Tufts Students for Justice in Palestine announced its “formal break and disaffiliation from Tufts University” on Nov. 15, following the university’s decision to officially suspend Tufts SJP through Jan. 2027.
In an Instagram post, Tufts SJP denounced the suspension and reiterated its ongoing demands that Tufts disclose its investments in Israel, fully divest from Israeli companies and sever all “academic and research ties” with Israel. According to the Palestinian Health Ministry, over 43,000 Palestinians have been killed throughout Israel’s war in Gaza, which began over a year ago when Hamas invaded Israel and took over 200 hostages.
“As the zionist genocide of Palestine and Lebanon has escalated over the past year, tufts in turn has sought to repress our solidarity movement. The administration has threatened to suspend individual students over Instagram posts and vigils in an attempt to fracture the strength of our movement,” Tufts SJP wrote in the post. “Whether or not SJP exists on campus, the student movement at tufts will never rest until tufts divests and cuts all institutional ties with the genocidal zionist project.”
Tufts SJP had been placed on an “interim suspension” earlier this fall for policy violations, which include using images of weapons and urging students to “escalate” and “Join the Student Intifada” in a post about a protest scheduled for Oct. 7.
Patrick Collins, Executive Director of Media Relations, explained in a statement that while the interim suspension was a temporary measure, this most recent suspension is an official “disciplinary suspension that takes into account the group’s actions, their impact on other community members, the group’s repeated refusal to cooperate with university policies and expectations, and its refusal to follow through on sanctions arising from previous conduct policy violations.” If members of Tufts SJP fail to comply with the terms of the suspension, the group risks permanent revocation of university recognition, while individual members will face disciplinary actions that could be as serious as suspension or expulsion from Tufts.
According to Collins, the group has been found responsible for “nine violations of university policy across five incidents.”
Tufts SJP was specifically found to have violated the Gatherings, Demonstrations and Protests Policy and the Posting Policy after refusing to comply with a university official during an October event. They violated the Threats Policy with the Instagram post that resulted in their interim suspension and refused to take it down after being asked by the university. The group also violated the Gatherings, Protests and Demonstrations Policy during a September event where they failed to comply with a university official, and they violated the Gambling Policy during the student organizations fair in September.
According to Tufts SJP’s Instagram post, Tufts charged them with the gambling violation after the group held a raffle for a keffiyeh — a traditional Middle Eastern headdress — in order to raise funds for families in Gaza.
Tufts SJP must follow an “individualized series of terms and requirements” in order for the suspension to be resolved, Collins wrote.
“If SJP complies with the terms of its suspension, addresses all outstanding sanctions, and meets other requirements, it would be eligible to petition for re-recognition in January 2027,” he wrote. “If approved, the group would be subject to a one-year probationary period and be required to take other steps, such as identifying a faculty advisor and undergoing campus climate training, among others.”
After the suspension was issued, Tufts University Alumni Action for Palestine began circulating a petition for university alumni to demand the reinstatement of Tufts SJP. In a message to the Daily, the group described themselves as “hundreds of Tufts alumni from across backgrounds united by our shared support for Palestinian freedom, and ending Israel’s brutal military occupation, apartheid system, and violent genocide.”
“SJP is a vital student organization pushing the university to stand on the right side of history by supporting Palestinian freedom. As alumni, we want to see our university do the right thing and divest from Israeli apartheid, genocide, and settler colonialism. For that to happen, SJP must be reinstated immediately,” they wrote.
The suspension follows increased tensions between the group and university leadership over the past year. Amid a national wave of pro-Palestine protests across college campuses in April, Tufts SJP set up a “Gaza Solidarity Encampment” on the Academic Quad to demand that Tufts cut ties with Israel. Soon after, the administration requested that the tents be taken down to prepare for Commencement and threatened to issue trespass warnings to protesters. Tufts SJP dismantled the encampment in May after failed negotiation attempts with the university, during which Tufts SJP claimed that the administrators offered them a “bad-faith deal.”
“The suspension … follows multiple attempts over the last year by the university’s student life staff and other administrators to work and communicate with SJP and its leaders, who have rejected these efforts,” Collins wrote.
