A handful of US colleges, including Columbia University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, have started to take action against pro-Palestinian protests deemed to be against school rules or hostile to Jewish students.
Columbia University on Friday temporarily suspended two student groups supporting the Palestinian cause that it said repeatedly violated university policy after an unauthorized event proceeded “despite warnings and included threatening rhetoric and intimidation,” the Ivy League school said in a statement.
MIT stopped short of suspending students because of potential visa issues but barred them from non-campus activities while the school investigates a protest conducted in defiance of school rules that was “disruptive, loud and sustained through the morning hours,” the university said in a statement.
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US universities have been hesitant to draw boundaries around free speech, but they now appear comfortable finding rule breaches by demonstrators, whose rallies have sometimes led to intimidation, physical altercations and accusations of antisemitism. Parents and alumni have threatened to stop donating, saying the schools weren’t doing enough to keep Jewish students safe.
At Ohio State University, two incidents directly targeted the Jewish community in 24 hours. Two students were assaulted and the campus Hillel was vandalized, the school’s president said Friday. At Cornell, online threats against Jews resulted in a student’s arrest.
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At Columbia, Students for Justice in Palestine and Jewish Voice for Peace, an anti-Zionist group, were suspended through the end of the fall term and won’t be eligible to hold events on campus or receive university funding, said Gerald Rosberg, senior executive vice president.
On Thursday, hundreds of students participated in a walkout at the New York City school sponsored by the two groups. Protesters wanted the university to “take action by calling Israel’s attacks a genocide and canceling the University’s business interests and partnerships in Israel,” according to the Columbia Spectator, the student newspaper.
“Lifting the suspension will be contingent on the two groups demonstrating a commitment to compliance with University policies and engaging in consultations at a group leadership level with University officials,” Rosberg said in the statement.
Brandeis University in Massachusetts this week stopped recognizing its chapters of Students for Justice in Palestine because it openly supports Hamas, which is labeled a terrorist group by the US, according to President Ron Liebowitz.
“All students, faculty, and staff are welcome here, and encouraged to participate in the free exchange of ideas,” Liebowitz said. “To promote such free exchange, we must not and do not condone hate, the incitement of violence, or threats against or harassment of anyone, be they Jewish, Muslim, Christian, Buddhist, Hindu, Israeli, Palestinian, or any other religion or ethnicity.”
