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A bloc of “Pro-Palestinian extremists” currently runs the University of Maryland Student Government Association, according to a pro-Israel activist on campus.
The members have created a situation that is increasingly hostile to Zionists, or those who support Israel, Uriel Appel told The College Fix in a video interview.
As previously reported by The Fix, University of Maryland campuses have engaged in a variety of anti-Israel protests and activism in the past year. On some occasions, the activists have been successful in canceling Israeli speakers. Most recently, the student government passed resolutions condemning the school for allowing an Israeli Defense Force veteran to speak on campus.
A student senator said his bill to prohibit groups from hosting “speakers who have been found, or are being actively investigated for genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity or systematic human rights violations” does not undermine free speech, according to the campus newspaper.
These actions are part of the broader problem at the university, according to Appel, the president of Students Supporting Israel.
According to Appel, the student government has become “entirely dominated” by extremist elements run by a voting bloc known as Justice UMD.
The tension reached a boiling point during a campus event in October featuring three Israel Defense Forces veterans, the same one that drew condemnation from the student government. Appel described a scene of chaos where protesters gathered outside the room, banging on the doors and screaming “IDF off our campus” at the top of their lungs.
“When they actually started banging on the door and screaming and everything, we were a little scared just for our safety,” Appel said.
Reportedly, the situation became so volatile that the University of Maryland Police Department had to take extreme measures to protect the speakers and attendees.
Police prepared an unmarked vehicle to evacuate the IDF speakers from the back of the building and formed a physical line between protesters and the staircase so students could leave safely.
Appel said the protesters were trying to intimidate his group by taking photos. His organization said photos were not allowed at the event.
Furthermore, Appel said his university’s chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine refuses to engage in any dialogue or discourse. He noted that when the administration tried to facilitate meetings, SJP leaders instead provided a “demand list” rather than engaging in conversation. SJP also reportedly targeted SSI on social media, labeling their guest speakers as “war criminals” in a year-end social media post.
Appel has taken his concerns to state legislators as well where he submitted testimony in support of “The CAMPUS Act.” It would mandate the creation of bias incident reporting systems and the tracking of antisemitism and Islamophobia.
He did not address a follow-up question from The Fix about concerns the reporting system would be weaponized against Israel supporters.
The bill did not pass.
In his testimony, he described a meeting after pro-Palestinians students were “chanting for an intifada.”
“In response, the university admins held a town hall meeting with 250 Jewish students in the Hillel building, where they told us that the Intifada was a peaceful protest,” Appel alleged.
Despite these situations, Appel said his group is “not going to be intimidated.”
He said his organization plans to continue bringing speakers to campus regardless of the student government’s stance.
“We bring whoever we want and we’re here to educate,” he said.
The Fix reached out to the University of Maryland and the campus SJP for comment, but neither responded in the past several weeks.
MORE: Anti-Israel activists disrupt even with pro-Palestinian NY Times speaker
