Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida and the University System of Florida recently banned a student group called Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP). The pro-Palestinian group has shown solidarity with Hamas in its conflict with Israel. It has also been organizing anti-Israel protests at universities across the U.S. Is cancelling this group the correct approach?
I have always been leery when a group in power limits the speech of a minority group whether I agree with that group’s beliefs or not. If we can ban a group for speech we don’t like, what’s to prevent another group from banning our speech in the future?
I’m certainly not defending SJP. For me, the argument that “It’s really Israel’s fault that we were forced to kill those innocent people” is like the abusive husband saying, “I didn’t want to hit her, but she made me.” Hamas launched rockets on October 7 that killed 1,300 civilians, as well as taking 150 hostages. This was a coordinated attack that required sophisticated planning. It’s hard for me to understand how anyone could celebrate the loss of life the way SJP and similar groups have. Nor do I see how these acts of violence are ultimately going to contribute to the Palestinian cause.
Palestinians living in Gaza do have some legitimate complaints that deserve to be heard. Unfortunately, Gaza is controlled by Hamas, a group that has not shown any willingness or ability to negotiate. They won’t be satisfied until Israel is completely overrun and in the control of Islamists. They delegitimatize their arguments with their behaviors.
Also unfortunately, the nature of these types of conflicts forces us to choose sides. Most of the west sides with Israel. They (and I) agree with a quote I’ve seen attributed to both Golda Meir and Benjamin Netanyahu recently, “If the Arabs put down their weapons today, there would be no more violence. If the Jews put down their weapons today, there would be no more Israel.” Student groups like SJP and others, like Reps Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib, believe Israel is the aggressor since they have occupied what is modern-day Israel since 1947 (with a few boundary shifts along the way) and was established as an extension of European colonialism. European colonialism is the root of all evil for advocates of Black Lives Matter, the 1619 Project, DEI initiatives, as well as the Palestinian “liberators.”
So, back to the question. Is it right for the state of Florida and potentially other universities to remove the recognition of SJP as a student group? The logical answer is this: do not disband this or any other group for their beliefs or their peaceful protests supporting their beliefs, even if we find those beliefs distasteful. I addressed this in a previous article about Civil Disobedience. But we should hold them accountable for their behaviors. SJP has a reputation of disrupting pro-Israeli events in similar ways that Antifa or climate change activists disrupt events or speakers they don’t like. Peaceful protest is always acceptable. Violence, destruction of property or violating the rights of other groups to be heard is always unacceptable. If the group is linked to any of these three violations, there should be discipline. But not for simply believing something many of us find repugnant.
Hamas justifies its continued violence against Jews by dehumanizing Jews in their rhetoric. Supporters of Israel, including Benjamin Netanyahu, describe Hamas as “animals” to justify their retaliatory violence. Both Jews (in Israel or anywhere in the world) and Arabs (in Lebanon, Gaza, the Golan Heights or anywhere in the world) are humans who deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. If we can start with that presupposition and allow people to try to win the war of ideas with words and logic rather than weapons, we can make a better world. Banning SJP and other groups from speaking only means they’ll look for other ways to be heard. And they will see violence as a viable option. DeSantis is wrong.