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Pro-Palestine group disaffiliates from Tufts after being suspended until 2027
After an interim suspension earlier this fall, Tufts Students for Justice in Palestine was dealt a full suspension for repeatedly violating university policy.
Tufts University officially suspended a pro-Palestine student organization through January 2027, prompting the group to announce its “formal break and disaffiliation” from the university last week.
Tufts Students for Justice in Palestine has frequently sought to disrupt campus life in the interest of raising awareness about Israel’s military practices and any ties between the university and Israel.
A United Nations report released last week found that “Israel’s warfare in Gaza is consistent with the characteristics of genocide, with mass civilian casualties and life-threatening conditions intentionally imposed on Palestinians there.”
Tufts SJP was officially suspended on Nov. 6. The group was placed on interim suspension in early October after it used images of weapons to promote a protest rally and urged members of the Tufts community to “join the student intifada.” That incident was one of five incidents this year that led to the suspension, according to Tufts Executive Director of Media Relations Patrick Collins. Over those five incidents, Tufts SJP was responsible for nine violations of university policy.
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The group was found to have violated the university’s Gatherings, Demonstrations and Protests Policy and its Posting Policy during an October event. It violated the Threats Policy in October when it posted the images of weapons and used the term “intifada” to urge student action. It failed to comply with university officials by refusing to take down threatening posts, violated the demonstration policy in September, did not comply with other officials, and violated the Gambling Policy during a student organization fair at the beginning of the semester, according to Collins.
Tufts SJP “failed to complete sanctions” assigned from previous violations, leading the university to announce a full suspension.
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“In an act rooted in the interests of profit over morals, the administration of tufts university has placed its students for justice in Palestine chapter under suspension for 2 whole years,” the group wrote in a Facebook post. “Tufts has bent to the zionist donors of this school but its students will not. We are asking the students of this university to hear the cry of Gaza and re-commit themselves for the fight towards divestment. Together, we will help create a free Palestine within our lifetimes.”
In more images posted to social media, Tufts SJP refused to apologize for any actions and vowed to continue organizing and demonstrating against Tufts regardless of the group’s status on campus.
The gambling violation was in response to Tufts SJP hosting a raffle of a keffiyeh to raise funds for families in Gaza, the group said.
Last year, as demonstrations took hold of college campuses nationwide, Tufts students set up a protest encampment on campus. For almost a month, they occupied an academic quad, before voluntarily dismantling it. Both Tufts SJP and university officials said that no agreement had been reached between the two parties before the encampment was taken down. Administrators had issued a no trespass order to the protesters, and had threatened to remove the encampment ahead of commencement.
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Tufts SJP was found to be responsible for violating university policy three separate times last year, which led to “incrementally increasing sanctions,” Collins said. The interim suspension, applied in early October, was a temporary measure issued while a “serious complaint” was pending resolution.
“That complaint is now resolved, resulting in a disciplinary suspension that takes into account the group’s actions, their impact on other community members, the group’s repeated refusal to cooperate with university policies and expectations, and its refusal to follow through on sanctions arising from previous conduct policy violations,” Collins said in a statement to Boston.com. “The suspension also follows multiple attempts over the last year by the university’s student life staff and other administrators to work and communicate with SJP and its leaders, who have rejected these efforts.”
Students and student organizations suspended for policy violations must follow individualized terms to regain university approval. Tufts SJP would be eligible to petition for re-recognition in January 2027 if it complies with the terms of the suspension, addresses outstanding sanctions, and meets “other requirements,” Collins said.
If it does win re-approval at that time, Tufts SJP would be subject to a one-year probationary period. Over that year, it would have to take further steps like naming a new faculty adviser and participating in “campus climate training.”
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In the meantime, the group continues to be active on social media. In recent days, it publicized a call for mutual aid to help families in Lebanon. It has promised to continue seeking out mutual aid opportunities and called on students to continue organizing in support of Palestine.
“Your repression will never stop the Palestine solidarity movement on campus,” Tufts SJP said in a message to administrators. “Whether or not SJP exists on campus, the student movement at tufts will never rest until tufts divests and cuts all institutional ties with the genocidal zionist project.”
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