As the war between Israel and Hamas intensifies, many universities are embroiled in often bitter debates over how to deal with pro-Palestinian student protests.
Many Jewish students and alumni fear the demonstrations could turn anti-Semitic. Advocates of academic freedom and students and faculty critical of Israel's policies toward Palestine counter that the real goal is to suppress their political views.
The Education Department's Office for Civil Rights has opened dozens of investigations into allegations of anti-Semitism in colleges and K-12 schools, a significant increase from the previous year. The Republican-led House Education and Labor Committee has also launched investigations into six schools and held public hearings, one of which led to the resignation of the presidents of Harvard University and the University of Pennsylvania.
On Wednesday, the committee will hear testimony from the president and trustees of Columbia University, another school embroiled in the protests.
Here's what you need to know about how these issues are happening on campus.
How the conflict started.
Over the weekend after the Oct. 7 Hamas attack in Israel, a Harvard student coalition calling itself the Harvard Palestine Solidarity Group issued a public statement saying the Israeli regime is “fully responsible for all the ongoing violence.” A letter was published.
Despite the outcry from alumni and donors over the letter, Harvard's new president, Claudine Gay, initially did not strongly condemn the Hamas attack, prompting the university to fill in the blanks with the students' letter and clarify the university's position. There have been complaints that it appears to represent the
At the University of Pennsylvania, discussions about anti-Semitism on campus have been disrupted, with some prominent donors and alumni calling on the administration to cancel or strongly denounce a Palestinian writers' conference on campus. It started before the Hamas attack.
Penn President Elizabeth McGill at the time rejected the proposal on free speech grounds, but acknowledged that some of the speakers had a history of making statements that could be considered anti-Semitic.
Anger among some Penn alumni grew after the Hamas attack. Critics accused the university of failing to provide Jewish students and alumni with a public statement condemning the attack sooner. And the university's response reinforced the feeling among some alumni that the university was not sensitive to what they saw as rising anti-Semitism. Many people announced that they would refrain from donating. Some called for new leadership.
But for others watching the conflict, the campaign was disturbing. Critics, particularly among faculty, accused alumni of censoring their views and intervening inappropriately in academic affairs, who they argued had no use for them.
The war in Gaza divides the campus.
As the conflict between Israel and Hamas escalated, so did the conflict on campus.
Hundreds of people took part in competing pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian demonstrations at Columbia University in October, prompting school administrators to close the campus to the public. The faculty members exchanged open letters, often with barbs.
At Harvard University, a student involved in an anti-Israel letter following a Hamas attack was detained.
At Northwestern University, students took part in a rally to accuse President Michael H. Schill of complicity in the killing of Palestinians in Gaza. At George Washington University, students projected slogans such as “Glory to the Martyrs” onto the walls of the building.
And at Brown University, 20 students were arrested in November after holding a sit-in demanding a ceasefire and divestment from arms manufacturers. Students were also arrested at a pro-Palestinian protest at the University of Michigan.
Hillel, a Jewish campus group, and the Council on American-Islamic Relations, an Arab-Muslim civil rights group, have both recorded an increase in the number of bias incidents on campus.
Congressional hearings spark outrage.
Nothing heightened the debate more than the December 5th Congressional hearing between the presidents of Harvard, MIT, and the University of Pennsylvania. Asked whether students would face sanctions if they called for genocide against Jews, presidents infamously said it would depend on the circumstances.
Their lawful and calm response caused an uproar and led to widespread condemnation. Dr. Gay and Ms. McGill never recovered from their testimony and resigned under pressure.
How does the school deal with protests?
Despite concerns about free speech, there are signs that some universities are beginning to crack down on pro-Palestinian protests and events.
The most prominent pro-Palestinian campus group, Students for Justice in Palestine, has been suspended from at least four universities, including Columbia University, Brandeis University, George Washington University, and Rutgers University.
Vanderbilt recently expelled three students for occupying the administration building.
The University of Southern California announced Monday that it has canceled plans to give a commencement speech by this year's valedictorian, Asna Tabassum, who is Muslim. The school cited safety concerns, but Muslim civil rights groups denounced the decision as censorship.
After student protests disrupted the commencement ceremony for top-performing students, University of Michigan officials submitted a proposal to ban activities that disrupt “the celebrations, activities, and operations of the university.” Michigan President Santa J. Ono called the demonstrations “unacceptable.”
The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan expressed concern in a statement, saying this proposal and other actions “censored, suppressed, and punished student speech and advocacy related to the ongoing crisis in Palestine and Israel.”