Pitt considers sanctioning Students for Justice in Palestine
December event was catalyst for university's response
After nearly a year-and-a-half of anti-Israel and anti-Zionist protests, encampments and social media posts — including posts targeting the University of Pittsburgh — Students for Justice in Palestine at Pitt has caught the attention of the school’s administration. It’s simply not in the way they most likely intended.
SJP, which self-identifies as a group attempting to “provide the Pitt community with a better understanding of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict through advocacy, awareness and charity in the hopes of attaining peace in the region and freedom for the Palestinians,” drew the focus of university administrators following a “study-in” at Hillman Library, according to The Pitt News.
The December event was promoted on social media by SJP, as well as by other anti-Zionist and anti-Israeli groups like Pitt Divest from Apartheid and Jewish Voice for Peace Pittsburgh.
In a post since removed, SJP urged supporters to “Join us for a study session with your friends who support Palestine! The more the merrier!!! Come slay finals!!!!”
During the event, as university police attempted to have protesters leave the library, SJP created a multi-slide social media post titled “Pitt admin & police threaten students with arrest for studying.” The post contains video of an officer asking students to turn over their student IDs, leave or face possible arrest, and an unseen and unidentified person confronting a university official standing next to a second police officer.
The event and SJP’s online response were the catalysts for the university seeking to sanction the group. Proposed penalties include banning SJP from hosting, co-hosting or participating in events through May 5; placing the organization on probation through the end of 2025; and requiring club leaders to engage in a series of “educational conversations” to learn university event policies and leadership strategies, among other topics, according to The Pitt News, which reported that it had viewed SJP documents and emails.
A disciplinary conference was held on Jan. 22 and included SJP leaders and Director of Student Conduct Matthew Landy, who alleged that SJP, a registered student organization, failed to comply with the “lawful direction of a university official or other lawful authority having just cause and acting in the performance of their duties,” according to The Pitt News. Students at the study-in, the office of Student Conduct claimed, ignored requests by university staff and police to vacate the library.
A Feb. 4 hearing followed the conference.
Pitt spokesperson Jared Stonesifer said in an email to the Chronicle that the University of Pittsburgh aims to promote civic dialogue and uphold the constitutionally protected rights to freedom of speech and expression.
“We are committed to fostering an environment of respect and concern for others and unequivocally denounce antisemitism and all forms of hate,” he said.
The university, he noted, maintains the right to regulate and monitor the time, place and manner in which events, including demonstrations, may occur.
Before the Feb. 4 hearing, Pitt’s Student Government Board issued a Feb. 1 statement on Instagram standing by SJP. The statement said the board felt that the university “imposed undue expectations on undergraduate students. These include several ambiguous references to policy violations which students have been given minimal opportunity and incomplete time to complete their defense.”
SGB attempts to reframe the issue as one in which the university is attempting to flex its proverbial muscles against minorities, claiming that SJP is largely composed of “students of color, particularly Arabs and Palestinians. Historically persecuted groups such as Muslims, Jewish students, in addition to LGBTQIA+ students are a large percentage of the assembly.”
SGB “uplifts the voices of minoritized students and expects the University to do the same,” its statement continues, and calls on the university to reexamine its “conduct processes and surrounding communications. We believe communication between student organizations and administrative bodies should be handled with timeliness, transparency, and procedural cause to equitably provide all students with the tools they need to successfully engage in campus and academic life.”
Stonesifer said that “any assertion or suggestion that the University is not following its policies or procedures or has any bias in this student conduct hearing is baseless.”
Since becoming aware of Pitt’s attempts to sanction SJP, the group has taken to social media and claimed “In the past month, the University of Pittsburgh has forcibly relocated and defunded pro-Palestinian events under Zionist pressure. Now, it’s moving to effectively suspend SJP for the rest of the academic year.”
SJP also published a letter on Instagram signed by several other university and non-university groups demanding Pitt dismiss all disciplinary proceedings against SJP, be transparent in university conduct policies, show equitable application of these policies and “end the University’s suppression of Palestinian advocacy on campus.”
Despite possible sanctions against cosponsoring events, SJP nonetheless cosponsored a “Liberation Shabbat” on Jan 24 with Jewish Students Bund and Ratzon Pittsburgh.
A decision from the Feb. 4 hearing has not been announced. PJC
David Rullo can be reached at drullo@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.
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