University of Maryland SJP chapter gets go-ahead for Oct. 7 event, despite initial cancellation

The University of Maryland chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine can proceed with a campus demonstration on the first anniversary of the Oct. 7 terror attacks in Israel, after a federal judge on Tuesday ruled that the group “has demonstrated a substantial likelihood that it will prevail [in its lawsuit] on the merits of its freedom of speech claim.”

The ruling from U.S. District Judge Peter J. Messitte came after the university, which had initially OK’d the rally, reversed course last month and canceled it, prompting the SJP lawsuit stating that its First Amendment rights had been violated.

In a statement, UMD, which has one of the largest Jewish student populations in the country — nearly 20% of the College Park undergraduate student body of more than 30,000 is Jewish — said that it “recognizes, and will abide by, the court’s decision, and will work with all registered student organizers of events requested for October 7.”

The statement continued, “Event organizers, campus officials and UMPD will implement a plan that allows all events to proceed in accordance with the court’s ruling. Notwithstanding today’s court ruling, the safety concerns that were raised remain a source of ongoing attention and focus for us.”

UMD said that in compliance with the court’s decision, “we will now move forward with the events, addressing those concerns and challenges with care and caution, including the implementation of a robust safety plan. This includes enhanced staffing and resources with a strong security presence.” 

SJP told the Washington Post that it will go ahead with Monday’s demonstration, with a member of the group saying they were “relieved to have the chance to actually put on this event.” In July, the UMD chapter of SJP said that it “unequivocally states that the Zionist state of Israel has no right to exist.” In a separate social media post the group said that it “openly supports armed struggle.” 

Ari Israel, executive director of UMD Hillel, told Jewish Insider on Tuesday that he is “deeply disappointed that SJP will hold an event on the university’s largest convening space on Oct. 7, the one-year mark of the largest attack on Jews since the Holocaust.” 

“We will not let this setback interfere with our plans to commemorate Oct. 7,” Israel said, noting that student leaders are finalizing plans to organize education and awareness events on campus during the day, including setting up a square to honor the 101 hostages that remain in Hamas captivity. In the evening, Israel said the “College Park mishpacha” will gather at the Hillel center. He added that Hillel is working closely with UMPD. “Now, more than ever,” Israel continued, “we will come together as a community to support our Jewish students at UMD, and the strength, courage and resilience they have displayed over the past 12 months.” 

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore also condemned the court’s decision “allowing the protest to proceed,” he said in a statement to JI. Moore said that while he “deeply respect[s] the rule of law and due process, I think Oct. 7 is an inappropriate date for such an event.” 

Moore added that the state of Maryland will work with “local and university leaders to ensure” the safety of students. 

“We know that what happens around the world has direct implications on the Maryland community,” Moore continued. “I’ve been clear — everyone in Maryland has the right to peacefully protest, to voice their opinions. But no one has the right to call for violence against each other. Terrorists target civilians, and that’s what Hamas did a year ago on Oct 7. And that’s what that day should be remembered as — a heinous terrorist attack on Israel that took innocent lives.” 

The lawsuit, jointly filed by the Council on American-Islamic Relations and Palestine Legal on behalf of UMD SJP on Sept. 17, came as a response to the university reversing course last month on its initial allowance of Oct. 7 events on campus. At the time, the UMD President Darryll Pines wrote in a university-wide letter that the decision was made following a “safety assessment.” 

UMD originally granted SJP a permit in August to hold the Oct. 7 demonstration on the campus’s central McKeldin Mall, prompting swift backlash and calls from campus groups including Hillel and the Jewish Student Union — and from former Maryland GOP Gov. Larry Hogan, who is running for the Senate — for the school to reverse course. After the decision was reversed, several local lawmakers, including Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) supported the university’s decision to “preserve this day as a day of reflection.” 

On Tuesday, asked about his reaction to the court decision, Van Hollen did not address the question in a statement to JI. “October 7th was one of the darkest days in our recent history — it is a day for solemn reflection, mourning the lives lost, and remembering the hostages seized,” Van Hollen said. 

Hogan told JI that it is “unacceptable that Jewish students still feel unsafe and face antisemitism on their own campuses.” 

“That’s why I immediately spoke out against this disgraceful anti-Israel event, and I will continue to stand in solidarity with the UMD Jewish community,” he said. 

Angela Alsobrooks, Hogan’s Democratic opponent in the Senate race, said in a separate statement to JI that it is her “understanding that the university considered the safety of its students in its initial decision.”

“And as I stated then, I agreed with that decision,” Alsobrooks said. “Oct. 7 is a solemn day. To have it as a day of remembrance, I think, is important. I know too that the right to protest is foundational to our nation and that right must be protected. And it is my hope that given this court’s decision, any such protests will be conducted peacefully.”

