The Silencing of Palestinian Students in Israeli Universities

In the aftermath of October 7, Palestinian students at Israeli higher education institutions quickly faced attacks for their social media posts. These attacks, coordinated between Israeli government officials, Israeli institutions, and far-right groups, targeted students who expressed dissent against Israel's attacks on Gaza. This led to the expulsion or suspension of students for alleged violations of university codes of conduct. In other cases, students faced criminal charges, while others were physically attacked in their dorms. It's important to note that these measures were taken while the universities were out of session, in fact, before the semester had begun, and were based solely on social media posts, unrelated to any campus activities. Some of the so-called offensive posts involved students liking or sharing a post, sometimes providing context to the October 7 events or expressing solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza. In some instances, students posted calls to end Israel's attacks, while others were unrelated, such as posting verses from the Quran. In most cases, fellow students reported these posts, and the repressive measures extended beyond just these actions. Host Diana Buttu speaks with Adi Mansour, a lawyer at Adalah, a civil rights organization for Palestinians in Israel. Adalah has represented more than 120 students facing disciplinary measures, yet there are hundreds more affected. Adi discusses with us the measures imposed on these students, the coordinated campaign against them, and the reasons behind it. We also explore the actions, or rather the inactions, of universities in addressing genocidal speech against Palestinians.