Brown University Suspends Students in Palestine for Justice Due to Investigation into ‘Threats, Intimidation and Harassment’ During Campus Protest

Brown University is temporarily suspending the local chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine as it investigates allegations of “acts of threats, intimidation, and harassment” by group members during an anti-Israel campus protest.

Under the terms of the suspension, SJP will lose “all rights and privileges associated with being a recognized student group,” including the ability to host group events, reserve space for meetings on campus, and actively recruit new members.

“Given the seriousness of the alleged threatening, intimidating, and harassing acts during an event on campus, Brown University initiated an investigation into the incident and requested that the Brown chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine cease all organizational activities until the matter has been fully investigated. ” University spokesman Brian Clark told Brown’s campus newspaper: reporter.

The raucous demonstration in question took place on October 18 and was organized to protest a decision by the Corporation, Brown’s highest governing body, to reject a student-led divestiture that would have required the university to boycott companies with ties to Israel.

During its operations, the company Vote on October 8University leaders wrote in a schoolwide email that they determined the divestment would “substantially compromise” the university’s ability to “prepare future leaders and produce scholarship” and conflict with principles of academic freedom. If the company chooses to divest, “this will signal to our students and faculty that there are ‘approved’ perspectives that community members are expected to abide by.”

Students affiliated with SJP first gathered on Main Green before attending the university’s medical school. The protester’s “extremely concerning” and “completely unacceptable” behavior included “hitting a vehicle” and “swearing at the head,” according to a schoolwide email sent two days after the incident by Russell Carey, executive vice president for planning and policy. There was. individuals,” even hurling a “racial epithet” at a “person of color.”

As previously reported reporterSome demonstrators temporarily blocked a Brown University shuttle bus carrying Company members as it passed through an intersection.

The university notified SJP organizers on Thursday that they were under interim suspension pending an external investigation. Last year, several universities, including Columbia, the University of Pennsylvania, and Brandeis, suspended or outright unrecognized SJP’s local chapters for violating campus policies.

SJP’s chapters on college campuses used Hamas’ October 7 massacre and the ensuing war in Gaza to reignite efforts to pressure universities to secede from Israel. Last spring, Brown University president Christina Paxson reached an agreement with anti-Israel protesters to put the divestment proposal, known as Brown Divest Now, to a vote. In return, student protesters agreed to vacate their camp on the university’s Main Green and not stage protests through commencement.

Meanwhile, the national chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine is currently facing a problem. case He claims that it has effectively become the terrorist arm of Hamas on American college campuses. Citing a manifesto distributed by the group shortly after the Oct. 7 attacks, the lawsuit alleges that SJP “not only organized to assist Hamas’s ongoing terror campaign abroad, but also deliberately expanded its assistance to incite chaos, violence and terror in the region.” It is claimed. United States.”