University of Maryland reverses decision to allow Oct. 7 anti-Israel protest on campus

Following pressure from Jewish groups at the University of Maryland, the administration reversed course on Sunday and canceled an anti-Israel rally slated for the first anniversary of the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks. 

But the policy reversal was met with mixed reactions from Jewish leaders on the College Park campus, who simultaneously applauded the decision while also “requesting a more complete response” from the university — especially a better understanding of “how to identify antisemitism.”  

UMD initially granted the campus group Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) a permit last month to hold the Oct. 7 demonstration on the campus’s central McKeldin Mall, prompting swift backlash and calls from campus groups including Hillel and the Jewish Student Union — and from former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, who’s running for the Senate — for the school to reverse course. 

On Sunday, in a letter from university President Darryll Pines, the university announced it had canceled the event. Pines wrote that the decision was made following a “safety assessment,” which, he added, did not identify any threats to the campus. He did not, however, specifically address the Jewish community, which has faced unprecedented levels of antisemitism on college campuses nationwide — often related to SJP demonstrations — since Oct. 7.  

“Given the overwhelming outreach, from multiple perspectives, I requested a routine targeted safety assessment for this day to understand the risks and safety measures associated with planned events,” Pines wrote. “UMPD [University of Maryland Police Department] has assured me that there is no immediate or active threat to prompt this assessment, but the assessment is a prudent and preventive measure that will assist us to keep our safety at the forefront.”

“Jointly, out of an abundance of caution, we concluded to host only university-sponsored events that promote reflection on this day,” he continued, adding that “all other expressive events” will be held prior to Oct. 7 and permitted to continue on Oct. 8. 

The decision from Pines came following a letter, signed by tens of thousands of members and allies of the broader University of Maryland Jewish community, co-authored by Gilad Chen, an associate dean for research in UMD’s Robert H. Smith School of Business, and a parent of a sophomore at the university. On Monday, Chen co-penned a follow-up letter, addressed to Pines and Chancellor Jay Perman, expressing several concerns regarding the statement that canceled the SJP event.

“While we were relieved to learn yesterday that UMD will not allow SJP to rally on our campus on October 7, we respectfully request a more complete response to our letter from last Friday,” Chen wrote. The letter goes on to claim that Pines’ statement shows an “apparent lack of understanding by UMD regarding Jewish identity and how to identify antisemitism.” 

The letter also states that UMD is lacking in “clear guidelines for the UMD community at large as to what actions and speech contribute to a hostile environment for the Jewish community on campus,” as well as “enforceable policies and procedures for protecting the Jewish community from hate and a hostile environment on the UMD campus.” 

Chen told Jewish Insider that because the cancellation states that no events — other than university-sponsored ones — can occur on Oct. 7, it sets a standard that there is “a comparison between the Jewish organizations gathering to mark Oct. 7 and an SJP rally.” 

In a joint statement, Maryland Hillel and the Jewish Student Union echoed that “only university-sponsored events will occur on Oct. 7,” calling that decision “not an ideal situation,” but also noting that “it ensures that our physical and psychological safety is protected on this day of grief.” It has not been announced whether the university will hold its own event to mark Oct. 7, but Hillel on campus said it plans to hold an event to memorialize “the atrocities of Oct. 7.” 

Despite criticism that Pines’ language did not convey the magnitude of trauma that Oct. 7 — and the subsequent rise of antisemitism — has caused for Jewish students, Maryland Hillel and JSU, as well as Maryland elected officials, commended the restriction of anti-Israel events held on Oct. 7.

“We are reassured to learn that SJP will no longer be permitted to host their event on McKeldin Mall, or anywhere, on campus, on Oct. 7,” the groups wrote in a joint statement. 

Hogan, a Republican, wrote on X that “university officials are right to reverse their inexplicable decision to allow a major anti-Israel protest on October 7th. Antisemitic bigotry has no place in our state, and especially on our college campuses.” 

Hogan, who was the first Maryland leader to release a statement urging for the Oct. 7 event to be called off, called for “more to be done to ensure Jewish students can feel safe on their own campuses.” 

“Hogan will never hesitate to call out antisemitic hate and that’s why he condemned the despicable protest scheduled for Oct. 7,” Blake Kernen, a spokesperson for Hogan’s Senate campaign, told JI.

Angela Alsobrooks, Hogan’s Democratic opponent in the Senate race, initially didn’t provide a comment when JI reached out to her spokesperson. 

After the story’s publication, the Alsobrooks spokesperson reached out to JI with a statement in support of UMD’s decision to cancel the anti-Israel protest.

“I’m the mother of a 19-year-old daughter, so I can tell you that I agree with the parents and families who want nothing more than for all of our kids to be safe on college campuses; to feel safe and to actually be safe,” Alsobrooks said in the statement. “I know the University considered the safety of its students in its decision. I do agree with the decision. I think that October 7 is a solemn day. To have it as a day of remembrance, I think, is important.”

