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ANALYSIS
University of Maryland activists have regularly pushed an anti-Israel agenda on various campuses over the past year, sometimes with the support of school leaders.
In the past twelve months, anti-Israel activists succeeded in getting a talk canceled by an Israeli Defense Forces soldier, who is also an accomplished surgeon. Student government leaders also pushed for divestment from Israel, although university officials rejected this proposal.
The first victory for the anti-Israel lobby came after activists with the Council on American-Islamic Relations successfully bullied the medical school in Baltimore into cancelling a talk by Dr. Elon Glassberg. He is an IDF member who was going to talk to surgical students about his experience. As previously reported by The College Fix, the school cited vague “safety concerns” to justify the decision.
The University of Maryland Student Government Association wrapped up its year by criticizing the school for allegedly violating the First Amendment rights of anti-Israel activists, while simultaneously demanding the school bar IDF speakers.
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.
The Fix spoke to a pro-Palestinian activist at University of Maryland who explained why he supports barring IDF members from campus.
Rory Cahill is a member of Students for Peace in Israel and Palestine and spoke to The Fix on a video interview.
He began by criticizing some pro-Palestinian groups who celebrated the Oct. 7, 2023 terrorist attack. However, he said he believes Israel is committing “genocide.”
“I’m not totally comfortable with the way SJP approaches,” the issue of Hamas, he said.
The student activist said he “would personally support” divesting from Israel, as the student government proposed. He also wants Israeli Defense Force members barred from campus.
“I think any member of the IDF should not be speaking on campus, absolutely,” he said, with a few exceptions.
He said they should be allowed to talk as long as they are not talking about Israel in a positive way, such as those who want to criticize the country.
“But anyone who is a current part of the IDF or anybody who is…yeah, no, I definitely would not, would not support that,” he said.
The Fix asked the activist about any concerns that canceling pro-Israel speakers could create a precedent for canceling pro-Palestinian events.
“I’m not opposed necessarily to stopping pro-Israel speakers, I’m opposed to stopping members of the IDF from speaking,” he said, before The Fix asked for clarification.
“I think generally…the thing that really makes me think they should not be allowed on campus are the actions of the IDF,” he said. “And their actions in Israel bombing hospitals, deliberately causing a famine, killing journalists and aid workers, killing civilians.”
In response to a question, he said he would be okay with a pro-Israel or Zionist speaker.
“If they’re just generally Zionist,” that would be acceptable, he said.
“The IDF, in my opinion, is pretty much morally equivalent” to Hamas and Hezbollah, he said.
Cahill said he has not been involved in any dialogue or discussions with pro-Israel students.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations, and a handful of other pro-Palestinian groups, did not respond to multiple requests for comment from The Fix.
