Brandeis Students Hold Walkout After Pro-Palestine Rally Arrests

WALTHAM, MA — The Brandeis campus remains split on university administration's stance on the Israel-Hamas War, and the university's handling of student activism at the Waltham campus.

On Monday, more than 100 students participated in a walkout on the Brandeis campus. Their message was of concern regarding perceived impositions on freedom of speech among students on campus.

Over the weekend, seven people were arrested on charges including disorderly conduct, unlawful assembly and assault on police officers after the rally turned "unruly."

Those seven pled not guilty to those charges on Monday, which coincided with the student walkout on the Brandeis campus in Waltham.

The rally came just days after Brandeis officials banned a local chapter of Students For Justice In Palestine, claiming the group's stance on the war is antisemitic and supports Hamas.

University officials said the group's stance on the war — one they believe is antisemitic and supports Hamas — means that the Brandeis chapter will go unrecognized, stripping it of the possibility to receive funding and removing permission from the group to conduct on-campus activities, according to ABC 7.

Jewish Insider first obtained a copy of the letter sent to the organization on Monday, which came on the same day that university President Ronald Liebowitz published an op-ed in the Boston Globe stating his belief that chants like "from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free" are antisemitic, and that students who use them should lose all privileges associated with affiliation at their schools.

On Wednesday, Brandeis University President Ron Liebowitz put out a statement to the school community saying it no longer recognized the chapter.

“All students, faculty, and staff are welcome here, and encouraged to participate in the free exchange of ideas,” Liebowitz wrote. “To promote such free exchange, we must not and do not condone hate, the incitement of violence, or threats against or harassment of anyone, be they Jewish, Muslim, Christian, Buddhist, Hindu, Israeli, Palestinian, or any other religion or ethnicity.”

The university, in response to the recent rallies, has organized spaces for conversation on campus. More information is below: