Statements from the Authoring Parties of “A Resolution Recognizing the Ongoing Genocide in Palestine”
These statements were also posted on Instagram in a joint post by the authoring parties of the resolution.
Joint Statement
On Wednesday, April 9th, 2025, the University of Kansas (KU) Student Senate voted to pass Resolution 2025-306, “A Resolution Recognizing the Ongoing Genocide in Palestine”. This eight page-long resolution, written and submitted by JSPL (Jewish Students for People’s Liberation), KU SJP (KU Students for Justice in Palestine), and KU YDSA (KU Young Democratic Socialists of America), documents war crimes, crimes against humanity, and acts of genocide committed by the Israeli state against the Palestinian people.
This resolution was passed after our presentation, a counter-presentation put on by members of KU Chabad, KU Hillel, and Students Supporting Israel Jayhawks, and a pro-resolution speech delivered spontaneously by Sophie, a member of the KU Student Senate. The meeting is available on the KU Student Senate YouTube channel, split into two parts due to technical difficulties during the meeting.
The vote on the resolution was 34 in favor, 5 opposed, 7 abstaining.
Ten days after this vote, on April 19th, 2025, Student Body President DaNae Estabine vetoed the resolution. In the section of her officer report speech over the matter, the Estabine lamented “the haste with which the resolution was passed” initially, argued that it’s not the Senate’s role to speak on and take sides on such matters, and that this may alienate “particular students.” She refused to answer questions about her veto afterward.
The veto was overridden following a short back-and-forth debate. Parts of the meeting are available on the KU Student Senate YouTube channel (Accessibility Warning: Flashing Screen), with most of the debate not being streamed due to technical issues.
The vote on the override was 32 in favor, 11 opposed, 3 abstaining.
We thank the KU Student Senate for listening and engaging with us on this subject. We appreciate their willingness to represent the KU student body on one of the most critical humanitarian issues of our time.
From Jewish Students for Peoples’ Liberation (JSPL)
As a Jewish organization, the fight for social justice and dissenting against power is something that is an inherently Jewish value. צֶדֶק , or Tzedek, is the value of pursuing justice beyond basic morality; תיקון עולם , or Tikkun Olam, is the value of repairing the world. These values teach us that allowing injustice to occur is tantamount to committing these injustices, and because of that, we, JSPL, will advocate for the liberation of all people, regardless of differences that we may have, which is why we co-authored this resolution with SJP and KU YDSA.
Members of KU Hillel, KU Chabad, and Students Supporting Israel Jayhawks spoke against this resolution. While we may disagree on fundamental ethical, moral, and political stances, we, JSPL, welcome dissent from all sides if they are in good faith. We appreciate the Student Senate for allowing us the opportunity to speak on an issue that is very important to our organization, and allowing those with dissenting opinions to speak about their concerns with the resolution.
From KU Students for Justice in Palestine (KU SJP)
We are students at the University of Kansas. A university whose mascot was derived by Kansas abolitionists. A Research 1 university with national influence. KU is not a neutral institution. We accept federal funding. We build relationships with defense contractors. We train police on our campus. Our chancellor, Douglas Girod, is directly involved in shaping "federal policy issues and other decisions affecting research institutions."
As students, we do not accept being complicit. We refuse to look away while our government supplies weapons and money to a state actively engaged in ethnic cleansing and genocide. KU has direct ties to the people of Palestine. We have a fellow Jayhawk in Gaza right now, Farah, who is living under this active genocide. KU SJP is directly involved in mutual aid efforts through the Gaza Food Relief Project.
On April 10th, 2025, an attack on Shujaiya killed and injured civilians. Mothers, fathers, children, people from the very community we help. We have watched this community receive food, clean water, and basic sustenance because of donations from the Lawrence community. The bombs dropped that day, the day after the senate body voted to recognize genocide, were paid for by U.S. tax dollars. KU, as a federally funded institution, is not separate from that.
Recognizing genocide is not a radical act. It’s the least we at KU can do. If we can’t say “this is wrong,” what kind of institution are we? We cannot – and will not – stay silent.
From the KU Young Democratic Socialists of America (KU YDSA)
In the 1850s, Jayhawkers fought and died against slavery and its supporters during Bleeding Kansas. In 1965, over a hundred students sat in at the chancellor’s office to fight for civil rights and equal treatment of Black students, staff, and faculty. In 1970, the “Days of Rage” over the Vietnam War and racial inequality culminated in the Kansas Union and Summerfield Hall’s Computing Center being firebombed as well as the police murder of two students, Tiger Dowdell and Nick Rice. In 1986, KU student Jane Ungerman spoke to the United Nations about the student movement at KU against Apartheid, which included an eight day-long sit-in at the chancellor’s office, a three week-long encampment at KU Endowment, and 69 arrests, as well as institutional inaction and complacency. In 2015, the Invisible Jayhawks called for racial equity and inclusion on a campus with pervasive anti-Blackness. In 2024, KU Students for Justice in Palestine hosted an encampment on the Fraser Hall lawn, calling out the University for its role in the violence being committed by Israel against Palestinians.
This university’s students have a history of protest and radical organizing. When student voices are suppressed, rage can boil over in destructive forums. When student voices are not simply heard, but actually listened to, respected, and acted upon, a collaborative forum for change can occur. The power lies in the masses, and for this action, those masses were represented by the Student Senate. Students demanding action outnumber the administrators, who would rather hide behind their vague assurances that they care than act on the will of their constituents, many, many times over.
Some, like KU’s Religious Studies department, have acknowledged that “some have argued that the word ‘genocide’ should apply” to Israel’s conduct, without using the term “genocide” themselves. Others, like KU’s WGSS department, have uplifted Palestinian voices and issued a “call for a cease fire,” but stopped short of using the term “genocide”. Only the Graduate Teaching Assistants Coalition at KU have called out the violence as such, followed swiftly with a statement of condemnation by Chancellor Girod. The power in this resolution is that it is from the students, passed – and reaffirmed – by students, and directed outwards towards culpable institutions themselves. KU administration will try to ignore this like they did the encampment. We will not let them.
As we look forwards in our action towards making a material change at KU and their policy towards Israel, we now have a crucial piece of the puzzle filled: We join in calling on KU for boycott, divestment, sanctions, disclosure, demilitarization, and amnesty on the grounds that Israel is committing genocide – now officially recognized by KU’s Student Senate.
The resolution is not and has never been our end goal. It is a common point of recognition we can work from to call for material action. Free Palestine.
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