Adalah reports suspension and expulsion of 100 Palestinian students in Israel
Israeli universities have temporarily suspended or permanently expelled 100 Palestinian students since October 2023 for criticizing the war in the Gaza Strip, rights organization Adalah said. Anadolu Agency reports.
Suspensions before hearings
In its report, Adalah analyzed the treatment of Palestinian students by Israel’s higher education institutions after the start of the war in Gaza. The organization said universities suspended students and initiated disciplinary proceedings, classifying some social media posts as “support for terrorism.”
According to the organization, in more than 80 cases, institutions imposed temporary suspensions before holding hearings and before determining whether a violation had occurred. In another 20 cases, students were permanently expelled or suspended from studies for periods ranging from one to five years.
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Complaints over posts and symbols
Adalah claims that the disciplinary measures concerned criticism of Israel’s government and military policies, the war in Gaza, and expressions of solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. According to its data, in individual cases, liking a post, displaying a Palestinian flag or the word “Palestine” in a personal profile, sharing a news report, or praying for people in Gaza could serve as grounds for a complaint or disciplinary proceedings.
The organization also said students were summoned before disciplinary committees without being informed of the subject of the complaint. In other cases, it claims, educational institutions did not verify the date the content was published or whether the account belonged to the accused student.
Adalah called the practice of Israeli academic institutions a “two-tier system of apartheid,” claiming that Palestinian students face extraordinary disciplinary measures while Jewish students have broader protection of freedom of expression.
