Yale College revokes Yalies4Palestine’s status as an official student group after the organization promoted a protest against Israeli minister on campus.
Yale College, the undergraduate college of Yale University, has rescinded the registration of Yalies4Palestine as a recognized student organization, citing the group’s promotion of a protest that unfolded Tuesday evening on Beinecke Plaza, Yale News reported on Wednesday.
While the demonstration concluded without major incident, the university is pursuing disciplinary action and investigating reports of antisemitic behavior at the event.
The protest began around 8:00 p.m. and ended before midnight. Although Yalies4Palestine publicly denied organizing the demonstration, Yale officials pointed to the group’s social media posts encouraging attendance and sharing video footage from the scene.
One Instagram post featured the caption, “Repost! Share! Join the students!” Other uploads documented tents being erected and slogans supporting encampment efforts, including one reel labeled, “HAPPENING NOW YALE STUDENTS RELAUNCH ENCAMPMENTS.”
According to the university’s press release issued Wednesday, “This occurred only one day after Yalies4Palestine had met with Yale College officials to discuss recent policy violations and were warned that further violations would jeopardize the group’s privileges.” The statement concluded: “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.”
Losing recognized status means the group can no longer reserve campus spaces, apply for university funding, use the Yale name, or participate in official student activities, noted Yale News.
Yale also acknowledged receiving reports alleging antisemitic behavior during the demonstration, though it did not elaborate on the nature of the incidents. A university spokesperson declined to provide further details regarding these claims or on how many students face potential disciplinary action.
The demonstration coincided with the anniversary of a prior encampment on Yale’s campus, which ended in the arrest of 48 protesters, including 44 Yale students. On Tuesday, protesters pitched eight tents on the plaza to voice opposition to a nearby event featuring Minister of National Security Itamar Ben Gvir.
Organizers stated that the protest was disbanded after threats of “retribution” from university administrators.
Like other US campuses, Yale has seen an uptick in anti-Israel activities since the Hamas October 7, 2023 massacre in Israel and the war in Gaza which followed.
During an anti-Israel protest a year ago, a Jewish Yale student journalist was stabbed in the eye with a Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) flag.
