On Tuesday night around 8 p.m., hundreds of pro-Palestine types flocked to Yale’s Beinecke Plaza to protest the fact that Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir would “give a speech Wednesday to Shabtai, a Jewish society for Yale students that is not officially affiliated with the Ivy League school,” according to CNN.
The details of exactly what happened after that vary a little bit, depending on who you ask. I’m going to go with the Yale Daily News, which said that “By 9:30 p.m., protesters had erected eight tents, and the crowd had grown to around 200. ‘We’re here, and we’re staying the night,’ a protest organizer announced via megaphone. Organizers later announced just before 11:30 p.m. that the encampment would disband, citing threats of ‘retribution’ from administrators and encouraging students to rally at another protest on Wednesday.”
According to CNN, “Protesters were given cards with QR codes that linked to Yale University’s policies for peaceable assembly, such as keeping everyone physically safe, not blocking entrances and exits and no disruptions to the university’s operations.”
Those cards reportedly said, “Please stop your current action immediately. If you do not, you may risk university disciplinary action and/or arrest.”
“Yale’s policies require students to obtain prior written permission from administrators to place objects, such as tents, on campus spaces. Yale’s undergraduate regulations also state that social functions on University property must end by 11 p.m. on Sunday through Thursday nights,” Yale News Daily writes.
I know, I know — another day, another antisemitic protest on an Ivy League campus by people who seemingly have no jobs or other purpose in life. But what makes this one especially noteworthy is that it led to the university revoking Yalies4Palestine’s status as a registered student organization. That’s pretty big.
Yale Daily News points out that the group claims it wasn’t responsible for the Tuesday night protest, even though it encouraged people to join on social media: “In one Instagram Reel post, Yalies4Palestine captioned a video of the protest with the all-caps words ‘Repost! Share! Join the students!’ The group posted several videos of the crowd, which erected tents and announced their intention to stay on Beinecke Plaza overnight before ultimately dispersing after administrative warnings. It posted a video with the caption ‘HAPPENING NOW YALE STUDENTS RELAUNCH ENCAMPMENTS,’ and co-posted several videos with similar captions.”
The group also posted a picture of Ben Gvir’s face splattered with blood. You can check out the group’s Instagram page for yourself here.
Related: It’s Amazing What a Little White House Browbeating of Schools Will Do to Address Antisemitism
Yale issued a statement about the revocation that said in part:
This occurred only one day after Yalies4Palestine had met with Yale College officials to discuss recent policy violations and were warned that further violations would jeopardize the group’s privileges.
Because Yalies4Palestine has flagrantly violated the rules to which the Yale College Dean’s Office holds all registered student organizations, Yale College today notified Yalies4Palestine that the College is withdrawing its status as a registered student organization. Concerns have been raised about disturbing antisemitic conduct at the gathering. The university is investigating those concerns, as harassment and discrimination are antithetical to learning and scholarship. Yale condemns antisemitism and will hold those who violate our policies accountable through our disciplinary processes.
“Without a student organization designation, groups cannot reserve Yale spaces, request Yale funding, use the Yale name, participate in a student activities bazaar, or enjoy other privileges,” claims the Yale Daily News.
Yalies4Palestine responded with the following message: “Today, the Yale Administration revoked Yalies4Palestine’s status as an official student organization. Disbanding a group doesn’t stop a movement. They cannot silence us. FREE PALESTINE.”
The group has quite a problematic history that goes beyond the Tuesday night protest. Our own Stephen Green covered it last year, writing, “Yale University’s Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) group went to Instagram on Sunday to call on supporters to ‘escalate disruption’ in an ‘open intifada’ against the West. The local chapter, known as Yalies4Palestine, called for violent resistance ‘in every capital and city’ in America, Europe, and Israel.”
According to the Jewish News Syndicate, “Yalies4Palestine… justify terrorism against Israeli civilians, frame Israel’s existence as a colonial enterprise, accuse Israel of genocide, and urge divestment from the Jewish state.”
Recommended: Rubio: ‘Every Time I Find One of These Lunatics, I Take Away Their Visa’
The group isn’t exercising free speech; it’s calling for violence, and it’s beyond time the university does something to crack down, though I’m not sure they’re doing enough. They certainly weren’t doing much earlier this year.
In January, the group protested inside Yale’s Slifka Center for Jewish Life. It happened while former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett spoke on the second floor of the building. One student said that Jewish students who tried to film the protest were told by staff that they had to leave and some even had their phones taken away. Staff members reportedly even coerced the students into deleting anything they’d already filmed from their phones. Others said they felt the need to hide or retreat to the bathrooms.
BREAKING!
Yale’s Hillel, the Slifka Center, kicked out Pro Israel Jewish students last night for filming a Hillel sanctioned protest for Palestine inside the building! The protest was attended by members of Yalies4Palestine who were responsible for last year’s encampments at… pic.twitter.com/6G2ZAsVm5z
— Netanel Crispe (@NetanelCrispe) January 22, 2025
This is why I fully support Donald Trump, Marco Rubio, and the administration’s approach to cracking down on higher education institutions that have allowed this sort of thing to fester over the years and taking away the visas of foreign nationals who are in the middle of it. These people are a cancer on Western values and civilization.
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