Brandeis University in Massachusetts announced Monday night that it would ban Students for Justice in Palestine. In doing so, Brandeis becomes the first private academic institution in the United States to take action against the anti-Israel student organization and behind it many anti-Semitic initiatives on campuses across the country. According to university sources, the public support of Students for Justice in Palestine for Hamas, which is declared a terrorist organization in the United States, and its call for the destruction of the State of Israel, were part of the considerations for banning its activities.
The precedent-setting move comes against the backdrop of an article by university president Ronland Leibovitz, published earlier today on the Boston Globe website, in which he argued that student organizations that encourage anti-Semitism "should lose all privileges in their schools." Leibowitz also stressed that as far as he was concerned, "there will be no tolerance for social media posts calling for violence against Jews or the destruction of the State of Israel."
A letter sent by the university to members of the pro-Palestinian organization stated, "Brandeis University is committed to upholding the principles of freedom of expression. However, these principles state that 'the freedom to discuss ideas does not mean that people can say what they want, where they want or how they want' and that the university may restrict freedom of expression that constitutes a threat or harassment."
The letter states that "the Organization for Justice in Palestine calls on its university branches to engage in activities supporting Hamas and its call for the destruction of the State of Israel and the Jewish people. These methods are not protected by the university and therefore the organization will no longer be eligible for university funding, will not be allowed to conduct activities on campus and use Brandeis' name and logo."
The student organization responded to the decision, saying, "We see this decision as pure racism that goes against the values of the university, which was established for the purpose of fighting racism in institutions of higher education."
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