Berkeley Law SJP Hosts Palestinian Car Bomber Released in Oct 7 Hostage Deal

The University of California Berkeley law school's Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) chapter hosted a convicted Palestinian terrorist who detonated a car bomb that burned an Israeli police officer, an event a spokesman for the school told the Washington Free Beacon is "Constitutionally protected expression."

Israa Jaabis, who was freed from prison early as part of an Oct. 7 hostage exchange, thanked the group for making her feel "there is someone who cares about us."

Jaabis, left disfigured from the explosion, joined a video call as part of a Monday event titled "Teach-in: Palestinian Political Prisoners Day," which the SJP chapter hosted in a Berkeley Law classroom, the Jerusalem Post first reported.

"Firstly, I would like to thank [the students] for their attentiveness, for listening with their hearts," Jaabis said in a clip the Berkeley Law SJP chapter posted to Instagram. "For many reasons, even their attendance is enough to make us feel—as liberated Palestinian prisoners—that there is someone who cares about us. There are those who are in solidarity with us; those who support us and do not abandon us."

"Your attendance in particular—as law students—makes us hopeful that there remains some humanity [in the world]; that there is someone to support us in the future, delivering our message to the international community, and amplifying our call to liberate Palestinian prisoners," she added.

In 2015, Jaabis shouted "Allahu akbar" and detonated a gas canister in her car after she was stopped by an Israeli officer, according to Israeli police. The officer's face and chest were burned, and Jaabis lost several fingers and also suffered severe burns. Israeli authorities found handwritten notes in her possession expressing support for "martyrs" and believed she was en route to Israel to carry out a suicide bombing.

Jaabis served eight years in prison before her early release in November 2023. While incarcerated, she asked the Israeli government to fund cosmetic nose surgery, but was denied, the Times of Israel reported.

Berkeley Law spokesman Alex Shapiro said the school "has a non-discretionary obligation to abide by and support the First Amendment in a completely content neutral manner."

"We do not have the legal ability to sanction or censor Constitutionally protected expression," he told the Free Beacon. "However, as UC Berkeley has repeatedly informed the student body, if any campus community member feels threatened, they are encouraged to contact the Office for the Prevention of Harassment and Discrimination. OPHD provides support to those harmed, investigates all allegations, and the campus takes appropriate steps following any findings."

The event is the latest example of UC Berkeley's SJP chapters promoting figures and symbols tied to terrorism—activity the university has repeatedly said falls under free speech protections. UC Berkeley, for instance, allows its SJP chapter to include an inverted red triangle—a symbol Hamas uses to denote Israeli targets—in its logo, which is displayed on an official university webpage for the group and is permitted to appear at its sanctioned events on campus. Berkeley's online "Free Speech FAQ" says incitement to "commit acts of violence" is not protected, and terrorism experts said the Hamas triangle is "absolutely" an example of such incitement, the Free Beacon reported.

In October, the university's Faculty and Staff for Justice in Palestine chapter endorsed SJP national's post echoing Hamas in calling for the "death to all collaborators" with Israel after Gaza-based propagandist Saleh al-Jafarawi was killed. Berkeley's Bears for Palestine, another recognized student group, defended an April 2024 Iranian attack on Israel, blaming it on the Jewish state.

UC Berkeley's SJP Chapter regularly expresses its support for terrorist organizations, including Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and promotes violence against Israelis. The group posted a video of Iranian rockets flying through the night sky on March 3 with a caption that read, "Children of Gaza are chanting, 'O Allah, guide and make their aim accurate,' after watching the Iranian missiles strike Israel." On Easter Sunday, the group celebrated the lynching of Israeli soldiers. Two days later, it posted "Death to Israel."

On March 19, the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law reached a settlement with Berkeley Law barring student organizations from excluding speakers based on protected characteristics, including support for Israel or Zionism. Shortly thereafter, Brandeis accused law school dean Erwin Chemerinsky of misrepresenting the agreement by telling the student body that the bylaws must change, but restrictive speaker policies could remain.

As of Thursday afternoon, the constitution and bylaws for Berkeley Law's SJP chapter state that the group "will not invite speakers that have expressed and continued to hold views or host/sponsor/promote events in support of Zionism, the apartheid state of Israel."

Berkeley law professor Steven Davidoff Solomon accused the chapter of "regularly harass[ing] me and other Jewish students and faculty" and called for Chemerinsky's termination.

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