Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’s administration has ordered state universities to ban a pro-Palestinian student organization, claiming it supports Hamas, the militant group that recently attacked Israel. The move by Florida goes beyond censuring students expressing solidarity with Palestinians and accuses Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) of backing a terrorist organization. State university system Chancellor Ray Rodrigues wrote to university presidents instructing them to disband SJP chapters, citing Florida law that criminalizes support for designated foreign terrorist organizations. The U.S. State Department has designated Hamas as a terrorist group, and the European Union and other Western countries share this view.
Governor DeSantis, who is running for president, has intensified his pro-Israel stance since the Hamas attacks in southern Israel that led to global pro- and anti-Israel demonstrations. DeSantis has shown support for Israel by sending supplies and facilitating the return of Floridians from Israel. He has also called for a special legislative session to impose sanctions on Iran, which supports Hamas, though no evidence implicating Iran in the attacks has been presented.
Students for Justice in Palestine has been present on U.S. campuses for many years, advocating for Palestinian liberation and calling for boycotts against Israel. The group is part of a broader campus movement known as BDS, which advocates for the boycott, divestment, and sanction of Israel based on its treatment of Palestinians.
The ban on SJP by Florida is being criticized as an effort to suppress freedom of speech on campuses. Palestine Legal, a group that supports pro-Palestinian groups, argues that this move is part of a broader pattern by Governor DeSantis to undermine education, freedom of speech, and social justice movements. Florida has previously limited discussions of race in schools, restricted spending on diversity programs at its universities, and taken other actions that critics say limit free speech on campuses.
The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, a free speech group, has called Florida’s directive unconstitutional and dangerous, arguing that the government lacks the legal authority to force colleges to disband SJP chapters. The ban reportedly followed a switch in presidential endorsement by the only Jewish Republican in the state Legislature, who claimed DeSantis failed to back up his pro-Israel stance with action.
Several student groups, including Students for Justice in Palestine, called for a national student walkout to protest Israeli attacks on Gaza and U.S. financial support for Israel. The walkouts were planned at universities from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst to the University of California, Los Angeles.
