{"id":44776,"date":"2023-11-18T11:01:20","date_gmt":"2023-11-18T19:01:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/?p=44776"},"modified":"2023-11-18T11:01:20","modified_gmt":"2023-11-18T19:01:20","slug":"university-of-florida-pro-palestine-group-sues-desantis-over-deactivation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/2023\/11\/18\/university-of-florida-pro-palestine-group-sues-desantis-over-deactivation\/","title":{"rendered":"University of Florida Pro-Palestine Group Sues DeSantis Over Deactivation"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The University of Florida chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine on Thursday sued state education officials and Republican Gov. <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/tag\/ron-desantis\">Ron DeSantis<\/a> over their move to deactivate the group for its support of Palestinian resistance to Israeli occupation, apartheid, and other crimes.<\/p>\n<p>The <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aclufl.org\/en\/sjp-v-susf-et-al\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">lawsuit<\/a> \u2013 which was filed by the ACLU of Florida and Palestine Legal \u2013 seeks a preliminary injunction to block State University of Florida System Chancellor Ray Rodrigues&#8217; deactivation order, <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/news\/university-of-florida-sjp\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">issued last month<\/a> after Students for Justice in Palestine&#8217;s (SJP) national body <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/dw-wp-production.imgix.net\/2023\/10\/DAY-OF-RESISTANCE-TOOLKIT.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">declared<\/a> support for Palestinian &#8220;resistance&#8221; to Israel&#8217;s war on Gaza.<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p>SJP also asserted that the Hamas-led attack on Israel that killed around 1,200 Israeli civilians and soldiers was &#8220;not unprovoked&#8221; and said that Israel&#8217;s &#8220;apartheid, ethnic cleansing, indiscriminate bombing, arbitrary detention, destruction of infrastructure, [and] 75 years of settler-colonialism are provocations.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Florida&#8217;s deactivation order against a Palestinian rights student group for exercising its free speech and association rights is a clear First Amendment violation,&#8221; Hina Shamsi, director of ACLU&#8217;s National Security Project, said in a <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/newswire\/pro-palestine-student-group-in-florida-sues-university-system-to-prevent-unconstitutional-deactivation-l\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">statement<\/a>.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Local student group chapters cannot be punished for their association with separate, national organization \u2014 nor can the government selectively punish and censor student groups for engaging in speech it doesn\u2019t like or agree with.<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; ACLU (@ACLU) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ACLU\/status\/1725246677131346001?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">November 16, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We hope our client&#8217;s brave decision to challenge state officials&#8217; attempt to restrict student speech sends the strong message that censorship in our schools is unconstitutional,&#8221; Shamsi added. &#8220;There should be no question that independent political advocacy \u2013 no matter its viewpoint \u2013 is fully constitutionally protected.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Howard Simon, interim executive director at the ACLU of Florida, said:<\/p>\n<p><em>If Florida officials think silencing pro-Palestinian students protects the Jewish community \u2013 or anyone \u2013 they&#8217;re wrong. This attack on free speech is dangerous. Today it is pro-Palestinian students, tomorrow it could be any other group the governor dislikes.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>We recognize colleges are contending with how to manage increased threats and rising tensions on their campuses while keeping students safe \u2013 and we take the weight and complexity of these challenges seriously. But it is precisely in times of heightened crisis and fear that government officials, including Gov. DeSantis and Chancellor Rodrigues, must remain steadfast in their obligations to respect free speech, open debate, and peaceful dissent on campus.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>The U.F. SJP chapter asserted that &#8220;as students on a public college campus, we have every right to engage in human rights advocacy and promote public awareness and activism for a just and reasonable solution to the Palestine-Israel conflict.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We know we have First Amendment rights in school and we&#8217;re bringing this lawsuit to make sure the government doesn&#8217;t silence us or others like us,&#8221; the group added.<\/p>\n<p>DeSantis \u2013 a longshot 2024 GOP presidential contender \u2013 stridently <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.flgov.com\/2022\/01\/11\/governor-ron-desantis-state-of-the-state-address-3\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">touts<\/a> Florida as &#8220;the freest state in these United States&#8221; and a place <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.flgov.com\/2022\/01\/11\/governor-ron-desantis-state-of-the-state-address-3\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">&#8220;where woke goes to die.&#8221;<\/a><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">This lawsuit comes amid a rise in calls for U.S. schools to censor pro-Palestinian students for \u201cmaterial support for terrorism,\u201d without any evidentiary basis, along with other discriminatory proposals to cancel visas &amp; deport international students who advocate for Palestine.<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Palestine Legal (@pal_legal) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/pal_legal\/status\/1725250416412398029?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">November 16, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>The new lawsuit comes amid a nationwide campus crackdown on students and groups advocating for Palestinian rights and protesting what many experts <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/news\/legal-scholars-israel-genocide\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">call<\/a> a genocidal Israeli war that has left more than 40,000 Palestinians dead, wounded, or missing.<\/p>\n<p>Officials have attempted to justify targeting pro-Palestine groups by pointing to the dramatic rise in reported antisemitic activity on campuses. However, Jewish-led groups including Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) and IfNotNow have been among the most targeted organizations.<\/p>\n<p>At Columbia University in New York, both SJP and Jewish Voice for Peace were suspended, <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.columbiaspectator.com\/news\/2023\/11\/14\/hundreds-of-students-faculty-sign-open-letters-condemning-universitys-suspension-of-sjp-jvp\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">prompting<\/a> hundreds of students and faculty to protest both in the streets and in open letters condemning the move.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/zaynasyed_\/status\/1724907903256252924?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1724907903256252924%7Ctwgr%5E2e32b8903a569dff760f795399a3c3ed1e1b620a%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&#038;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.commondreams.org%2Fnews%2Fstudents-for-justice-in-palestine\">https:\/\/twitter.com\/zaynasyed_\/status\/1724907903256252924?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1724907903256252924%7Ctwgr%5E2e32b8903a569dff760f795399a3c3ed1e1b620a%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.commondreams.org%2Fnews%2Fstudents-for-justice-in-palestine<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Throughout history, students have been central actors in ending segregation, war, and apartheid \u2013 and Students for Justice in Palestine sits squarely in that tradition,&#8221; Palestine Legal founder and director Dima Khalidi said in a statement. &#8220;It is precisely because these principled students pose a challenge to the status quo that they are being targeted with McCarthyist censorship, but the First Amendment simply does not allow for it.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;As the humanitarian crisis in Gaza unfolds, we can&#8217;t let elected officials and university leaders stigmatize groups speaking out for Palestinian human rights,&#8221; Khalidi added. &#8220;The voices of SJP chapters are more important than ever.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><i>Brett Wilkins is is staff writer for\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/\">Common Dreams<\/a>. Based in San Francisco, his work covers issues of social justice, human rights and war and peace. This originally appeared at\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/\">CommonDreams<\/a>\u00a0and is reprinted with the author\u2019s permission.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The University of Florida chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine on Thursday sued state education officials and Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis over their move to deactivate the group for its support of Palestinian resistance to Israeli occupation, apartheid, and other crimes. The lawsuit \u2013 which was filed by the ACLU of Florida and Palestine [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":372,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-44776","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"meta_box":{"disable_donate_message":"","custom_donate_message":"","subtitle":"\"This attack on free speech is dangerous,\" said the head of Florida's ACLU. \"Today it is pro-Palestinian students, tomorrow it could be any other group the governor dislikes.\""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44776","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/372"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44776"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44776\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":44786,"href":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44776\/revisions\/44786"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44776"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44776"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44776"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=44776"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}