BUZZ
Students for Justice in Palestine at Swarthmore College shared a video on social media showing a mannequin dressed in an Israel Defense Forces uniform being doused in gas and set on fire.
The video, reposted Monday on Instagram by the student group from another account, was part of an advertisement touting an anti-Israel protest in Philadelphia on Oct. 7 — the three-year anniversary of the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel that killed more than 1,200 civilians.
The video, which was later deleted, was not promoting a protest planned for the campus, according to Jewish News Service.
“It’s important to emphasize that the college is committed to cultivating an environment free of intimidation, harassment and discrimination,” a spokesperson for Swarthmore told JNS. “We have not only publicly condemned antisemitism, Islamophobia and all forms of discrimination within our community, but we have also taken measures to enhance our response to reports of bias on campus and support members of our community in need.”
But the post sparked outrage among some observers.
“Hate group Students for Justice in Palestine at Swarthmore College have released a video showing an effigy of an Israeli soldier being doused in gasoline and set on fire. The video also explicitly praises the October 7th massacre and kidnapping of Israeli civilians This is a domestic threat and the @FBI and @swarthmore both need to take action,” Adam Milstein, a prominent Israeli-American businessman, posted on X.
In May 2025 at a pro-Hamas demonstration at Swarthmore, nine individuals were arrested and charged with trespassing as campus leaders cleaned up an encampment.
In September 2025, Swarthmore permanently revoked SJP’s charter, stating the group had “caused repeated and serious harm to the Swarthmore community.”
“This outcome means that Swarthmore SJP is prohibited from accessing College funds, scheduling or hosting events on campus, or accessing any other College resources available to student organizations,” the announcement stated.
Campus leaders had also condemned its SJP chapter in October 2024 celebrating the one-year anniversary of the Hamas terror attack.
“Swarthmore College condemns the statements made in the SJP Instagram post and rejects the glorification of violence. Celebrating the killing of innocent people is shocking and reprehensible. I would hope, despite all the various and often opposing views that exist at Swarthmore, we can at least agree on that,” the campus memo had stated.
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