Pro-Palestinian group cuts ties with Tufts after suspension through 2027

Local news

Following an interim suspension issued earlier this fall, Tufts Justice Students in Palestine received a full suspension for repeatedly violating university policy.

Tufts University has officially suspended a pro-Palestinian student organization until January 2027, prompting the group to announce last week that it has “officially disengaged and disengaged” from the university.

Tufts Students for Justice in Palestine has frequently attempted to disrupt campus life to raise awareness about Israel’s military practices and ties between the university and Israel.

In the United Nations report published last week, “Israel’s war in Gaza compatible with the characteristics of genocide“There are mass civilian casualties and life-threatening conditions deliberately imposed on Palestinians there.”

Tufts SJP was officially suspended on November 6. temporary suspension After using gun imagery to support a protest rally in early October and calling on members of the Tufts community to “join the student intifada.” This incident was one of five that led to his suspension this year, according to Tufts Executive Director of Media Relations Patrick Collins. In these five incidents, Tufts SJP was responsible for nine violations of university policy.

It was revealed that the group violated the university’s rules Meeting, Demonstration and Protest Policy and its Shipping Policy during an event in October. Violated: Threat Policy In October, when he posted pictures of guns and used the term “intifada” to incite students to action. He failed to comply with university officials by refusing to remove threatening posts, violated demonstration policy in September, failed to comply with other authorities, and violated the law. Gambling Policy According to Collins, during a student organization fair at the beginning of the semester.

Tufts SJP “failed to complete sanctions” resulting from previous violations, leading the university to announce a full suspension.

“In an action based on profit interests rather than morality, Tufts University administration suspended its students for 2 years for justice in the Palestine department,” the group wrote on Facebook. to post. “Tufts bowed to this school’s Zionist donors, but its students will not. We want the students of this university to hear the cry of Gaza and rededicate themselves to the struggle for liquidation. “Together, we will help create a free Palestine in our lifetimes.”

In other images posted on social media, Tufts SJP refused to apologize for any actions and vowed to continue organizing and demonstrating against Tufts regardless of the group’s status on campus.

The group said the gambling violation occurred in response to Tufts SJP hosting a keffiyeh raffle to raise money for families in Gaza.

Last year, as demonstrations gripped college campuses across the country, Tufts students set up a protest camp on campus. They held an academic position for almost a month, then volunteered disassembly BT. Both Tufts SJP and university officials said no agreement had been reached between the two parties before the camp was closed. Administrators had issued a no-trespass order against protesters and threatened to remove the camp before it started.

Collins said Tufts SJP was found responsible for three separate violations of university policy last year, leading to “escalating sanctions.” The temporary suspension, imposed in early October, was an interim measure pending resolution of a “serious complaint.”

“This complaint has now been resolved and resulted in disciplinary action, taking into account the group’s actions, their impact on other community members, the group’s repeated refusal to cooperate with university policies and expectations, and its refusal to honor sanctions resulting from prior sanctions,” Collins said in a statement to Boston.com. Commit policy violations,” he said. “The suspension also follows multiple attempts by the university’s student life staff and other administrators over the past year to work with and communicate with SJP and its leaders, who have rejected those efforts.”

Students and student organizations suspended for policy violations must comply with individualized requirements to regain university approval. Tufts SJP will be eligible to petition for re-recognition in January 2027 if it complies with the terms of the suspension, addresses outstanding sanctions and meets “other requirements,” Collins said.

If reapproved at that time, Tufts SJP will be subject to a one-year probationary period. He would need to take further steps later that year, such as identifying a new faculty advisor and participating in “campus climate training.”

Meanwhile, the group continues to be active on social media. He recently called for mutual aid. Help for families in Lebanon. He vowed to continue seeking mutual aid opportunities and urged students to continue organizing in support of Palestine.

“Your pressure will never stop the Palestinian solidarity movement on campus,” Tufts SJP said in a message to administrators. “Whether SJP is on campus or not, the student movement within the groups will never stop until the groups sever and sever all institutional ties with the genocidal Zionist project.”