“I know too that the right to protest is foundational to our nation and that right must be protected. But I am unequivocal that any such protest must not call for violence or target any groups of people. Full stop,” she added.

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, a Democrat, in a statement to JI, said that “everyone in Maryland has the right to peacefully protest, to voice their opinions, but not to call for violence against each other and it is my expectation that any demonstration at the University of Maryland follows that very ideal.”

“I’ve led soldiers in combat. I’ve seen not just the direct impacts of terrorism, but also the collateral damage it leaves. Terrorists target civilians, and that’s what Hamas did on October 7th. And, that’s what that day should be remembered as, a terrorist attack that took innocent lives.” 

Moore continued, “If you stand with Israel, you stand against Hamas. And if you stand with the Palestinian people and their right to self-determination, you stand against Hamas too. We must strive to achieve a permanent cease-fire that brings home the hostages, that ends the suffering of innocent Palestinian civilians, and leads to a permanent peace.” 

In a statement to JI, Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) said: “October 7th marks one of the darkest days in our recent history — we must never forget the lives that were taken and the hostages seized by the brutal Hamas terrorist attacks. I support the University of Maryland’s decision to preserve this day as a day of reflection. We must immediately bring home the hostages and end this war.”

With one of the largest Jewish student populations in the country — nearly 20% of the College Park undergraduate student body of more than 30,000 is Jewish — UMD has largely avoided egregious episodes of antisemitism that have occurred on many campuses. But Einav Tsach, a junior studying journalism and marketing who leads Mishelanu, an on-campus Israeli-American cultural association, told JI that in recent months, “SJP has taken on a larger and more noticeable presence and that is impacting Jewish students.” 

On Monday, SJP UMD wrote on Instagram that it will still “find ways to honor the martyrs of this genocide and mark one year of resistance” on Oct. 7. 

“They’ve worsened their rhetoric in the past year,” Tsach continued, pointing to the group’s July statement that it “unequivocally states that the Zionist state of Israel has no right to exist,” and another social media post that “openly supports armed struggle.” 

“Those are things that are very alienating to Jewish students,” Tsach said, adding that he is “thankful for the direct outcome of the letter, which is that SJP cannot hold a rally on a day of immense suffering for the Jewish people.” 

While Tsach said he hoped Pines’ letter would “get more into the specifics of what happened on Oct. 7 and reassure that it’s a day of mourning,” at the same time the university has “made every effort to hear from us and be in touch with us, with Pines attending our vigil on Oct. 9 last year.”

University administrators on high alert for Gaza protests at upcoming graduations

At last month’s Honors Convocation at the University of Michigan, one of the first events of the school’s spring graduation festivities, President Santa Ono — dressed in full academic regalia — stepped up to the stage to address the university’s soon-to-be graduates.

Almost immediately, a chorus of boos broke out. Several dozen students rose, holding signs that read “Free Palestine” and “Ceasefire Now.” Ono was at the lectern for less than two minutes before he sat down, unable to continue speaking over the students’ shouting. The ceremony ended abruptly, and early. 

The event highlights the challenge universities face as they prepare for the prospect of anti-Israel protests at university graduations across the country this spring. While the frequency of protests has diminished since last fall, fallout over the Israel-Hamas war continues to roil U.S. campuses. That university administrators have responded to protests that violate campus policies, such as the one at Michigan, with inconsistent enforcement of university codes of conduct raises questions about how they will handle similarly disruptive actions at graduation events. 

Although no protests have been announced yet, some campus activists are already calling on pro-Palestinian supporters to wear keffiyehs and bring Palestinian flags to graduation. But whether graduating students are willing to disrupt graduation ceremonies to make a political statement, as they did at Michigan — and risk being kicked out of the event — remains to be seen. 

“There’s a rich, long tradition of students especially, but sometimes guests, engaging in protests in commencement exercises,” said Mark Rotenberg, vice president for university initiatives and general counsel at Hillel International, which has been advising university administrators about heading off disruptive protests.

Usually, students who want to make a point at graduation do so silently. Often, they write a political message on their cap or turn their backs to object to a particular speaker. Sometimes they hold up signs, such as last year at Howard University, where 12 students silently protested President Joe Biden’s address with posters that said things like, “Biden and [Vice President Kamala] Harris don’t care about Black people.”

Occasionally, they even stage a silent walkout, such as students at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va., last year who protested Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin, who delivered the commencement address. The phenomenon is widespread enough that, in 2014, CNN published an op-ed about “the smarter way to protest college speakers,” after three universities reversed course and changed their commencement speakers to respond to student backlash.

Many schools have not yet named commencement speakers for their 2024 graduations. But so far, it appears that prominent universities are choosing not to tap political or controversial speakers to deliver the commencement address.

