Two days ago, Townhall identified Harvard student leaders whose groups signed a letter supporting Hamas. Now, Townhall is identifying a prominent student leader at the University of Virginia.
On October 8th, Students for Justice in Palestine at the University of Virginia (SJP at UVA) published a statement “unequivocally support[ing] Palestine Liberation” and “stand[ing] in solidarity with Palestinian resistance fighters.”
Excerpts of the letter read:
“Students for Justice in Palestine unequivocally supports Palestinian Liberation and the right of colonized people everywhere to resist the occupation of their land by whatever means necessary.”
“In an unprecedented feat for the 21st Century, resistance fighters in Gaza broke through the illegitimate border fence, took occupation soldiers hostage, and seized control of several Israeli settlements that are illegal under international law.”
“While the Israeli government publicly declared war today, the war and genocidal campaign against Palestinians began over 75 years ago. The Nakba started in 1948 with the ethnic cleansing of hundreds of Palestinian villages, forcing 2 million Palestinians into the Gaza strip and expelling over 700,000 from Palestine entirely.”
“We stand in solidarity with Palestinian resistance fighters and all oppressed people around the world seeking freedom and a better world.”
A copy of the full statement is shown here: 
The statement sparked outrage across the country, drawing condemnation from public figures, including Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares:
I denounce the hateful message of the UVA Students for Justice in Palestine in the strongest terms possible. pic.twitter.com/92xYLtCZMP
— Jason Miyares (@JasonMiyaresVA) October 10, 2023
Other SJP chapters at universities across the country have shared similar statements and organized rallies supporting Hamas.
Now, sources with direct access to SJP at UVA’s internal communications have provided Townhall with the organization’s group chat messages.
SJP at UVA is a large group. Townhall identified 57 students who were active in the group chat. However, Townhall recognizes that many students in the chat may have either disapproved of or merely ignored SJP at UVA’s statement. In fact, there is evidence showing some students objected to the statement. More may have done so in the immediate hours prior to this article’s publication.
As such, Townhall is presently identifying only one person: Josh Rosenberg, the leader of SJP at UVA.
Rosenberg is an undergraduate student majoring in Women, Gender, and Sexuality studies. He shared the statement with his fellow SJP at UVA’s members at 8:46AM Sunday morning.
Rosenberg later reiterated his support for Hamas, stating: “We stand by every word of [our statement] and are proud to stand in solidarity with Palestinian freedom fighters.”
Townhall attempted to contact Rosenberg with a request for comment but did not receive an answer prior to the publishing deadline.
As previously mentioned, Townhall identified 57 active members in the group chat. Townhall will continue to investigate these members’ involvement with this group and may choose to publicly identify them at a later time.
Next up, Townhall will publish an investigation of students who are supporting Hamas at Columbia University. Stay tuned.
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