to intimidate, or inciting violence aimed at Jewish or Israeli students.

SJP is a network of student groups which disseminate anti-Israel propaganda often laced with inflammatory, combative, and antisemitic rhetoric. In recent weeks, their rhetoric and activity has escalated significantly. Many of the organization’s campus chapters have explicitly endorsed the actions of Hamas and their armed attacks on Israeli civilians, voicing an increasingly radical call for confronting and “dismantling” Zionism on U.S. college campuses. Some SJP chapters have issued pro-Hamas messaging and/or promoted violent anti-Israel messaging channels. SJP chapters are not advocating for Palestinian rights; they are celebrating terrorism and engaging in terrorism on campus.

We encourage other college and university administrations across North America to join with Brandeis and ban SJP from using university facilities or receiving administrative funding and to hold student members accountable to university codes of conduct.

Through such vigilance and actions, colleges and universities can maintain a safe learning environment for Jewish students.

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Alpha Epsilon Pi is the world’s leading Jewish college fraternity, operating chapters on more than 150 college campuses in the United States, Canada, the U.K., and Israel. Founded in 1913, AEPi has more than 110,000 living alumni. The fraternity’s mission – developing the future leaders of the Jewish communities – is demonstrated every day through acts of brotherhood, Tzedakah (charity), social awareness and support for Jewish communities and Israel.