Adalah Report Accuses Israeli Universities of Dual Disciplinary System for Arab Students
A new report by the Adalah Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel alleges that Israeli higher education institutions have implemented a discriminatory disciplinary policy against Arab students since the October 7th attacks. The report, published Monday, claims that Israeli universities and colleges have developed a two-tiered disciplinary system, treating Palestinian and Jewish students differently. Adalah asserts this creates an "apartheid system within higher education" based on its legal and political analysis of studied cases.
The center reported receiving 132 complaints from Arab students across approximately 40 academic institutions, with 76.5% of these cases involving female students. According to the report, over 80 students faced temporary suspension before their cases were resolved or hearings were held, while 20 students were permanently expelled or suspended for one to five years. Adalah provided legal representation or consultation to about 100 students, and its appeals have led to the cancellation or significant reduction of penalties in several instances.
The disciplinary actions were often triggered by social media posts, including content deemed supportive of Hamas or terrorism, but also extended to criticism of government policies, the war in Gaza, expressions of solidarity with Gazans, and even Quranic verses, prayers, or symbols of Palestinian identity. The report details instances where disciplinary measures were initiated for actions as minor as liking a post, displaying the Palestinian flag, or sharing a news report.
Adalah also criticized academic institutions for employing investigative procedures lacking adequate procedural safeguards, such as failing to present the specific post in question to the student or insufficiently verifying the post's author and publication date. The report highlights the use of machine translations for Arabic texts and disciplinary decisions issued without sufficient justification, effectively shifting the burden of proof onto students to demonstrate their posts did not support terrorism.
The center argues that academic institutions have expanded their disciplinary authority to cover private social media posts, even those unrelated to academic life, disproportionately applying this to Arab students. Adalah claims this expansion was not applied to Jewish students to the same extent, even in cases involving racist or inciting expressions.
According to the report, this wave of disciplinary actions began in the immediate aftermath of October 7th, fueled by political pressure on institutions to suspend students and report social media activity. Some institutions reported students to the police, leading to arrests in certain cases. Adalah calls for a return to legal limits for disciplinary powers, reinforcement of equality, and protection of free expression in academia, even when opinions challenge the majority Jewish viewpoint.
