Wesleyan SJP group hosts "Anti-Zionist" Tu Bishvat, Israeli Arbor Day

How do you divorce a holiday from its roots?

Celebrate Tu B'Shvat/ Jamie Geller Test Kitchens

Tonight, Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) at the elite Wesleyan University are hosting a Tu B'Shvat Seder for the community to rally around, but pally-protesters students seem to have forgot what Tu B’Shvat actually celebrates.

The Israeli holiday of Tu B’Shvat (also spelled as Tu BiShvat or Tu Bishvat) is a holiday akin to Arbor Day in America, but it has its roots in ancient Israeli harvest times and is rooted the commandment in Leviticus to not take fruit from any tree until it reaches its 3rd birthday.

Rabbinical scholars came to decree that the 15th (15=Tu in Hebrew) of the month Shevat, which typically happens in the Gregorian calendar month of February, should be considered the birthday of trees if you don’t know when they are planted.

But why the 15th of Shevat (roughly akin to “Israeli February”)?

Because, as Sefaria explains, rabbinical scholars settled on the 15th of the month Shevat to plant new trees. This is because it seemed like an optimal tree planting time in Israel, not too hot, not too cold, which makes this uniquely an Israeli and Jewish holiday.

So what’s going on at Wesleyan University tonight?

The school SJP Chapter is hosting an “Anti-Zionist Tu B’Shvat” tonight on school grounds. Students planned the event. Notably, the event has the approval of the school’s Office of Religious and Spiritual Life as it is giving the students space to host their seder.

Their event seeks to celebrate Tu B’Shvat somehow, but for Jewish and Palestinian students who are against Israel. The poster for the event was shared Wednesday morning in a Jewish Facebook group with 65,000 members. The community was shocked and appalled.

“Where do they think Tu B'Shvat takes place? In the land of Israel!” wrote one person.

”The entire holiday is focused on the land of Israel. An anti-Zionist Tu B’Shvat is like a Tee-Totalers’ Whisky Festival.”

“This is a mitzvah relevant specifically to the land and the trees on that land in Israel. What level of ignorance is this? Who is doing this? Are they hijacking our holidays and distorting them to attack us? Is this a non Jewish club doing this?? How is this allowed?”

“Is this like how Americans tried to take Christ out of Christmas?”

“Sponsored by Ye?” another wrote.

”How is this permitted? Shame on the university! Parents should be calling the President of the University. Alumi need to STOP sending donations to these antisemitic universities!”

Wesleyan University did not respond to an inquiry. Many people have cited the fact that a Rabbi helps run the department responsible for giving SJP a room to host their event in, but it’s unclear if the rabbi was involved or not, as he did not respond to an inquiry.

The holiday of Tu Bishvat is commonly celebrated in Israel by planting trees and eating from the “7 species” mentioned in the Bible: wheat, barley, grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives, and dates, all native to Israel. In the United States, the holiday overlaps February 12 and 13th.

The event was coordinated with a shadowy group called “Beyond Empire” which claims to be founded by Wesleyan University students, according to their Instagram page.

Back in December, Beyond Empire lobbied for Wesleyan school officials to drop charges against Palestinian students who violated campus rules against promoting terrorism and violence.

Earlier in the year, group has also demanded that Wesleyan stops using Cisco technology because the company has ties to Israel, which is typical of most global technology firms and does not imply a special relationship between the two.

This piece was written by Toni Airaksinen, Senior Editor of Liberty Affair and a journalist based in Delray Beach, Florida. Follow her on Substack, on X/Twitter @Toni_Airaksinen and on Instagram.