“You just see people invite the most bland, noncontroversial, I guess, or non-political speakers out there. People like Donald Trump, or Joe Biden, or other controversial figures don’t really get invited anymore to these events,” said Zach Greenberg, senior program officer at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression. Notre Dame students walked out during former Vice President Mike Pence’s speech in 2017. (The White House and the State Department did not respond to requests for comment asking if Biden, Harris, Secretary of State Tony Blinken or other senior administration officials had been invited to deliver any commencement addresses this year.)

There’s also a possibility that graduation speakers — either invited guests or student speakers who were selected by the university — may decide to use the opportunity to make a political point. Recent student speakers at the City University of New York’s law school graduation condemned Zionism in their speeches. The university responded by entirely eliminating student speakers from its official commencement events. (A CUNY spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment about its plans for graduation this year.)

“Many universities will say to the student speakers who are invited to speak at commencement, ‘You’re not supposed to speak about controversial political topics in your speech,’” said Rotenberg, a former general counsel at Johns Hopkins University and the University of Minnesota. “They’ll say that because the intention of the event, the purpose of your being invited to speak, is not to offer your own personal views on politics but to celebrate the graduation of your peers.” That doesn’t mean the students always listen. 

“The real concern,” Rotenberg added, “is that there will be disruptions so that a congressman, for example, can’t give his speech, or an honorary degree recipient cannot receive their degree, because they are tenured at an Israeli institution of higher education, or that other Israelis in attendance will be badgered, harassed or even attacked.” 

In recent months, university enforcement of policies regarding disruptive protests that attempt to shut down speakers has been lackluster and uneven. While speaking at the University of Maryland, Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) was shouted down by hecklers who called him “complicit in genocide.” 

“What you saw play out actually was democracy and free speech and academic freedom,” UMD President Darryll Pines, who attended the event and made the decision to shut it down, said later. When asked whether vocal protestors would also be allowed to disrupt the school’s graduation ceremonies, a university spokesperson shared a link to a Monday email from the school’s general counsel outlining UMD’s free expression policy. 

“No person may intentionally and substantially interfere with the lawful freedom of expression of others,” the email said. The spokesperson did not say whether the actions of the students who shouted down Raskin violated the code of conduct, and if similar activities would be tolerated at graduation. 

When reached for comment, several prominent universities directed Jewish Insider to their schools’ codes of conduct. All of them agreed that disruptive protests are not permitted at graduation, although they declined to share specifics about their plans for any potential disruptions, citing security concerns.

“We are well aware there is a possibility of disruption,” said Dan Mogulof, assistant vice chancellor for executive communications at the University of California, Berkeley. “There is a distinct line and difference between nonviolent protest that does not interfere with the rights of others — including the right to participate in and/or attend a graduation ceremony — and impermissible actions that violate the rights of others.” 

The University of Virginia plans to have “designated areas outside the ticketed event space for protest activity to occur during official ceremonies,” a university spokesperson said. Official events and ceremonies are ticketed. “Protest activity must not block access to the event or use amplified sound.”

Graduation ceremonies are usually the biggest events that universities organize each year, and the culmination of students’ experiences on campus. Dignitaries — politicians, trustees, donors, prominent alumni — are in attendance, putting the schools under more intense scrutiny. That’s a big difference from student-run events where security protocols might be unclear, or where administrators may choose not to enforce campus rules.

“They’re not really prepared for addressing heckler’s vetoes and event disruptions,” said FIRE’s Greenberg. “For commencement, it’s a very well-planned large event and universities take great pains to ensure it goes smoothly. So I think because of the preparation, because due to the large police presence there and just the sheer number of people, any disruption to the event, whether it’s the speaker or to the audience, tends to be addressed pretty quickly.” 

Chris Booker, director of media and public relations at The Ohio State University, said the large number of attendees at graduations means “there is always a potential for a disruption. It has always been a part of the university’s standard comprehensive preparedness plan to employ heightened safety, security, and crowd and audience management measures for commencement.” 

Citing new campus policies announced in January to combat antisemitism, a spokesperson for American University asserted that indoor protests are not allowed on campus. “This includes commencement,” said Matthew Bennett, vice president and chief communications officer. “Violations of the directives or other university policies are subject to disciplinary action.”

Stacy Wagner, a University of Colorado Boulder spokesperson, said that “interference, obstruction, or disruption of CU Boulder activity” are violations of the student code of conduct. “Any student found responsible for violating the Student Code of Conduct will be subject to appropriate sanctions.” 

Neither Bennett, Wagner or the other university administrators contacted by JI shared how violations would be handled, and what “disciplinary action” might entail. 

Universities “sometimes are a little squeamish,” Rotenberg pointed out, “about being completely candid about what are the consequences for violating these rules.”