Students for Justice in Palestine chapters around the country have begun taking the “saltwater challenge” to show their support for Palestinians hunger striking in Israeli prisons.

The “saltwater challenge” is an event where the participant drinks one cup of saltwater to show their support for the hunger strikers.

“...the prisoners have been living on only saltwater.”

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In the video of Temple University SJP’s “saltwater challenge,” the speaker explained that they are drinking saltwater “because the prisoners have been living on only saltwater.” She then described some of the demands of the hunger strikers, including ending the use of solitary confinement and administrative detention.

The speaker in the video proceeded to pledge Temple SJP’s support for the “1,500 plus Palestinian hunger strikers in Israeli prisons,” though as of April 5, Israel National News reports that the number of terrorists still participating in the strike has dropped to below 850.

The Temple SJP members finished their video with cheers of “free Palestine” and “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.” This chant refers to the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, implying that all of Judea and Samaria, the Gaza Strip, and sovereign Israel is occupied Palestinian land.

Several other SJP chapters have participated in the “saltwater challenge” as well, including groups at San Diego State University; California State University, Long Beach; and the University of California, Irvine. The Swarthmore College Students for Peace and Justice in Palestine (SPJP) is also planning its own iteration of the challenge this weekend, as per the group's Facebook page.

In a post sharing the Temple chapter's video, the Swarthmore SPJP references an opinion piece in the New York Times by the leader of the hunger strike, convicted terrorist Marwan Barghout, saying his article is “profound and provides good context” for the hunger strike.

The Times came under fire in the Israeli press for calling Barghout a “Palestinian leader and parliamentarian,” and failing to mention that he was convicted on five counts of murdering Israeli civilians, and that he is believed to have been the mastermind behind dozens of other terrorist attacks during the second Intifada.

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The “saltwater challenge” coincides with a surge of Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) resolutions demanding that universities sell their holdings in companies that do business with Israel, some of which were introduced or debated during Passover, when Jewish students were unable to attend student government meetings to express opposition.

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