Gregg Roman
The Middle East Forum Observer, Apr. 29, 2024 (first of 4-part series)
“Pursuing legal action against SJP would affirm the American legal system’s commitment to protecting students from discrimination and harassment based on national origin and religion.”
The rise of antisemitism on college campuses across the United States has reached alarming levels, demanding immediate and decisive action. Central to these troubling developments is the group known as Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), implicated in numerous incidents that extend beyond free speech into coordinated harassment and intimidation. While purporting to advocate for Palestinian rights, SJP repeatedly crosses legal boundaries that protect the civil liberties of Jewish students and students of Israeli national origin. Given the severity and organized nature of their actions, a class action lawsuit under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) emerges as a necessary legal remedy.
RICO provides a powerful tool for addressing wrongful acts done as part of an ongoing criminal organization. Originally designed to combat organized crime, legal practitioners have successfully applied RICO in various civil contexts, including dismantling the Ku Klux Klan and curtailing aggressive tactics by anti-abortion groups. These precedents illustrate RICO’s applicability to organizations that, under the guise of advocacy, engage in systematic violations of individuals’ rights.
In the context of SJP, applying RICO is appropriate due to the alleged coordinated nature of their activities across state lines, which affects a national population of students. The statute specifically targets patterns of racketeering activity—defined as the commission of multiple acts indicative of an ongoing, organized conspiracy to commit fundamental breaches of the law. SJP’s repeated engagements in tactics that intimidate, harass, and silence Jewish students and supporters of Israel fit the legal definition of racketeering activity. … [To read the full article, click here]
Using the Anti-Klan Act to Address Campus Antisemitism: Gregg Roman, The Middle East Forum Observer, Apr. 30, 2024 (second of 4-part series)
Who Has Standing to Sue in a RICO Case against SJP?: Gregg Roman, The Middle East Observer, May 1, 2024 (third of 4-part series)
