Israeli universities expel 100 Palestinian students over Gaza war criticism

Israeli universities have permanently or temporarily expelled 100 Palestinian students for criticising the war in Gaza since October 2023, a Palestinian-run rights group Adalah said on Monday.

The figures were published in a report by the group titled “Apartheid in Israeli Academia: Palestinian Students After 7 October 2023”

The report examines how Israeli higher education institutions have changed their treatment of Palestinian students since the start of the war on Gaza on 8 October 2023.

It documents cases in which Israeli universities suspended Palestinian students, launched disciplinary proceedings against them and classified their social media posts as “support for terrorism”.

“In more than 80 cases, institutions imposed temporary suspensions before holding any hearing and before even determining whether the alleged violation had occurred,” the centre said.

“In 20 cases, students were permanently expelled or suspended from their studies for periods ranging from one to five years, it added.

The centre said the measures targeted a wide range of forms of expression, including criticism of government and army policies and the war on Gaza, as well as expressions of solidarity with Palestinians in the territory.

It said that, “In some cases, a mere “like” of a post, the display of a Palestinian flag or the word “Palestine” on a profile, sharing a news report, or posting a prayer for the residents of Gaza was enough to trigger a complaint or disciplinary proceeding.”

Adalah said students were summoned to appear before disciplinary committees “without being informed of the subject of the complaint”. In other cases, it said, institutions failed to verify when the content had been posted or whether the social media account belonged to the student accused.