George Washington University has temporarily suspended the Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) group over its anti-Israel messaging on campus, The Hill reported.
The move comes after SJP projected anti-Israel messages on a campus library last month. In a Tuesday statement emailed to The Hill, the university said it “determined that SJP’s actions violated university policies.”
“As a result, effective immediately, the university has prohibited SJP from participating in activities on campus,” the statement continued.
“SJP cannot sponsor or organize on-campus activities on university property or use university facilities, including indoor and outdoor spaces available for reservation through the university; this prohibition is in effect for the next 90 days,” the statement said. “Also effective immediately, SJP is prohibited from posting communications on university property through May 20, 2024.”
Last month’s projections, which garnered national attention and backlash, included messages such as “Divestment from Zionist genocide now” and “Free Palestine From the River to the Sea.”
A representative for the SJP told the student newspaper The GW Hatchet that the university’s decision to bar the group from campus organizing was not a surprise.
“We see this very clearly as being a political response to a growing wave of backlash and repression towards Palestinian organizing, but specifically the Palestinian student movement that’s been happening the past few weeks,” the representative was quoted as having said.
With the move, George Washington University follows in the footsteps of several other universities that have recently barred SJP.
Columbia University announced last week it was suspending both SJP and Jewish Voice for Peace, citing “repeatedly violated University policies related to holding campus events.”
Previously, Brandeis University announced it is revoking recognition of the campus chapter of SJP, saying the group “openly supports Hamas”.
Florida’s public university system banned SJP in late October following a directive by Governor Ron DeSantis.