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Columbia suspends Students for Justice in Palestine and Jewish anti-Zionist group citing ‘threatening rhetoric’
Columbia University on Friday suspended Students for Justice in Palestine and Jewish Voice for Peace, two anti-Zionist student clubs. The move follows similar action against the Students for Justice in Palestine chapter at Brandeis University earlier this week.
“The two groups repeatedly violated University policies related to holding campus events, culminating in an unauthorized event Thursday afternoon that proceeded despite warnings and included threatening rhetoric and intimidation,” Gerald Rosberg, chair of Columbia’s campus safety committee, said in a statement.
Rosberg was referencing a protest on Thursday in which hundreds of students walked out of class and gathered on campus as part of a nationwide campaign called “Shut It Down for Palestine,” according to the Columbia Spectator, the student newspaper.
The Spectator reported that the school’s policy generally requires clubs to obtain protest permits at least 10 days in advance.
A placard at the Thursday event included a demand that read “no more dual degree,” an apparent reference to Columbia’s relationship with the Jewish Theological Seminary, which trains students in the Conservative stream of Judaism.
Rosberg threatened pro-Palestinian activists with formal punishment on Wednesday, when a group staged a nine-hour sit-in at the Columbia School of Social Work that was promoted by SJP. According to the Spectator, Rosberg communicated through representatives that the activists were in violation of school rules and faced academic sanctions for “interfering with the traffic of people who are trying to come in and get an education here and pursue their goals here in the School of Social Work.”
He added, “I want to say to you as clearly as I possibly can that what you are doing, all of you, just by being here, is a serious violation of our rules.”
Friday’s action means that the clubs will lose any university funding and will not be eligible to hold on-campus events for the remainder of the semester.
Sonya Meyerson-Knox, a spokesperson for the national Jewish Voice for Peace organization, called Columbia’s decision “a horrific act of censorship and also intimidation.”
“These are students doing exactly what we want to see students all over doing, which is standing up for what they believe in,” she said. “They’re calling for a cease-fire to save lives.”
Other action against SJP
Brandeis University revoked recognition of its SJP chapter Monday, claiming that it supported Hamas, the group behind the Oct. 7 terrorist attack on Israel.
“Students who choose to engage in conduct in support of Hamas, or engage in conduct that harasses or threatens violence, whether individually or through organized activity, will be considered to be in violation of the University’s student code of conduct,” Brandeis wrote in a letter to the group.
Florida’s Republican governor Ron DeSantis has also sought to ban two SJP chapters at public universities in the state, claiming they supported “jihad,” though the state university system has not done so.
While there are Students for Justice in Palestine located on campuses across the country, they operate largely autonomously from the volunteer-run National Students for Justice in Palestine.
Fordham University banned Students for Justice in Palestine from its campus in 2015, a decision that survived legal challenges.
JTA contributed to this report
The post Columbia suspends Students for Justice in Palestine and Jewish anti-Zionist group citing ‘threatening rhetoric’ appeared first on The Forward.
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Lebanon Must Disarm Hezbollah to Have a Shot at Better Days, Says US Envoy
Thomas Barrack at the Brooklyn Federal Courthouse in Brooklyn, New York, U.S., November 4, 2022. Photo: REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo
i24 News – Lebanon’s daunting social, economic and political issues would not get resolved unless the state persists in the efforts to disarm Hezbollah, the Iranian proxy behind so much of the unrest and destruction, special US envoy Tom Barrack told The National.
“You have Israel on one side, you have Iran on the other, and now you have Syria manifesting itself so quickly that if Lebanon doesn’t move, it’s going to be Bilad Al Sham again,” he said, using the historical Arabic name for the region sometimes known as “larger Syria.”
The official stressed the need to follow through on promises to disarm the Iranian proxy, which suffered severe blows from Israel in the past year, including the elimination of its entire leadership, and is considered a weakened though still dangerous jihadist outfit.
“There are issues that we have to arm wrestle with each other over to come to a final conclusion. Remember, we have an agreement, it was a great agreement. The problem is, nobody followed it,” he told The National.
Barrack spoke on the heels of a trip to Beirut, where he proposed a diplomatic plan for the region involving the full disarmament of Hezbollah by the Lebanese state.
The post Lebanon Must Disarm Hezbollah to Have a Shot at Better Days, Says US Envoy first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Report: Putin Urges Iran to Accept ‘Zero Enrichment’ Nuclear Deal With US
Russian President Vladimir Putin meets Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian on the sidelines of a cultural forum dedicated to the 300th anniversary of the birth of the Turkmen poet and philosopher Magtymguly Fragi, in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Oct. 11, 2024. Photo: Sputnik/Alexander Scherbak/Pool via REUTERS
i24 News – Russian President Vladimir Putin has told Iranian leadership that he supports the idea of a nuclear deal in which Iran is unable to enrich uranium, the Axios website reported on Saturday. The Russian strongman also relayed the message to his American counterpart, President Donald Trump, the report said.
Iranian news agency Tasnim issued a denial, citing an “informed source” as saying Putin had not sent any message to Iran in this regard.
Also on Saturday, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stated that “Any negotiated solution must respect Iran’s right to enrichment. No agreement without recognizing our right to enrichment. If negotiations occur, the only topic will be the nuclear program. No other issues, especially defense or military matters, will be on the agenda.”
The post Report: Putin Urges Iran to Accept ‘Zero Enrichment’ Nuclear Deal With US first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Syria’s Al-Sharaa Attending At Least One Meeting With Israeli Officials in Azerbaijan
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa speaks during a joint press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron after a meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, May 7, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Stephanie Lecocq/Pool
i24 News – Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa is attending at least one meeting with Israeli officials in Azerbaijan today, despite sources in Damascus claiming he wasn’t attending, a Syrian source close to President Al-Sharaa tells i24NEWS.
The Syrian source stated that this is a series of two or three meetings between the sides, with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani also in attendance, along with Ahmed Al-Dalati, the Syrian government’s liaison for security meetings with Israel.
The high-level Israeli delegation includes a special envoy of Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, as well as security and military figures.
The purpose of the meetings is to discuss further details of the security agreement to be signed between Israel and Syria, the Iranian threat in Syria and Lebanon, Hezbollah’s weapons, the weapons of Palestinian militias, the Palestinians camps in Lebanon, and the future of Palestinian refugees from Gaza in the region.
The possibility of opening an Israeli coordination office in Damascus, without diplomatic status, might also be discussed.
The source stated that the decision to hold the meetings in Azerbaijan, made by Israel and the US, is intended to send a message to Iran.
The post Syria’s Al-Sharaa Attending At Least One Meeting With Israeli Officials in Azerbaijan first appeared on Algemeiner.com.