A.S. ballot initiative calls for Gaza ceasefire, divestment from Israel

Members of the Associated Students gather for a meeting at Santa Monica College in Santa Monica, Calif., on Monday, March 3, 2025. (Jake Crandall | The Corsair)

Santa Monica College student in orange shirt lays between Palestinian and Israelian flags at the Al-Nakba and Israel Independence Day event in the SMC Quad at Santa Monica, Calif. on Tuesday, May 14, 2024. (Alexey Nosov | The Corsair)

Santa Monica College (SMC) students, alumni, faculty and staff attending the presentation by Yair Agmon, former Israeli defense soldier, as part of Al Nakba 2024 series of events organized by Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) at SMC, Santa Monica, Calif., on Thursday, May 7, 2024. SJP is a pro-Palestinian college student activism organization in the United States, Canada and New Zealand. Founded in 1993 at University of California, Berkeley, SPJ has campaigned for boycott and divestment against corporations that deal with Israel and organized events about Israel's human rights violations. SPJ has been an officially registered club at SMC at least since 2018. (Alexey Nosov | The Corsair)

This year, the Associated Students (A.S.) General Election ballot features a resolution sponsored by the Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) club at Santa Monica College (SMC). 

Among other provisions, the two-page resolution requests that A.S. call for “an immediate humanitarian ceasefire and the safe passage of substantial aid to Gaza,” “the immediate release of all Israeli hostages taken by Hamas,” and “oppos(ition to) all existing and any future military aid to Israel.”

“The Associated Students of Santa Monica College stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people of Gaza, who are currently facing a campaign of ethnic cleansing and collective punishment by the state of Israel,” the resolution reads.

If passed, A.S. will officially adopt these positions.

Modelled almost verbatim on a resolution passed by the city of Richmond, the resolution condemns what it describes as Israeli “occupation and blockade of Palestinian land,” while acknowledging and mourning Israelis killed by Hamas during attacks on Oct. 7, 2023.

Dr. Wilfred Doucet, SMC professor of English and SJP’s faculty advisor, said the resolution intentionally distinguished between antisemitism and criticisms of the state of Israel.

“The resolution also explicitly rejects antisemitism and ethno-nationalism. It was important to be clear on that point,” he said.

Any SMC student or student organization may submit a legislative action proposal to A.S. accompanied by a petition of 50 student signatures. All valid petitions must either be passed by the Board of Directors or sent to a student-body vote in the next general election, per the Associated Students Constitution and By-Laws.

When an initiative becomes a ballot measure, it requires an absolute majority of all votes cast to pass.

“The students used this form of advocacy because of their confidence in the democratic processes available to them under the current shared governance structure. Students must take advantage of the democratic space available to extend the space or push the structure to its limit,” said Doucet.

Rabbi Eli Levitansky of SMC Chabad said the legislation might pass because of activist rhetoric that surrounds the conflict.

“In general, the Israel issue, or anything in that arena, has generated a lot of the concept of the ‘oppressed’ and ‘oppressor,’ and it becomes very sensationalized. So anybody that wants to be doing good for humanity is going to vote for the oppressed,” said Levitansky.

Levitansky said these students might not grasp the full historical picture: “I don’t believe that most of them would be able to answer you details of what’s happening or what’s happened. I think that it’s just a movement of some sort, and you jump onto it.”

SJP submitted the legislative initiative and petition of signatures to the Office of Student Life and A.S. on June 11, 2024. 

Once the office verified the signatures, the resolution moved to the A.S. Board of Directors for consideration. 

When the resolution surfaced at Board meetings in Fall 2024, the Directors twice tabled the legislation, requesting more context and information from the club.

At a Board meeting on Sept. 16, 2024, SJP members presented an argument for the Board’s immediate passage of the legislation, including club leader Marjah Nee. 

“We’re basically calling, we want an end to the conflict. We want an end to the war that’s going on now,” Nee said at the meeting. “We’re not pro one country or one religion. We’re pro ending the war, releasing the hostages. Basically the last five statements in the resolution.”

Nee implored the governing body to pass the legislation rather than send it to a campus-wide vote.

“If you make a decision to postpone this, that is choosing a side. You’re choosing the side that is silencing this issue and saying, you know, let’s not deal with it, let’s deal with it later,” Nee said.

At the next meeting on Sept. 23, almost all voting A.S. Directors voted “yes” on a motion by Budget Management Director Jordan Davis to send the resolution to general election. Sustainability Director Julia Kowalski, Inter-Club Council (ICC) Communications Officer Megan Menez, and ICC Vice Chair Nora Ibrahim voted “no” on the motion. The motion passed 10-3.

Considering potential impacts of the resolution, Levitansky said the resolution “will embolden students that are anti-Israel, that’s for sure.”

“Passing the resolution may intensify campus politics, but this is already a politically tense and intense time,” said Doucet. “Moreover, in the context of the Trump regime's antagonistic attitude and actions toward schools, colleges, and universities… passing the resolution takes courage because of the kind of scrutiny and negative attention it might incur.”

“For the Santa Monica College Students for Justice in Palestine, it means being on the right side of history,” said Doucet.

Voting is conducted on Corsair Connect, where polls open March 31 and close April 3. Voting instructions will be posted to the Associated Students election website.