Yale University stripped the school’s Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) chapter, Yalies4Palestine, of its status as a recognized student group on Wednesday after it established a short-lived encampment. The decision may give insight into how Yale president Maurie McInnis, who called the police to arrest student protesters in her last job, will combat anti-Israel agitators at the Ivy League university.
In a Wednesday afternoon statement, Yale revealed that university staff had warned Yalies4Palestine the day before the encampment that “further violations would jeopardize the group’s privileges” during a meeting about prior infractions. The encampment, the statement said, violated Yale’s “time, place, and manner policies.” It also pointed to “disturbing antisemitic conduct at the gathering,” which may refer to video of anti-Israel agitators blocking Jewish students from accessing campus space.
“Because Yalies4Palestine has flagrantly violated the rules to which the Yale College Dean’s Office holds all registered student organizations, Yale College today notified Yalies4Palestine that the College is withdrawing its status as a registered student organization,” the university wrote in a statement. “Concerns have been raised about disturbing antisemitic conduct at the gathering. The university is investigating those concerns, as harassment and discrimination are antithetical to learning and scholarship. Yale condemns antisemitism and will hold those who violate our policies accountable through our disciplinary processes.”
Yalies4Palestine established the encampment on Beinecke Plaza around 8 p.m. Tuesday, disbanded less than four hours later, and promised to protest Israeli national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir’s visit to New Haven. Yale said the agitators would face “immediate disciplinary action.”
During the encampment, the protesters set up eight tents and chanted, “Disclose, divest, we will not stop, we will not rest.”
“We’re here, and we’re staying the night,” an organizer announced to the crowd.
Around 200 keffiyeh-clad protesters had gathered in the center of campus by 9:30 p.m., formed a circle around the encampment, and chanted, “We will honor all our martyrs.” They prevented at least three Jewish students from entering the area, shined a light in their faces, and called one “scum,” according to videos posted to X.
Jewish students are once again being blocked from walking around on Yale’s campus! pic.twitter.com/17zjoU9wK1
— Netanel Crispe (@NetanelCrispe) April 23, 2025
After the students at Yale’s encampment sat down, one encampment-goer shoves his camera in our face, but promises, “don’t worry, I don’t want to touch that scum.” Then he says, “I was told to actually do that”… by whom? pic.twitter.com/p2kFGHu6dl
— Sahar Tartak (@sahar_tartak) April 23, 2025
“As a Jewish senior at Yale, I’ve endured two years of harassment and anti-Semitism at the hands of pro-Palestinian student mobs,” Netanel Crispe told the Washington Free Beacon.
“Last night, when I should have been completing my senior thesis, I instead found myself being physically blocked—along with other Jewish peers—from walking through sections of Yale’s Beinecke Plaza. Our non-Jewish classmates were allowed to pass freely through the newly formed pro-Palestinian encampment while we were shoved, pushed, and called ‘scum.’ In two years, Yale has not suspended or expelled a single student involved, allowing ongoing violations of campus policies and the continued intimidation, obstruction, and harassment of Jewish students.”
A Yale administrator began handing out cards to protesters around 10:00 p.m., notifying them that they were “in violation of Yale University policies regarding free expression, peaceable assembly, and/or disruption.” The notice went on, “Please stop your current action immediately. If you do not, you may risk university disciplinary action and/or arrest.”
Yale issued an 11:00 p.m. deadline for the students to dismantle the encampment, but the organizers didn’t announce its dissolution until around 11:30 p.m., citing threats of “retribution” from the administration.
A university spokesman said Wednesday that at least some students present will face discipline, including possible suspension or expulsion.
“During the interaction, staff identified students who had been warned or disciplined in previous incidents that violated university policy. Those students have received written notice today that they are subject to immediate disciplinary action,” the spokesman said. “Those who violate the university’s policies and instructions … regarding use of outdoor spaces face law enforcement and disciplinary action, including reprimand, probation, suspension, or expulsion.”
Soon after, Yale stripped Yalies4Palestine’s status. It’s unclear how the revocation or threats of discipline will affect the group’s planned protest against Ben-Gvir’s Wednesday evening visit.
“Let us recognize what we’ve done in a moment of severe repression. We have shown this university that we are not afraid to escalate! And we will escalate for Gaza until liberation is won,” Yale SJP and Yale Palestine Actions wrote on Instagram Wednesday morning. “We are now rested. Are now energized. And we are and have always been powerful. Today we call for all students and all people to rally, to shout, and to proclaim: Ben-Gvir out of Yale! Ben-Gvir out of the US! Ben-Gvir out of Palestine.”
“This is only the beginning. The popular university for Gaza will not stop until Palestine is free,” the groups concluded. “Intifada until victory!”
The encampment and planned protest comes as the Trump administration ramps up its efforts to combat anti-Semitism in higher education. Unlike other Ivy League institutions, Yale has not had any federal funds frozen. Columbia and Harvard, meanwhile, have seen $430 million and over $2 billion paused, respectively.
Yale did not respond to a request for comment on whether the students involved would face discipline.
Other anti-Israel groups organizing Wednesday evening’s protest include the Connecticut chapters of American Muslims for Palestine, a prominent Hamas-linked advocacy group accused of serving as the terrorist group’s “propaganda arm,” the Party for Socialism and Liberation, and Democratic Socialists of America, among others.
Yale Faculty and Staff for Justice in Palestine also endorsed the protest on its Instagram story on Tuesday.
McInnis took the reins at Yale in July after leading Stony Brook University since 2020. In April 2024, McInnis sent in the police less than 48 hours after Stony Brook students formed an encampment, resulting in 29 arrests.
Last month, Yale Law School fired Helyeh Doutaghi, a research scholar and member of Samidoun, an organization sanctioned by the U.S. government for acting as a front for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a foreign-designated terrorist organization. Her contract was terminated after refusing to cooperate with the university’s investigation.
Original News Source – Washington Free Beacon
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