Current:Home > StocksFlorida orders state universities to disband pro-Palestinian student group, saying it backs Hamas-LoTradeCoin
Florida orders state universities to disband pro-Palestinian student group, saying it backs Hamas
View Date:2024-12-23 21:02:29
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s administration is linking a pro-Palestinian student organization to terrorism and is ordering state universities to ban the group from campuses, saying it illegally backs Hamas militants who attacked Israel earlier this month.
As Israel’s attacks on Gaza have intensified, some college students have expressed solidarity with Palestinians, resulting in swift censure from some Jewish academics and even some prospective employers. But Florida has gone further, taking the extraordinary step of saying Students for Justice in Palestine is supporting a “terrorist organization.”
State university system Chancellor Ray Rodrigues wrote to university presidents Tuesday at Gov. Ron DeSantis’ urging, directing them to disband chapters of SJP after the national group took the position that “Palestinian students in exile are PART of this movement, not in solidarity with this movement.”
“It is a felony under Florida law to ‘knowingly provide material support ... to a designated foreign terrorist organization,’” Rodrigues said in the letter.
The U.S. State Department designated Hamas a terrorist group in 1997.
DeSantis has ramped up his pro-Israel stance since the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks in southern Israel, which led to pro- and anti-Israel demonstrations around the world and prompted Israel to respond with airstrikes. The governor has sent planes to Israel to provide supplies and return Floridians there who want to come back.
He also is supporting a special legislative session to impose new sanctions on Iran, which supports Hamas, and to express support for Israel. So far, no government has presented evidence that Iran was directly involved in carrying out the attacks.
Students for Justice in Palestine has been on U.S. campuses for decades, with frequent protests calling for the liberation of Palestinians and boycotts against Israel. The loosely connected network says it has more than 200 chapters across the United States.
Palestine Legal, a group that provides legal support for pro-Palestinian groups, said the ban on SJP is part of a broader effort by DeSantis to suppress freedom of speech on campuses.
“Florida, particularly under the leadership of Governor Ron DeSantis, has been actively undermining education, freedom of speech and social justice movements, including by banning anti-racist courses and trying to criminalize protests. It is not surprising that this egregious move to silence the student movement for Palestinian rights is being pursued under DeSantis,” it said Wednesday in a statement.
SJP has played a central role in a campus movement known as BDS, calling for the boycott, divestment and sanction of Israel over its treatment of Palestinians. The national group didn’t immediately reply to an email seeking comment.
The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, a free speech group, called Florida’s directive unconstitutional and dangerous and said the government does not have the legal authority to force colleges to ban SJP chapters.
“If it goes unchallenged, no one’s political beliefs will be safe from government suppression,” the group said in a statement.
The ban came after the only Jewish Republican in the state Legislature switched his support in the presidential election from DeSantis to former President Donald Trump, saying DeSantis doesn’t back up his pro-Israel words with action.
Rep. Randy Fine, who has advised DeSantis on Israel and Jewish policy, said he had called on the administration to take action against the student group but there was none until he released a strongly worded op-ed explaining his decision to switch his endorsement.
“It shouldn’t have taken me endorsing Trump to make it happen. I was begging them for two weeks and was just getting the Heisman at every turn,” Fine said, referring to the college football trophy depicting a player holding his arm out to fend off opponents.
The governor’s office said the ban was in the works for more than a week, however.
“The action, taken by the administration had nothing to do with Representative Fine. Any implication otherwise is nothing more than political grandstanding. Randy Fine is not the center of our universe,” DeSantis spokesman Jeremy Redfern said via email.
Students for Justice in Palestine and several other groups called for a national student walkout on college campuses Wednesday to demand an end to Israeli attacks on Gaza and to U.S. financial backing for Israel. Walkouts were planned campuses from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, to the University of California, Los Angeles.
___
Binkley reported from Washington, D.C.
veryGood! (47)
Related
- Cavaliers' Darius Garland rediscovers joy for basketball under new coach
- How John Krasinski's Elevator Ride Led to Emily Blunt’s Oppenheimer Casting
- Sink Your Teeth Into These Juicy Secrets About The Vampire Diaries
- Carlee Russell's disappearance was 'hoax'; charges possible, police say
- TikToker Campbell “Pookie” Puckett Gives Birth, Welcomes First Baby With Jett Puckett
- Coast Guard rescues 2 from capsized boat off Georgia coast
- Savannah Chrisley Slams Rumored Documentary About Parents Todd & Julie's Imprisonment
- These $24 Pants Have the Sophistication of Trousers and Comfort of Sweatpants
- Taylor Swift Politely Corrects Security’s Etiquette at Travis Kelce’s Chiefs Game
- Bodybuilder Justyn Vicky Dead at 33 After 450-Pound Barbell Falls on His Neck
Ranking
- Father sought in Amber Alert killed by officer, daughter unharmed after police chase in Ohio
- Victoria Beckham Performs a Spice Girls Song With David Beckham and Teases More to Come
- How the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team Captured Our Hearts
- Amy Schumer Reacts to Barbie Movie After Dropping Out of Earlier Version
- Outgoing North Carolina governor grants 2 pardons, 6 commutations
- Love Island U.K.'s Molly-Mae Hague and Tommy Fury Engaged After Welcoming Baby
- The Baffling Story of Teen Rudy Farias: Brainwashed at Home and Never Missing Amid 8-Year Search
- Saint West Can't Contain His Excitement During Kim Kardashian's Interview at Lionel Messi's MLS Debut
Recommendation
-
13 escaped monkeys still on the loose in South Carolina after 30 were recaptured
-
Savannah Chrisley Slams Rumored Documentary About Parents Todd & Julie's Imprisonment
-
These Shirtless Photos of Jeremy Allen White Will Have You Saying Yes Chef
-
RHONY's Luann de Lesseps Has the Best Reaction to Bethenny Frankel and Jill Zarin's Reunion
-
Beyoncé's Grammy nominations in country categories aren't the first to blur genre lines
-
Austin Peay State Football Player Jeremiah Collins Dead at 18
-
Tyra Banks Recreates Her Iconic Life-Size Character for Barbie Shout-Out
-
Influencer Christine Tran Ferguson Sends Message to Supporters After Death of 15-Month-Old Son