Case Western Reserve University students rally behind expelled encampment leader

Cleveland

Over 100 pro-Palestine activists rallied and marched to the office of Case Western Reserve University on Sept. 18 in protest of the expulsion of Yousef Khalaf, a leader of the Gaza Solidarity Encampment. CWRU students erected the encampment on April 29 and kept it up until May 10.

Cleveland protest against expulsion of Case Western Reserve University encampment leader, Sept. 18, 2024. WW Photo: Martha Grevatt

After Khalaf appealed the discriminatory expulsion and related discipline, a hearing was held in August. There, Jewish students and community members challenged the university narrative equating anti-Zionism with antisemitism. Nevertheless, the CWRU administration upheld its original decision. The one victory was that all of Khalaf’s tuition and housing payments were refunded.

In addition to being barred from taking classes during the fall semester, Khalaf was notified on Sept. 9 that he had two days to remove his belongings from campus housing. He is persona non grata, meaning he cannot be present on school property. If he enrolls for the Spring 2025 semester, he will be on probation for one year.

The punishment also includes an insulting requirement that Khalaf submit an “introspective essay” on “how you can use civility, civil discourse and advocacy efforts to enact dialogic outcomes and productive, progressive change.”

If it was possible to simply convince school administrations to divest from Israeli apartheid, none of the encampments on scores of campuses would have even been necessary!

As they have done since last semester’s encampment, students and supporters chanted loudly: “Disclose! Divest! We will not stop, we will not rest!”

Martha Grevatt

Share
Published by
Martha Grevatt
Tags: Ohio

Recent Posts

NATO and the EU are pushing Europeans toward war

Raposo is a Portuguese Marxist analyst, editor of the web magazine jornalmudardevida.net, where this article…

July 25, 2025

Why ouster of U.S. occupation forces from West Asia is key to lasting peace and stability

By Alireza Salehi The following commentary first appeared on the Iranian-based Press TV at tinyurl.com/53hdhskk.…

July 25, 2025

From Palestine to Turtle Island: Smash the capitalists’ settler states! Part 2

This is Part Two of a series based on a talk given at a national…

July 25, 2025

Educators for Palestine claims victory against racism and hate, despite NEA board decision

Educators for Palestine released the following news release on July 19, 2025.  Washington, D.C. Educators…

July 24, 2025

Palestinian, Lebanese resistance hails order to release Georges Abdallah

On July 17, a court in France ordered the release of Georges Abdallah, a Lebanese…

July 24, 2025

Yemeni leader denounces Israeli aggression on Syria

The following are highlights from a speech given by Yemen’s Ansarallah Commander Sayyed Abdul-Malik Badr…

July 24, 2025