Columbia University anti-Israel protest group booted from Instagram, again

Columbia University’s coalition of anti-Israel protest groups says it has been banned from Instagram for the second time.

Columbia University Apartheid Divest, an alliance of dozens of student groups, says on the Telegram messaging app that it was banned “because we dared to speak up for Palestine.”

“This is part of a long and concerted imperial effort to censor and erase the Palestinian people,” the group says.

The group shares a screenshot of a message from Instagram saying its account was disabled because it “doesn’t follow our Community Standards.”

The message says that the group’s account is no longer visible, accessible to its managers, and that all of its information will be permanently deleted.

“You cannot request another review of this decision,” the message says.

The account’s page says it is no longer available.

The account was suspended from Instagram in December 2024, after posting threatening rhetoric, but reinstated days later. At the time, it had more than 40,000 followers.

Unlike the previous ban, the latest suspension appeared to be permanent.

It was not clear what the group posted to cause the ban this week.

Instagram last year also banned Within Our Lifetime, the leading anti-Israel protest group in New York City, which often collaborates with the Columbia activists.