“…We ask the university: if there were Nazis, white nationalists, and KKK members on campus, would their identity have to be accepted and respected?” the group questioned in its Wednesday, May 2 post. “Then why would we respect the views of Zionists?”

Stony Brook University Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) released a statement via Facebook which compared Zionists to Nazis and KKK members and criticized Stony Brook University’s Interfaith Center’s Muslim Chaplain for supporting their cause.

“…We ask the university: if there were Nazis, white nationalists, and KKK members on campus, would their identity have to be accepted and respected?” the group questioned in its Wednesday, May 2 post. “Then why would we respect the views of Zionists?”

The post was made in response to an April 25 letter from the Interfaith Center. The letter condemned statements SJP made to The Statesman calling for Hillel to be removed and replaced with what one member of SJP described as a “proper Jewish organization.”

“Such a statement is not only offensive but in direct opposition to the basic principles of respect and diversity that are the cornerstone of our University community,” the co-signers of the letter wrote. “This is not about the political cause of Students for Justice in Palestine, but about their attempt to undermine the identity of Jewish students and dictate to them how to observe their faith and express their cultural and national identity as they see fit.”

In its response, SJP argues that there is a way to represent Jewish voices without supporting Zionism.

“Regarding our statement about wanting a proper Jewish organization, any proper organization regardless of religion, should not prescribe to any denomination of racism, colonialism, or imperialism, including Zionism,” SJP wrote.

Although the letter was signed by all members of the Interfaith Center, SJP’s recent post zeroed in on the Islamic Society and Muslim Student Association (MSA), calling their involvement in the letter “disheartening.”

Read More: The Statesman