Students for Justice in Palestine suspended at Brown

PROVIDENCE, RI (WLNE) — Brown University has temporarily suspended its Students for Justice in Palestine chapter Following allegedly “unacceptable” behavior at a protest on 18 October.

The protest was organized by the Brown Divestment Coalition, after the university corporation. decided not to leave the companies He invested in Israel and its army.

In the statement made by the university, the following statements were made:launched a review of the incident and requested that the Brown chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine cease all organizational activities pending a full review of the matter.

“Imposition of interim measures is based on the seriousness of the alleged conduct and does not prejudge whether the organization violated policy,” spokesman Brian Clark said.

In response to the suspension, the Brown Divest Coalition said it was “The umbrella organisation, of which SJP is a member, said the university’s actions were “a continuation of Brown’s efforts to intimidate anyone who seeks to hold governing bodies accountable for their open support of genocide, apartheid and school massacres”.

“This suspension and other allegations made by the administration against SJP are a retaliatory, politically motivated ploy to denigrate protesters, fracture the student movement, and diminish their complicity in the destruction of the Palestinian people,” the coalition said. “By banning SJP from holding any events, including weekly vigils, the administration has weakened the only organization on this campus dedicated to creating space for collective grief during the Zionist regime’s indiscriminate massacre of Gazans.”

Brown’s full statement can be read below:

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 can be fully investigated.

While Brown’s policies make clear that protest is a necessary and acceptable means of expression on campus, protest may not interfere with the normal functions of the University, involve intimidation or harassment of community members, or violate the rights of others. We are committed to supporting freedom of expression while respecting the dignity and humanity of others.

The application of interim measures is based on the seriousness of the alleged conduct and does not prejudge whether the organization has violated policy. The investigation of alleged code of conduct violations and any findings of liability and/or accompanying sanctions will be resolved in accordance with the provisions of Brown’s student conduct procedures.

The Brown Divest Coalition’s full statement can be read below:

On October 24, the Brown administration sent an email to Students for Justice in Palestine informing them that the University had: suspended SJP, ending the ability to hold events and meetings or post on social media; hired an outside investigator to begin observing protesters and gathering evidence for the Oct. 18 protest against the company’s immoral decision to refuse liquidation.

These outrageous actions are just a continuation of Brown’s efforts to intimidate anyone who tries to hold governing bodies accountable for their open support of genocide, apartheid, and school massacres.

This suspension and other allegations made by the administration against SJP are a retaliatory, politically motivated ploy to smear protesters, fracture the student movement, and diminish their complicity in the destruction of the Palestinian people. By banning SJP from holding any events, including weekly vigils, the administration has weakened the only organization on this campus dedicated to creating space for collective grief during the Zionist regime’s indiscriminate massacre of Gazans. With this decision, the university reinforced its utter disregard and commitment to the dehumanization of the Palestinian people.

For the past two weeks, Israel has surrounded northern Gaza; bombed hospitals, refugee camps, and restricted aid to more than 400,000 Palestinians in a literal “genocide within a genocide”; Zionist settlers proudly declare their intention to settle in the region. As the list of atrocities we witness every day grows larger—hospital patients burned before our eyes, craters formed in camps displaced by 2,000-pound bombs supplied by the United States, residential buildings razed to the ground in Beirut—our university has chosen to protect their lives. Financial interests have repeatedly trumped the dignity of Palestinians.

The administration claims to value “open dialogue” but weaponizes its administrative power at every opportunity: preventing us from writing the names of martyred Palestinian children, welcoming IOF soldiers to campus with open arms, criminalizing any criticism of students who proudly call for the elimination of Palestinians. Increased police presence at our vigils to monitor the Palestinian population and grieving students.

Brown is often portrayed in the media as a school that “actually talked to the protesters”, but don’t be fooled: this is a smokescreen for their dogged campaign of bureaucratic violence last year. Management imposed a year of corporate manipulation and legal sanctions on us simply because we refused to be complicit. A year of platitudes and enforced ‘neutrality’ as we watched Palestinians being burned and buried alive, their flesh collected in plastic bags. A year of unconscionable suffering ensued as Brown Corporation, President Paxson, and Vice President Russell Carey lined their pockets with the blood of our martyrs.

However, we know that the administration’s attempts to suppress the student movement will not work. No outside investigation, increased police presence, hearings, or frightening emails from Russell Carrey will quell our resolve for the liquidation and liberation of Palestine. We continue undaunted because when we look at Gaza, we see the determined resistance of our people despite forced hunger, constant displacement and relentless bombardment. We will hold our institution accountable as long as the Zionist regime continues its campaign of ethnic cleansing and territorial expansion at the expense of the lives of Palestine and Lebanon.