Indiana University suspends pro-Palestine group following incident 

Indiana University-Bloomington has suspended the Palestine Solidarity Committee following what school officials described as a “dangerous” incident, though the school has not explained what happened.

The Office of Student Conduct informed the group it must stop all activities until an investigation is complete.

The letter to the club said the case involves “an alleged incident that is considered dangerous and disruptive to the university community” and that the group may pose “a substantial risk” to others, the College Fix reports.

The letter also ordered the club to hold a meeting with its members about the suspension; required the president of the organization to meet with the Office of Student Conduct; and directed the club to provide a complete roster of active members by the next business day at noon.

Bryce Greene, a student activist with the Palestine Solidarity Committee, said the group doesn’t know what it did wrong.

“The mission of the [Palestine Solidarity Committee] is to organize at Indiana University in support of Palestine,” Greene told the College Fix, adding that the group educates the community “about IU’s role in the ongoing genocide and advocating for an end to this complicity.”

“To date, the university has not even informed the organization what they are accused of,” Greene added.

Greene argued the school’s aim is “to scare students who want to speak out against genocide.”

Faculty advisor Amr Sabry voiced similar concerns.

“In the case of PSC, the cease-and-desist order, coming in the summer, when students were not even on campus, and following a pretty consistent pattern over the past two years, has all the appearances of intimidation and constraints on free speech of students,” Sabry said.

But others argue the group’s pro-Palestinian activism is inherently antisemitic.

“There is no such thing as a Palestine organization that does not engage in antisemitism,” Rabbi Yaakov Menken of the Coalition for Jewish Values said.

“The Romans instated the name Palestine specifically to dissociate Jews from Judea, and that has never changed. To refer to descendants of Arab invaders as ‘Palestinians’ is to rewrite Jews out of 2,000 years of history in their homeland.”

Yossi Held, Midwest executive director of StandWithUs, praised the school for taking action.

“This cease-and-desist letter shows Indiana University is taking allegations of policy violations seriously,” Held said. “While we don’t yet know the outcome at IU, we’ve seen Palestine Solidarity Committees and Students for Justice in Palestine chapters across the country violate school policies with calls for ‘disruptions’ since Oct. 7, 2023, causing chaos and creating a hostile environment for Jewish and pro-Israel students.

“Universities have an obligation to enforce their rules, and investigations like this are an important step in protecting all students and student groups on campus.”