Wiesenthal Center Commends UC Irvine for Sanctioning Student Group for Disrupting Pro-Israel Event

September 5, 2017

The Simon Wiesenthal Center commends the University of California, Irvine (UCI) for recently imposing disciplinary sanctions against the school’s Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) chapter. In a statement, the UCI Office of Inclusive Excellence said, “On May 10, 2017, an on-campus discussion sponsored by Students Supporting Israel was interrupted by shouting and chanting.” After a thorough investigation, “it was determined that a group of individuals organized by SJP disrupted a portion of the question-and-answer period, in violation of university policy. As a result, SJP was sanctioned with disciplinary probation for two academic years, ending June 16, 2019.”

“The Wiesenthal Center has made it clear to officials that notwithstanding First Amendment protections, the First Amendment cannot be used to protect those individuals who disrupt and shut down the free speech of others,” said Aron Hier, Director of the Center’s Campus Outreach. “In light of this disturbing trend across the country of disrupting pro-Israel speakers, it is imperative that universities take requisite action,” he added.

For more information, please contact the Center's Communications Department, 310-553-9036. Join the Center on Facebook, www.facebook.com/simonwiesenthalcenter, or follow @simonwiesenthal for news updates sent direct to your Twitter feed.

The Simon Wiesenthal Center is one of the largest international Jewish human rights organizations with over 400,000 member families in the United States. It is an NGO at international agencies including the United Nations, UNESCO, the OSCE, the OAS, the Council of Europe and the Latin American Parliament (Parlatino).