The Palestine Solidarity Committee (PSC) has been suspended at the University of Texas after Governor Greg Abbott had to call in Texas State Troopers, Austin Police, and UT police to quell a campus uprising.
The Pro-Hamas protesters resisted arrest during its non-sanctioned demonstration, leading to violent clashes with police.
The PSC has vowed that it “will not be silent” and that “it is imperative that we act, and with urgency” and demanded that the school “divest from Israeli apartheid.”
It also accused the school of having “repeatedly changed protest policies and [being] deliberately vague about these changes” since the campus protests began.
“UT’s suspension of the Palestine Solidarity Committee is an attack on free speech to distract from and enable israel’s genocidal campaign against the Palestinian people!,” the organization wrote on Instagram. “While Jay Hartzell and Greg Abbot authorized Texas State Troopers, Austin Police, and UT police to violently attack and arrest protesters on campus, Palestinians continue to live in a state of emergency that UT refuses to recognize.”
UT insisted the group “violated institutional rules.”
The PSC was heard chanting “APD, KKK, IDF / they’re all the same” and “Pigs go home!” during the uprising.
More than 30 people were arrested on UT Austin’s campus during the anti-Israel protest on Wednesday.
UT Austin President Jay Hartzell released a statement defending the university’s decision to shut down the anti-Israel protest.
“Our rules matter and they will be enforced,” he said in a statement that conceded there was “a lot of emotion surrounding these events.”
“This has been a challenging day for many,” Hartzell added. “We have witnessed much activity we normally do not experience on our campus, and there is understandably a lot of emotion surrounding these events.”