Rice University's SJP Chapter Attempts to Disrupt Event Featuring Former Hostage Omer Shem Tov

The Student Justice for Palestine chapter at the university, which has celebrated the Oct. 7 Hamas attack, planned a walkout during the survivor's testimony, calling the event "Zionist propaganda"

---

Former Hamas hostage Omer Shem Tov stood before an audience at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy on October 29, introducing himself as “a free man.” The 20-year-old had been kidnapped from the Nova music festival and held captive for 505 days. But Rice Students for Justice in Palestine—the campus organization that had celebrated the October 7 “resistance” just days after the massacre while bodies were still being counted—had planned to stage a walkout during the event.

Rice University Police Department Officer Ken Nipe confirmed the university had implemented a screening process for attendees— seemingly to avoid the group’s planned disruption during Shem Tov’s testimony. University administrators also contacted the group, informing them they would face disciplinary action if they attempted the unauthorized disruption.

In a statement to the Rice Thresher, SJP organizer Jorge Zazueta characterized the event as “Zionist propaganda and genocidal voices and messaging.”

505 Days in Captivity

Shem Tov recounted his experience during the event, describing being captured at the Supernova festival, where 370 people were killed in what became Israel’s single deadliest attack on civilians. During his captivity, he learned Arabic fluently by listening to his captors. Shem Tov has shared that while in captivity he experienced starvation, psychological torture, and constant threat of execution in while in the tunnels of Gaza.

He connected the global rise in antisemitism to his capture. At the event he spoke of his captivity and his Hamas captors stating:

“I saw the hatred in [Hamas’] eyes, and it’s something that I cannot erase, and it’s only because we’re Jews,” he said. “It’s not because of the land. It’s not because of whatever it is they tell us, it’s because we are Jews. They told me this to my face. They are jihadists, and their only mission is to kill Jews around the world. They always told me, ‘After Israel, we’re gonna go to the whole entire world.’”

Honoring Terrorists: A Look at Rice SJP’s Past Posts

Rice SJP’s history includes posting imagery celebrating violence. On October 9, 2023—just two days after the massacre—the group shared a photograph of a Palestinian terrorist standing on an Israeli tank, declaring “Long live Palestine, long live the resistance, victory is ours” while organizing a Gaza protest for October 14.

Credit: Rice University SJP on X

On June 29, 2024, the group posted an image of Leila Khaled holding a gun. Khaled, a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine—designated a terrorist organization by the United States in 1997—hijacked TWA Flight 840 in 1969. The following year, she attempted to hijack an El Al flight; her accomplice was killed by an Israeli security agent, and she was arrested when the plane landed in London.

Credit: Rice University SJP on X

Heightened Security Measures Ensure Peaceful Event

Rice University Police Department Officer Ken Nipe confirmed authorities had anticipated a possible disruption, deploying seven officers for the event—more than the typical four for Baker Institute programs. “I think part of the good attendance was they had a good screening process,” Nipe said.

The event proceeded without incident, with Shem Tov advocating for the return of hostages still held in Gaza, including 7 who were killed on October 7th or died in captivity but whose bodies have not been returned to their families.