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Students for Justice in Palestine at Denison University

Parent Organization:

Students for Justice in Palestine
Leader:

Samuel Swensen

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Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) at Denison University is a left-of-center, anti-Israel student organization at Denison University, a liberal arts university in Granville, Ohio, near Columbus. 1

SJP at Denison endorsed the March on Washington for Gaza in January 2024 and released a statement expressing sympathy for Palestinians shortly after the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks against Israel. 2  3  4

Background

Ali Imran and Greta Schreiber, both of whom graduated in 2024, established Denison’s chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine in December 2022. 5 Imran majored in women’s and gender studies and anthropology and sociology, and is from Lahore, Pakistan. Greta Schreiber majored in history and is from Columbus, Ohio. 6 She identifies as a Jewish anti-Zionist. 7

The pair claimed there is a “general state of violence” in “Palestine,” which was part of the impetus for starting Denison SJP. 8 Imran claimed the founding of the group was “fueled by a rise in anti-Palestinian racism and harassment of students and professors.” 9

Activism

Ali Imran and Greta Schreiber demanded in an April 2024 op-ed to The Denisonian, the university’s student newspaper, that Denison University “divest all of its finances, including its endowment, from companies and institutions that profit from Israeli apartheid, genocide, and occupation in Palestine,” and that “Denison’s administration publicly join the call for an immediate, permanent ceasefire and end to the occupation of Palestine.” 6

In February 2024, a few months after Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attacks against Israel, Students for Justice in Palestine at Denison University tabled at Slayter Hall Student Union daily. 9 Also that month, SJP at Denison University co-organized with the university’s Democratic Socialists of America chapter a benefit concert for “Palestine” at Bandersnatch Coffee House, a student-run coffee shop located in a university building. 10 Attendees who donated to a GoFundMe received 50 percent off of Bandersnatch merchandise. Schreiber’s goal for the event was to “bring awareness to the genocide and mass displacement happening in Gaza.” 11

SJP at Denison University endorsed the March on Washington for Gaza, which took place on January 13, 2024 at Freedom Plaza. 2  3 The protest was organized by The American Muslim Task Force on Palestine, which includes American Muslims for Palestine (AMP), the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA), the Muslim American Society (MAS), the Muslim Student Association-National (MSA), the Muslim Legal Fund of America (MLFA), the Muslim Ummah of North America (MUNA), and Young Muslims (YM). 3

SJP also organized a “Shut it Down for Palestine” walkout the morning of November 9, 2023, along with Denison Democratic Socialists of America, and the Denison Muslim Student Association. 12

Criticism

In response to Students for Justice in Palestine at Denison’s activities, 11 Denison faculty members signed an op-ed (though one signer requested post-publication that her name be removed) calling on the community “not to chant slogans that fan the flames of discord and cause many of our students, faculty, and staff members to feel silenced, hated, and unsafe.” 4 The group noted that one of the “most shocking and dishonest aspects” of SJP’s “Statement on Justice in Palestine: A Letter to Our Communities” was “its failure to mention the Oct. 7 massacre,” and that it was the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust. 4

Leadership

Denison University’s internal website of student organizations listed Samuel Swensen as Denison’s Students for Justice in Palestine’s leader as of mid-January 2026. 13 Ali Imran and Greta Schreiber, both of whom graduated in 2024, established Denison’s chapter of SJP in December 2022. 5

References

  1. “Granville, Columbus & More | Denison University.” Denison.edu, 2 Feb. 2024, denison.edu/campus/granville-and-beyond.
  2. “Endorsers.” March on Washington for Gaza, 30 Dec. 2023, march4gaza.org/endorsers/.
  3. “March on Washington for Gaza.” March on Washington for Gaza, 2024, march4gaza.org/.
  4. The Denisonian. “Response to Statement on Justice in Palestine: A Letter to Our Communities – the Denisonian.” The Denisonian, 30 Nov. 2023, denisonian.com/2023/11/opinion/response-to-statement-on-justice-in-palestine-a-letter-to-our-communities/.
  5. Pittenger, Addy. “Students Charter Students for Justice in Palestine Advocacy Chapter on Campus – the Denisonian.” The Denisonian., 7 Dec. 2022, denisonian.com/2022/12/features/students-charter-students-for-justice-in-palestine-advocacy-chapter-on-campus/.
  6. Imran, Ali, and Greta Schreiber. “Long Live the Intifada: Divest Now! – the Denisonian.” The Denisonian – Denison University’s Student-Published Newspaper, Reporting on the Hill since 1857., 30 Apr. 2024, denisonian.com/2024/04/opinion/long-live-the-intifada-divest-now/.
  7. Pittenger, Addy, and Mia Fischel. “DCGA Hosts Debate Concerning RACA, New Resolution Passed – the Denisonian.” The Denisonian , Mar. 2024, denisonian.com/2024/03/news/dcga-hosts-debate-concerning-raca-new-resolution-passed/.
  8. Pittenger, Addy. “Students Charter Students for Justice in Palestine Advocacy Chapter on Campus – the Denisonian.” The Denisonian , 7 Dec. 2022, denisonian.com/2022/12/features/students-charter-students-for-justice-in-palestine-advocacy-chapter-on-campus/.
  9. Meeks, Nora. “Denison SJP Tables in Slayter to Spread Awareness on Palestine – the Denisonian.” The Denisonian, 7 Feb. 2024, denisonian.com/2024/02/features/sjp-tabling-in-slayter/.
  10. “Denison University.” Denison University, 13 Jan. 2026, denison.edu/map/places/bandersnatch-coffee-house.
  11. Owen, Ellie, and Maddie Luebkert. “Bandersnatch Holds Concert to Fundraise for Palestine – the Denisonian.” The Denisonian – Denison University’s Student-Published Newspaper, Reporting on the Hill since 1857., 28 Feb. 2024, denisonian.com/2024/02/anl/bandersnatch-holds-concert-to-fundraise-for-palestine/.
  12. Baum, Emma. “SJP, DSA, and MSA Organize Shut It down for Palestine – the Denisonian.” The Denisonian – Denison University’s Student-Published Newspaper, Reporting on the Hill since 1857., Dec. 2023, denisonian.com/2023/12/anl/sjp-dsa-and-msa-organize-shut-it-down-for-palestine/. 
  13. “List of Groups.” Denison.edu, 2026, whattodu.denison.edu/SJP/club_signup.
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