A report released by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) in Sept. details what the organization describes as disproportionate suppression of student activism supporting Palestine by college administrators and police across the country.
The report, based on a two-year investigation led by the ACLU, examines 80 universities across the nation using university policies, court records, survey questionnaire responses, published investigative journalism and six case studies.
Since October 2023, students and university faculty members have led mass demonstrations, encampments and other forms of protest against the Israeli government’s treatment of Palestinians in Gaza. ACLU’s researchers found that pro-Palestinian free speech has been subjected to unwarranted suppression by college campuses, largely due to government influence.
“Universities’ responses to campus-related Palestine advocacy have been more punitive in comparison with their historical responses to other demonstrations over decades,” the ACLU reported. “Colleges and universities have imposed sweeping restrictions on student speech, initiated disciplinary actions against students and imposed severe punishments including expulsions and suspensions.”
The ACLU reported that most government tactics include abusing civil rights laws, withholding federal research grants and “coercing” universities into changing educational programs to suppress criticism of the Israeli government.
Students at UCI faced similar punishments during the May 2024 encampments for urging the campus to divest from its financial ties with the Israeli government. KTLA reported that law enforcement forcibly removed the encampment tents, banners, signs and student barricades to clear what the university described as a “violent protest.”
According to the ACLU report, UCI issued multiple student suspensions following the encampments for allegedly “violating campus policies,” such as obstructing university operations, ignoring administrative orders and disrupting campus activities.
Five suspended students filed a lawsuit against UCI and claimed that the suspensions were inconsistent with the university’s rules, imposed without prior notice and without demonstrating that they posed a significant risk to the university. They also argued that UCI violated state and federal law by denying them their due process protections. The lawsuit is still ongoing, and the trial is set for early 2027.
“The students were not allowed to have a hearing or present evidence in their defense before the suspensions went into effect,” the ACLU reported. “They were told they could not attend classes in person or online, access student housing or be on campus.”
According to the report, the cumulative suppression of free speech led by the universities through imposing severe punishments and suspensions has also allowed the government to easily block many forms of student activism, resulting in what the organization described as “long-term damage to higher education.”
The Armed Conflict Location and Event Data (ACLED), an independent data organization that analyzes protests and other political violence, found that 99% of more than 1,300 campus demonstrations denouncing the Israeli government’s military actions in Gaza between Oct. 7, 2023, and May 3, 2024, were led by peaceful protesters.
Nevertheless, the ACLU found that complaints about pro-Palestinian activism frequently characterize peaceful demonstrations as “inherently supportive” of antisemitism while overlooking violence and harassment directed at student and faculty advocates.
During the encampments at UCLA on April 28, 2024, counter-protestors attacked demonstrators with traffic cones, tore down barriers and threatened to slit activists’ throats, according to the ACLU. A few days later, a group of more than 100 masked individuals returned with pepper spray, fireworks and other weapons.
The Los Angeles Police Department arrived on campus at the university’s request but did not intervene until more than four hours after the violence erupted and made no arrests. The ACLU noted that UCLA administrators used the attacks against demonstrators as justification for clearing the encampment.
The ACLU also reported that campus protocols adhering to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) definition of antisemitism have severely limited students’ ability to criticize the Israeli government without punishment.
Under the IHRA’s definition, describing the existence of the State of Israel as a “racist endeavor” can qualify as antisemitic.
“The IHRA framework … has been interpreted by some to equate criticism of Israel and its policies or opposition to Zionism with antisemitism,” the ACLU reported. “In practice the IHRA framework has been used to silence criticism of Israeli government policies and to suppress the speech and activism of university students, professors and organizers in support of Palestinian rights.”
In a Daily Californian article, Dan Mogulof, UC Berkeley’s campus spokesperson, denied that the IHRA’s definition plays a role in suppressing students’ free speech. Mogulof said the campus has used the definition for more than five years.
Mogulof also claimed that there has “not been a single complaint” that the IHRA definition of antisemitism has affected students’ ability to engage in expression or discourse.
“UC Berkeley has and will maintain an unwavering commitment to protecting the First Amendment rights of its students, staff and faculty in a completely viewpoint-neutral manner,” Mogulof said. “There are no policies or practices that apply to any particular viewpoint or cause.”
Additional research publications and annual reports can be found on the official ACLU website.
Tariq Abdelkarim is a News Staff Writer for the fall 2026 quarter. He can be reached at tabdelka@uci.edu.
Edited by Anika Denny and Tracy Sandoval.
