An Israeli Lawmaker’s Accusation Against Students for Justice in Palestine: An Update

Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
On August 16, the Forward published a story reporting that an Israeli lawmaker accused Students for Justice in Palestine, a pro-Palestinian campus group, of compiling lists of Jewish college students and their online addresses. The story also quoted numerous sources saying such lists did not exist.
Accusations about the story’s possible bias prompted us to remove it from our website out of an abundance of caution, while we examined the claims.
Laura Adkins, who wrote the story, was accused by a blogger of perpetuating a “hoax” when she first wrote about an incident with SJP for another publication as a college student in 2014. After undertaking our own internal review, we concluded that this accusation is inaccurate and unfair. Given the controversy around that earlier story, however, Laura was not the appropriate person to report on it for the Forward. Nor did we think the story newsworthy enough to repost.
Laura remains a valued member of our staff.
Why I became the Forward’s Editor-in-Chief
You are surely a friend of the Forward if you’re reading this. And so it’s with excitement and awe — of all that the Forward is, was, and will be — that I introduce myself to you as the Forward’s newest editor-in-chief.
And what a time to step into the leadership of this storied Jewish institution! For 129 years, the Forward has shaped and told the American Jewish story. I’m stepping in at an intense time for Jews the world over. We urgently need the Forward’s courageous, unflinching journalism — not only as a source of reliable information, but to provide inspiration, healing and hope.
