Brandeis University banned Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) from campus, citing the group’s support for the terrorist group Hamas, making it the first private institution of higher education in the country to ban the organization.
“This decision was not made lightly, as Brandeis is dedicated to upholding free speech principles, which have been codified in Brandeis’ Principles of Free Speech and Free Expression,” a letter sent to the college’s resident SJP chapter, first obtained by Jewish Insider, explained. “However, those Principles note that ‘The freedom to debate and discuss ideas does not mean that individuals may say whatever they wish, wherever they wish, or however they wish.'”
“The National SJP has called on its chapters to engage in conduct that supports Hamas in its call for the violent elimination of Israel and the Jewish people. These tactics are not protected by the University’s Principles. As a result, the University made the decision that the Brandeis chapter of the National SJP must be unrecognized and will no longer be eligible to receive funding, be permitted to conduct activities on campus, or use the Brandeis name and logo in promoting itself or its activities, including through social media channels.”
The directive coincided with an op-ed written by Brandeis president Ronald Liebowitz explaining the decision against the backdrop of skyrocketing incidents of antisemitism across American campuses. “Brandeis University is a secular institution founded by the American Jewish community in 1948 to counter antisemitism and bigotry in higher education. So where do Brandeis and higher education find themselves today?” Liebowitz wrote in the Boston Globe on Monday.
“Specifically, chants and social media posts calling for violence against Jews or the annihilation of the state of Israel must not be tolerated. This includes phrases such as ‘from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free’ — which calls for the erasure of the Jewish state; ‘there is only one solution’ — which echoes the Nazi strategy of killing all Jews; and ‘intifada, intifada’ — an incitement to violence against Israeli civilians,” the school’s president elaborated.
“Student organizations that do engage in such practices should lose all privileges associated with affiliation at their schools. In no way does this violate higher education’s deep and enduring commitment to free speech,” Liebowitz concluded without explicitly naming the student group.
In late October, Florida governor Ron DeSantis directed schools across the state to deactivate local SJP chapters, arguing that the group “knowingly provide[d] material support…to a designated foreign terrorist organization.”
“These chapters exist under the headship of the National Students for Justice in Palestine, who distributed a toolkit identifying themselves as part of the Operation AlAqsa Flood,” Ray Rodrigues, chancellor of the State University System of Florida, wrote in a letter at the time. “Based on the National SJP’s support of terrorism, in consultation with Governor DeSantis, the student chapters must be deactivated.”
Rodrigues pointed to a “toolkit” released by the national SJP body praising the Hamas atrocities, known by the codename Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, and demanding student members play a part in the global “resistance” movement. The document contained cartoon graphics showing Hamas paragliders for American chapters to use and applauded Hamas’ invasion of Israel.
“Today, we witness a historic win for the Palestinian resistance: Across land, air, and sea, our people have broken down the artificial barriers of the Zionist entity, taking with it the facade of an impenetrable settler colony and reminding each of us that total return and liberation to Palestine is near,” the introduction of the document reads. “As the Palestinian student movement, we have an unshakable responsibility to join the call for mass mobilization.”
“Palestinian students in exile are PART of this movement, not in solidarity with this movement,’” Rodrigues wrote in the Florida memorandum. “Here, National SJP has affirmatively identified it is part of the Operation Al-Aqsa Flood — a terrorist led attack.”
The leadership of the student group, in cooperation with Palestine Legal, released a statement following the governor’s decision asserting that SJP would challenge it in court. “The claim relies on the broad and vague ‘material support for terrorism’ regime, which criminalizes even nonviolent coordination with designated terrorist organizations,” the legal group specializing in bolstering “the Palestine solidarity movement,” writes.
“This is a blatant attack on students’ First Amendment rights, and it will be challenged in court,” the statement added. “Florida, particularly under the leadership of Governor Ron DeSantis, has been actively undermining education, freedom of speech, and social justice movements, including by banning anti-racist courses and trying to criminalize protests. It is not surprising that this egregious move to silence the student movement for Palestinian rights is being pursued under DeSantis.”
A similar sentiment was echoed by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), a free speech advocacy group. “None of the chants or slogans cited by President Liebowitz come close to meeting the legal criteria for incitement or harassment. Make no mistake, Brandeis is punishing its students for nothing more than protected political advocacy,” the organization told National Review in a statement.
“In this difficult moment, Brandeis could have demonstrated how students can engage with opposing viewpoints. Instead, President Liebowitz is teaching them to simply silence those they hate. This betrayal of Brandeis’s free speech promises is a stain on the school’s 75-year reputation as a bastion for free inquiry.”
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) argued in a letter to almost 200 university administrators that SJP chapters across the country have endorsed the Palestinian terrorist group’s attack and warned that their conduct could violate state and federal laws related to supporting a foreign terrorist organization. One example from the ADL highlighted revealed an SJP chapter at the University of Virginia released an official statement proclaiming, “We stand in solidarity with Palestinian resistance fighters,” one day after the massacre on October 7.
A “Vigil for Palestine” hosted by the SJP on Brandeis was canceled following the announcement. “With heavy hearts, we would like to announce that our chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine has been unjustly de-chartered,” the group wrote in a statement on Instagram. “This comes as a part of Brandeis University, an institution that values social justice, trying to silence us from speaking our truth,” the group added, “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”