Columbia University violated its own policies when it suspended on-campus Palestinian advocacy groups, the New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) alleged in a lawsuit filed Monday.
The NYCLU, along with Palestine Legal, sued the Ivy League school on March 11 for the “unlawful suspension of its chapters of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) for engaging in peaceful protest.”
Both groups were protesting on campus in support of Palestinian rights on Nov. 9, 2023. Although students are still permitted to attend class, both SJP and JVP have been barred from organizing on campus.
The lawsuit, which is calling for the school to “immediately” reinstate the two groups, is just one of the most recent events adding to mounting tensions within the city between protestors, policy makers and public safety officials since the Hamas terrorist attacks on Oct. 7, 2023 and Israel’s subsequent war in Gaza.
The lawsuit alleges that SJP and JVP were participating in “peaceful” protests alongside other campus groups on Nov. 9 when they were singled out the next day for suspension. The suspension, the lawsuit says, violates the school’s own policy that student groups have procedural protections when faced with disciplinary action.
‘Cracking down’ on pro-Palestinian protests
The suit also claims the school punished the students because of the public pressure to “crack down” on pro-Palestinian protests on campus.
“Universities should be havens for robust debate, discussion and learning, not sites of censorship where administrators, donors and politicians squash political discourse they don’t approve of,” Donna Lieberman, NYCLU executive director, said. “These student groups were peacefully speaking out on a critical global conflict, only to have Columbia University ignore their own longstanding, existing rules and abruptly suspend the organizations. That’s retaliatory, it’s targeted, and it flies in the face of the free speech principles that institutes of higher learning should be defending.”
Columbia University declined to comment due to the pending litigation. But officials pointed to the school’s new interim policy on safe protests, which allows individuals and groups to organize demonstrations. It also describes the consequences when they violate school policy.
The Nov. 9, 2023 protest was part of a nationwide “call to action” to engage students in peaceful protest to call for an end to Israel’s military presence in Gaza. According to the lawsuit, more than 200 students attended the demonstration at Columbia, where they listened to speakers, chanted messages such as “ceasefire now” and performed a “die in,” which is when people lie on the ground to symbolize lost lives.
“Columbia University has a robust history of peaceful protest, from 1968 to 1985, that it now champions solely in retrospect and when convenient,” said Maryam Alwan, a student who is part of SJP. “Ivy League institutions should not attract students who value justice and equality if they do not want to be held accountable for the ideals that they claim to uphold. As a Palestinian-American student, I should have the same right to speak out on my campus as everyone else, and no amount of targeted policy changes or illegitimate suspensions will prevent us from advocating for the Palestinian people.”
Attorneys for the SVP and JVP said New York disciplinary action against students and student organizations must be done in accordance with a university’s own rules and guidelines.
American Jewish Committee slams Columbia Law School over anti-Israel protests
Meanwhile, Columbia Law School is feeling the heat from the American Jewish Committee (AJC). The organization is criticizing the school’s dean, Gillian Lester for what it calls failing to take action against anti-Israel protestors who “threatened and intimidated attendees” at a recent student luncheon.
AJC Chief Legal Officer Marc Stern wrote in a letter to Lester asking for an apology after “uninvited” protestors entered the luncheon using anti-Israel messaging and “abusive” rhetoric.
Protestors also distributed flyers at the event that read Israel “has blood on its hands” and highlighted the “unjust” suspension of the SJP and JVP groups.
“Columbia Law must immediately and unequivocally condemn this unauthorized protest and its exclusionary and hateful messaging,” Stern said in the letter. “But words are not enough. The university must discipline the students who participated in the protest, according to the rules and regulations that govern student conduct.”
