(NewsWorthy.news) – Sonoma State University President Mike Lee has been placed on leave following his decision to accept demands of protesters that the university work towards divestment from Israel and include protesters in its decision making.
Lee sent out a campus-wide memo the day before he was put on leave suggesting that he had made concessions to the Pro-Palestine activists who had set up an encampment on the campus. According to a statement by SSU Chancellor Mildred García, Lee neglected to obtain the “appropriate approvals” before sending the memo. She added that she was looking into the matter together with the 23-campus SSU system’s board.
Following the recent wave of anti-Israel protests across the United States, Lee announced that the SSU, a public school located in northern California, would not partner with Israeli universities. Lee wrote in the memo that the university would seek out “strategies” for divestment and that it would not consider partnerships that are either represented or sponsored by Israeli’s research and academic institutions. The activist group that Lee made the agreement with is called Students for Justice in Palestine.
Following Lee’s concessions the protesters agreed to dismantle the encampment. If Lee’s decision is upheld it will make the university the first to refuse to collaborate with Israeli institutions. Garcia said that Lee’s “insubordination” and its impact on the system required the university to place him on administrative leave. As well as marking the most severe action taken against a president or chancellor of any of the state’s universities over their handling of protests, the move also highlights how reluctant the SSU and its sister University of California system are to sever ties with Israeli partners and weapons manufacturers.
The disciplinary measures come as President Joe Biden’s administration clamps down on antisemitism on campuses. The measures introduced by Biden have raised concerns among leftists and students that First Amendment rights could be restricted on campuses and at protests. Critics have called on the Senate to reject the bill after the House recently approved it. The Council on American-Islamic Relations claimed the proposed legislation is racist against Palestinians and that it falsely conflates criticism of Israel with anti-Jewish hatred. Supporters of the bill, however, such as Anti-Defamation League chief executive Jonathan Greenblatt, argued that the bill had been validated by the behavior on campuses. Greenblatt claimed that there is no difference between anti-Zionism and antisemitism.
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