SE Valley Times

Rep. Andy Biggs expresses opposition to a student-led event featuring Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib as a speaker at Arizona State University on November 17. This came about in response to recent incidents and controversial statements surrounding the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine.

"Anti-Semitism and calls for the destruction of Israel are detrimental to the safety of our Jewish communities. I'm disappointed that Rashida Tlaib — who spews such hate and was recently censured by the House for it — has been invited to speak at two events in the Phoenix area.", said Andy Biggs.

Digging deeper into this situation, let's examine some key facts regarding this event. The event at Arizona State University (ASU) is titled "Palestine is an American Issue" and is hosted by the Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) group. The featured speaker, Tlaib from Michigan, was censured by U.S. House of Representatives in a bipartisan vote last week due to her support for Palestinians amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas. Tlaib is the only Palestinian-American member of Congress, according to Tucson Sentinel.

To gain further perspective on this matter, we can take a look at what other lawmakers have stated about it. "The State of Arizona is a safe place for Jews, both on and off campus, and the antisemitic rants regurgitated by SJP and others are not representative of Arizona values," said a bipartisan group of lawmakers, which included Alexander Kolodin and Alma Hernandez, according to a press release from the Arizona House of Representatives. "Students supporting Israel have been verbally and physically assaulted on campus in recent days, requiring police escort during SJP rallies."

Now, let's shift our focus to a particular incident that happened recently at ASU. Earlier this week, an incident occurred at ASU involving rocks being thrown at windows during a student government meeting discussing the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) bill. The SJP group has repeatedly tried to pass the bill, which aims to have the University cease all support for Israel. The incident prompted an investigation by the Arizona State University Police Department, and similar recent events have led some Jewish students to choose remote learning due to concerns about their safety on campus, according to Fox News.

The influence of these incidents and statements is not only confined within ASU. Last month, Arizona lawmakers expressed disappointment in ASU after the ASU chapter of the National Students for Justice in Palestine (NSJP) organized rallies in support of Palestine and in favor of the Hamas attacks. One event took place at Tempe Beach Park, while similar events took place on other college campuses, including Butler University, University of Louisville, University of Birmingham, the University of Virginia, and more, organized by their respective NSJP chapters, according to Arizona Daily Independent.

Lastly, it's crucial we address a larger conflict context in which these local events are embedded. Hamas, an Islamist militant group and designated terrorist organization by several countries, initiated airstrikes on the Gaza Strip on Oct. 7. Many airstrikes targeted various parts of Israel, including Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. The resulting casualties have exceeded 10,000 since the Israel-Hamas conflict began. Among the victims, 31 were American citizens, with at least 13 still missing, according to ABC.