New York, NY, November 12, 2015 … The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) said it was disturbed by anti-Semitic rhetoric from the New York City chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) in the lead up to today’s “Million Student March” rally at Hunter College.

According to reports, SJP, which is the primary organizer of anti-Israel events on campuses across the country, and the group most responsible for bringing divestment resolutions to votes in student governments, invoked an anti-Semitic stereotype by referring to those who run CUNY as a “Zionist administration.”

“We condemn Students for Justice in Palestine’s anti-Semitic exploitation of the Million Student March in the strongest terms,” said Evan R. Bernstein, ADL New York Regional Director. “By implicitly linking ‘Zionists’ to the very real financial challenges that students face, SJP has invoked a classic anti-Semitic stereotype which blames Jews for the financial woes of others. Rhetoric like this is thinly veiled anti-Semitism and fosters an environment of hostility.”

The Million Student March, which is scheduled for today, is a national day of protest over tuition fees, student debt and wages for campus workers with over 100 universities and colleges participating.

ADL noted that other anti-Israel student groups around the country have been using the march to condemn Israel and call for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS). Similar messages were posted at Temple University and the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, where the SJP chapters used the event to call for divestment from Israel.

The Anti-Defamation League, founded in 1913, is the world’s leading organization fighting anti-Semitism through programs and services that counteract hatred, prejudice and bigotry.  Follow us on Twitter: @ADL_NY