The following statement was crafted and issued jointly by the South Central Region of the Anti-Defamation League and Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans on Friday, May 10:

We support free speech, but stand firmly against speech that stokes hatred and threatens the physical and psychological wellbeing of community members. At a time when antisemitism is surging across the country, Jewish college students are facing an increasingly hostile environment. And while groups like Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) claim to fight against antisemitism, they often partner with and provide platforms for unabashed anti-Israel and anti-Jewish voices.

JVP, which claims to have 748,000 members and supporters, but does not say how many of them are actually Jewish, does not speak for the mainstream American Jewish population, which numbers about 7.6 million.

While attitudes about Israel often vary and criticism of the country’s governmental policies is common, a Pew Research Center study found that 82% of American Jews “say caring about Israel is an essential part of what being Jewish means to them.” For most Jews, Israel is an integral part of their social, cultural or religious identities – and yet many also support a two-state solution, the establishment of a Palestinian state beside Israel.

JVP, on the other hand, supports tactics that deny Israel’s right to exist and harm Israel’s legitimacy as a democratic Jewish state, which prevents the sort of dialogue necessary for reconciliation and coexistence. This proves especially problematic on college campuses, where many left-wing groups uncritically embrace JVP’s harshest rhetoric, such as the phrase “from the river to the sea,” and words like “intifada” and “Jewlane,” which are considered antisemitic.

JVP’s exploitation of Jewish identity allows them to claim allyship with the Jewish community while advancing antisemitism. We support the right of private universities, such as Tulane, to enforce their own policies in response to situations like the unlawful encampment and protest on April 29.