Members of the University of Colorado Boulder’s Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) group recently filed a lawsuit against the university for having disciplined anti-Israel students after an allegedly disruptive protest.
Students Max Inman and Mari Rosenfeld were excluded from campus “on an interim basis” due to their actions during the demonstration, according to the lawsuit, which they filed on Jan. 13.
The protest in question occurred on Oct. 3, when SJP activists used a bullhorn in the middle of a career fair to demand divestment from companies that have connections to Israel. The lawsuit describes the events of the demonstration that led to the exclusion from campus.
“Plaintiff Inman made an announcement using his bullhorn, saying that ‘there are corporations profiting from the genocide in Palestine here today,’” the lawsuit reads.
“A nearby person in the crowd responded to Plaintiff Inman’s announcement, stating that it was a ‘professional space’ and indicating that the SJP members should leave,” the suit continues. “Plaintiff Inman responded that it was ‘not very professional to kill children.’”
“Despite its desire to comply with the University’s policies, SJP has been subject to extreme monitoring by the administration and abundant security presence at its planned events in an effort to minimize the reach of SJP’s protest activities,” the document affirms.
In a recent statement, Rosenfeld accused Israel of “[slaughtering] innocent families,” described Israel as an “apartheid state,” and said that the country’s actions “dishonor the Jewish people,” according to The Denver Post.
“Once it has been served, the campus must review it and determine the appropriate course of action,” a CU Boulder spokesperson told CPR News about the lawsuit. “As such, we are unable to comment further at this time.”
In June, a group of anti-Israel protesters targeted the private home of CU Regent Illana Spiegel, demanding that the university divest from companies that have financial ties to Israel.
“Targeting me and my family, American Jews and descendants of Holocaust survivors at my personal home is un-American,” Spiegel said following the incident. “It was and is blatant, brazen and dangerous antisemitism, which we as Americans cannot tolerate.”
In September, CU Regent Mark VanDriel proposed removing the school’s protections for anonymous speech, which he believed was used to protect anti-Semites.
“Using university resources to promote antisemitism is wrong,” Regent Spiegel remarked at the time about the issue. “If the current policy allows that, the policy is wrong and needs to be changed. If the policy does not allow it and is violated, there need to be consequences.”
Campus Reform has contacted the University of Colorado Boulder for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
This article was originally published at campusreform.org
