A well-known US university has dismissed two student organizations that planned protests against Israel’s bombing operation in Gaza for allegedly breaking campus policies.
As per Gerald Rosberg, the chair of Columbia University’s special committee on campus safety, Students for Justice in Palestine and Jewish Voice for Peace will be suspended for the fall semester.
“This decision was made after numerous violations of University policies regarding campus events by the two groups, which resulted in an inappropriate event on Thursday afternoon that continued despite warnings and involved bullying and threatening speech,” the statement continued.
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The “immediate reinstatement” of Columbia’s student organizations was demanded by Jewish Voice for Peace, a left-leaning national organization that referred to the action as an “appalling act of censorship and intimidation by the administration.”
“It is evident that these student groups are acting morally. According to the statement, they are trying to prevent war and save lives by calling for a truce.
Meanwhile, the SJP chapter in Columbia announced, “You can shut down our organizations, but can’t stop our hearts from beating for liberation, humanity, and the freedom of Palestine.”
The organizations are unable to hold events on campus and lose funding as a result of the ban.
Before the suspension would be lifted, Rosberg stated that the two groups would have to show “a commitment to compliance with university policies”. “This ensures the safety of our community and the continuous operation of vital university operations” at what Rosberg referred to as a “charged time,” when demonstrations around the US have turned violent at times, involving college students in particular.
In a demonstration led by the two organizations on Thursday, hundreds of Columbia students reportedly skipped class in order to support Washington’s call for an end to Israel’s aggression on the Palestinians.
Students at the event on Thursday reportedly demanded that the university declare Israel’s attack on Gaza to be “genocide” and boycott and divest from Israeli institutions, according to multiple media outlets.
At US institutions including Harvard, Stanford, and New York University, violent altercations between students, faculty, and administrators have resulted in viral conversations on social media with charges of Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, and threats to free speech.
