The brief argued that commercial activity is not protected under the First Amendment and that the law “only prohibits the government from contracting with a company that engages in particular boycotts, which themselves remain entirely legal.” The law also defines a “boycott” as a contractor refusing to conduct commercial activity with Israel or someone based in the Jewish state for the sole purpose of inflicting “economic harm” on Israel. 

Art is a potent form of resistance, and we are humbled by our peers’ passion and skill.” The PSC had organized various panels as well as a “Wall of Resistance” during Israel Apartheid Week in April; the wall had stated “Zionism is Racism Settler Colonialism White Supremacy Apartheid,” as well as other various anti-Israel slogans. 

According to local news reports, the shooting took place at 12:30 pm in Tarzana; it is not yet clear what the motive was. Rabbi Yossi Malka, who heads the synagogue, told The Los Angeles Times that there were 30 congregants inside the shul at the time of the shooting.

The first incident occurred on April 22, when pro-Palestinian protesters from a nearby Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) rally drove by the house waving Palestinian flags and reportedly lobbed accusations of Jewish students of being “baby killers” and “terrorists.” Rutgers Hillel alleged that the protesters spat at the house as well.

The photos showed a Palestinian flag next to a Black Lives Matter flag and Pride flag adorning the walls of the classroom. Other photos showed posters in the classroom stating “In 2020, Make Israel Palestine Again,” “F— America,” and “F— the Police.”

“We find it really unacceptable that Jewish students need to be cornered in a situation where they need to cross through a field of yelling people to come and get their religious needs answered,” Illini Hillel Executive Director Erez Cohen told the student newspaper Daily Illini.