Anti-Israel activism has turned into criminal acts on college campuses all across America– including mine. Since the massacre of Israeli citizens by Hamas on October 7, 2023, my campus has been the victim of at least three incidents of antisemitic vandalism, with only the most recent garnering any strong public condemnation from the University.
In a follow-up letter sent to President Armstrong less than two months after his testimony before the U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce in a hearing titled Beyond the Ivy Leagues: Stopping the Spread of Antisemitism on American Campuses, the committee specifically highlighted a recent June 4 vandalism incident during which “pro-Palestinian activists vandalized a Cal Poly building with slogans including ‘Free Palestine’ and ‘Cal Poly Divest.'”
I was present on May 7 in the Rayburn House Office on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. when President Armstrong gave that testimony. The hearing was meant to spotlight antisemitism on campuses like mine. During his remarks, President Armstrong asserted that Cal Poly is committed to fostering an environment free from discrimination and religious intolerance.
However, this claim is contradicted by the university’s own actions — including its sponsorship of a Cal Poly Students for Justice in Palestine (CPSJP) event titled “All Day for Palestine” on May 31. Just four days before the group of anti-Israel activists carried out the vandalism attack on a Cal Poly building, two university-run departments — the Multicultural Center (MCC) and Student Diversity and Belonging — co-sponsored the event.
The caption promoting the event on the MCC’s Instagram account read: “Don’t miss out on this opportunity to commune with like-minded people and honor the culture of Palestinian resilience… and as always, Free Palestine!!!” This was not a neutral gathering, and the university did not just permit it – it funded and endorsed it, allowing for antisemitic messaging to be amplified with institutional support.
JasonDoiy. Getty Images.
The event, hosted at the heart of campus in the University Union, spanned six hours and featured students wearing keffiyehs hoisting Palestinian flags and distributing antisemitic materials. Fliers featured slogans such as “From the river to the sea,” a phrase calling for the elimination of Israel, while another pamphlet promoted the Boycott, Divest, Sanction (BDS) movement, which framed Israeli universities, companies, and cultural institutions as targets for protest and isolation.
These messages are not just hateful in theory — they appear to have inspired the June 4 vandalism, which echoed their rhetoric. Given this context, it is no surprise that a group felt emboldened to carry out the criminal act just days later.
To make matters worse, only hours after the vandalism incident, CPSJP posted a Venmo link titled “SLO Bail Fund” on their Instagram story, soliciting donations for the individuals arrested for committing the act. The post claimed the activists had been arrested for “protesting for a free Palestine” — effectively justifying and even celebrating their actions.
As a Jewish student leader of multiple clubs, I am familiar with the extensive process of requesting and hosting on-campus events, let alone gaining co-sponsorship from a university division. It requires multiple faculty members and administrators signing off and many other logistical hurdles. It is clear that the “All Day for Palestine” event was not an oversight, but a coordinated, institutionally-endorsed initiative which platformed materials and rhetoric that alienated and endangered Jewish students.
This danger is not theoretical. The call for a “Free Palestine” is precisely the same language which has been most recently used in two terror attacks against Jews in Washington D.C. and in Boulder, Colorado. The fact that it has also inspired criminal conduct on our campus demands education and leadership about the harm of misinformation and the vilification of Zionism, or the belief in the Jewish right to self determination in their ancestral homeland, which most Jews around the world agree is central to their Jewish identity.
Cal Poly Students for Justice in Palestine has made its goals unmistakably clear. In an Instagram post celebrating the “All Day for Palestine” event, the group advertised an upcoming meeting to “further define the role of the student intifada for a free Palestine.” The term intifada is historically associated with violence targeting Jews, and its promotion on a college campus by a university-sanctioned group should raise alarms.
It is time for Cal Poly to make a choice: Will the university continue to bolster antisemitic activity under the guise of social justice — such as sponsoring events like “All Day for Palestine” — or will it take meaningful action to protect its Jewish students before the climate worsens? Will it be proactive or reactive? Unfortunately, if a direct call from Congress failed to inspire decisive actions against all forms of antisemitism, it is difficult to imagine what will.
* * *
Adira Fogelman is a third-year student at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo studying Business Administration and Law. She is also the Vice President of SLO Hillel and the Vice President of Mustangs United for Israel.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.