EDITOR’S NOTE 12:33 pm 11-16-23: This story has been modified to reflect the evolving nature of this supposed engagement, including whether it ever actually existed. The Arizona Globe has reached out to both Skysong and ASU and has yet to hear back from either (and had already reached out before the initial publication of the story). After publication, the Globe received an email from someone apparently in the Maricopa County government who claims to have spoken to Skysong and been informed that “they report this is a fake event.” On the other hand, the official Instagram of SJPASU features a “save the date” that advertises an appearance by Cong. Tlaib at 4 pm Friday in the East Valley. The Globe is following developments closely and has modified the story below to reflect the unclear nature of a quickly evolving story at a time of maximum campus distrust.  

The ASU chapter of Students for Justice for Palestine has been said by prominent voices on social media to be planning to host controversial Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (D-Michigan, 12th District) tomorrow afternoon at noon. The event is allegedly, according to a flyer that has been circulating online, to take place at SkySong which bills itself as “one of the most dynamic sentence for innovation, technology and economic expansion in the western United States… SkySong, the ASU-Scottsdale innovation center, where cutting edge companies from around the world come together in an environment designed to foster collaboration and growth.”

It’s hard to imagine Jewish students at ASU, who just this week had to be escorted by campus police from a student government meetings at which pro-Palestinian demonstrators were throwing rocks at them, really feeling the “collaboration and growth” as the campus welcomes one of the most outspoken denouncers of Israel in the history of the United States Congress.

Amid the swirl of unclear narratives about her appearance at Skysong tomorrow, one thing is certain: Congresswoman Tlaib had been planning to be in the area. She was booked to host the annual banquet for the Council on American-Islamic Relations to be held Saturday at the Wrigleyville West Sheraton in Mesa. According to CAIR, the Sheraton canceled the event and “terminated their contract to the event due to alleged threats targeting the hotel, its staff, CAIR-AZ and American Muslims.”

Tlaib was recently censured in Congress in what the Associated Press called a “stunning rebuke” for among other things, embracing the phrase “from the river to the sea,” which is a call for the elimination of the Jewish state, and her refusal to accept US intelligence stating that it was a wayward missile fired from the Gaza strip by Hamas linked militants that hit a hospital in Gaza. More than 20 of her fellow Democrats joined the vote to censure the sole Palestinian in Congress.

It was also recently revealed by Fox News that Tlaib has been a member for six years in a secret Facebook group where acts of Hamas terrorism are applauded and praised. According to Fox, “The group’s founder, Maher Abdel-qader, who has extensive ties to Tlaib and has also been linked to other liberal politicians, has come under fire in the past for his antisemitic social media posts, including questioning if the Holocaust ever occurred.”

As Arizona radio host Seth Leibsohn has noted on Twitter, Students for Justice for Palestine released its toolkit last month in the immediate aftermath of the attacks by Hamas on Israel. They characterized the killing of 1200 nearly all civilians, as “a historic win for the Palestinian resistance: across land, air, and sea.” The document also reads, “We as Palestinian students in exile are PART of this movement, not in solidarity with this movement.”

Liebsohn notes Arizona law that reads “It is unlawful for a person to intentionally or knowingly do any of the following: Solicit, incite or induce others to promote or further an act of terrorism.” He quotes 13-2308.01 which defines terrorism and includes a prohibition against “Provide advice, assistance or direction in the conduct, financing or management of a terrorist organization.”

Hamas, which conducted the raids on Oct 7, is on the US State Dept official list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs). It is hard to conceive how Students for Justice for Palestine cheering the “historic win” of a group officially listed as a Foreign Terrorist Organization could not be deemed to “promote or further an act of terrorism.”

The Globe has reached out to ASU President Michael Crow to ask how an organization like SJP, which officially endorsed the terror attack of Oct. 7, can be eligible to receive student funding and host official campus events. This story will be updated if President Crow responds.

The Globe will also be reaching out to legislators in the Arizona House and Senate, which have a strong hand in ASU funding decisions, to ask whether taxpayer money should be deployed to support a student group that openly supports a Foreign Terrorist Organization.

Some Arizona lawmakers are already speaking out about the planned event, whether or not its existence is real. State Sen. Anthony Kern forcefully denounced the event, noting “Another satanic event being held in Scottsdale tomorrow! Bring your pro-Israel flags, and let’s show these lovers of terrorism the door!!” and adding a #StandWithIsrael hashtag for good measure.

In last week’s vote, all Arizona Congressional Republicans voted to censure Tlaib and all Arizona Congressional Democrats voted not to censure.