Brandeis University removed posters alleging ties between the Palestinian terrorist organization Hamas and a pro-Palestine student group on campus.
The removals, which happened on September 26, came just days after small drawings of swastikas were found on whiteboards, prompting the university to denounce both incidents in aggregate.
Both incidents were covered on September 28 in the university’s student paper, The Brandeis Hoot.
The posters were produced by the David Horowitz Freedom Center, which showed a connection between the radical Islamist organization Hamas, and the Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP). Both groups advocate for an end to the state of Israel.
The poster reads as follows with a silhouette of a masked terrorist as Hamas, a politician as the American Muslims for Palestine, and a student protester for SJP.
“Hamas: A terror organization pledged to wipe out Israel -> American Muslims for Palestine -> Hamas-created chief organizer and funder of SJP -> Students for Justice in Palestine: The chief sponsor of anti-Israel and anti-Jewish activities on campus.”
According to Campus Reform, the removal of the posters comes right after an incident on September 25, when a community advisor reported the discovery of “small swastikas” on some whiteboards outside of students’ dorm rooms.
“Posters placed on the Brandeis University campus by the Horowitz Freedom Center expose student organizations, student activists and faculty who support terrorist propaganda campaigns,” read a press release by David Horowitz Freedom Center, which lists Brandeis University as one of the worst schools in the United States for its support of the pro-Palestinian movement.
According to the Brandeis Hoot, the university showed no distinction between the swastikas and the Horowitz posters, deeming them both to be incidents of “hate.” The university justified the removal of the posters with a rule stating “postings that violate other policy sections, including but not limited to, non-discrimination and harassment… may be removed.”
However, as Campus Reform notes, the university does not apply this rule equally to SJP postings, which accuse Israel and pro-Zionist groups of crimes against humanity. FrontPage Magazine, an arm of the David Horowitz Freedom Center, highlighted Brandeis’ history of supporting Hamas. In 2014, the leak of a student and faculty listserv showed support of Hamas by professors, who made comparisons between Israel and Nazi Germany.
Brandeis University was previously in the news for hosting a social justice journalism grant that banned white men from applying.
Ian Miles Cheong is a journalist and outspoken media critic. You can reach him through social media at @stillgray on Twitter and on Facebook.