Florida orders state universities to disband SJP, saying it backs Hamas

TALLAHASSEE, Florida — Republican Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’s administration is taking the extraordinary step of ordering state universities to ban a pro-Palestinian student organization from campuses, saying it illegally backs Hamas terrorists who attacked Israel earlier this month.

As Israel’s attacks on Gaza have intensified, some college students have expressed solidarity with Palestinians, resulting in swift censure from some Jewish academics and even some prospective employers. But Florida has gone further, saying Students for Justice in Palestine is supporting a terrorist organization.

State university system Chancellor Ray Rodrigues wrote to university presidents at DeSantis’ urging, directing them to disband chapters of SJP. He quotes the national group’s declaration that “Palestinian students in exile are PART of this movement, not in solidarity with this movement.”

“It is a felony under Florida law to ‘knowingly provide material support … to a designated foreign terrorist organization,’” Rodrigues says in the letter.