Youngstown SJP was launched after the Hamas attacks on Israel — here is its leadership team
'We are a group committed to upholding the human rights and liberation of the Palestinians impacted by the illegal occupation of Palestine.'
Days after the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attack that has resulted in the deaths of over 1,200 Israelis, students at Youngstown State University in Ohio launched their own chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine.
In an Oct. 11 Instagram post, the newly formed organization declared, “We are a group committed to upholding the human rights and liberation of the Palestinians impacted by the illegal occupation of Palestine.”
[RELATED: BREAKING: DeSantis to ‘deactivate’ pro-Hamas student groups]
Shortly thereafter, Campus Reform spoke with the student group’s president, Tala Alsharif, to learn more about its beliefs and mission.
Although Alsharif stated she was “not here to support Hamas,” she also rejected the idea she should rebuke the terrorist organization. “Why should I condemn anything?,” she asked.
[RELATED: Meet the California students and profs who say Hamas are ‘freedom fighters,’ not ‘terrorists’]
“I’m just saying that I don’t think we should put them on equal footing,” she said of Israel and Hamas militants. “I think that Israel is the one that has a military, Israel, gets funding from the US government. $3 billion each year. So I think we need to kind of understand that there’s a power imbalance going on.”
In the aftermath of the Israel-Hamas war, Campus Reform has covered numerous incidents of anti-Semitism on university campuses, frequently committed by student activists who proclaim support for Palestine.
In addition to Alsharif, Youngstown’s Students for Justice in Palestine leadership includes the following members:
Tala Alsharif: YSU SJP President, Journalism Student and Multimedia Journalist for The Jambar
Batool Al-Karain: YSU SJP Vice President, International Business Student minoring in Multimedia and Web Design, Student Government Association International Student Representative
balkarain@student.ysu.edu
Naji Sibai: YSU SJP Secretary
nsibai@student.ysu.edu
Yousif Osman Yousif Mohamed: YSU SJP Officer
ymohamed@student.ysu.edu
Aleen Kanan: YSU SJP Officer, International Business and Engineering Student
akkanan@student.ysu.edu
Omer Genc: YSU SJP Faculty Advisor and Associate Professor of Management and Marketing
