Behind the Palestine Protest Crackdown at Universities: Lawfare

posted on: Jul 8, 2026

By: Connor J. Buss / Arab America Contributing Writer

For years, Palestine protests have been suppressed at various educational institutions. The very institutions that kindle thought and creativity have broken apart that exactly. Measures taken by the American government in collaboration with Israeli money have taken the speech away from many. But the question remains: How do these institutions wage war on speech while remaining within the law?

Repression of Protests

Over two years ago, universities across the USA began staging wide-scale protests against the genocide in Gaza. The protests demanded divestment from Israel and transparency regarding where university funds go. However, these protests were met with intense repression. Over 3000 people were arrested or faced legal consequences, and universities worked with the Trump government to clamp down on campus activism.

The fight against the protests became a spearhead for a broader enactment of policies aimed at suppressing protestors. Nearly 1700 student visas have been revoked, with new policies to harshly suppress protestors with force drafted over the past two years. Additionally, Trump’s executive order in September 2025 designated “antifa” as a terrorist organization. Given the subjectivity of the term, protestors who did little more than hold up signs are now being considered domestic terrorists. Israel-backed university organizations have used this designation as an excuse to treat protestors with according legal harshness.

Darializa Avila Chevalier is a Columbia University alumnus who is a recent representative of the New York 13^th Congressional District. She participated in the Columbia University encampment in 2024. Her election shows the wavering support for Israel and Israeli-backed reforms in higher education.

Lawfare

After 9/11, civil society became a target for the American government which believed that nonprofit organizations were funding terrorist organizations. The since-revised Financial Action Task Force (FATF) claimed that they were “particularly vulnerable” to pressure from terrorist organizations. As such, groups organized to practice “lawfare.” Lawfare is the use of legal forums to damage an opposing political group rather than provide an argument or provide evidence-based facts. Lawfare can consist of litigation, public disapproval, or full-scale campaigns to reduce a group’s funding.

As it was used just after 9/11, lawfare is being used again to fight against pro-Palestine protestors and associated groups. For example, the Zionist Advocacy Center (ZAC) is a for-profit legal agency founded by lawyer David Abrams in 2014 to file federal False Claims Act lawsuits against non-government organizations that he claims are using government funding to support terrorist organizations. Because pro-Palestine protestors are considered terrorists according to Trump’s executive order in September 2025, it means that organizations like ZAC are able to cut schools’ funding if the schools have Palestine protests.

Hence, the crackdown.

Because schools want to continue receiving government funding, they choose to suppress student voices in support of Palestine by any means necessary. Otherwise, lawsuits come in from organizations like ZAC that claim the universities are harbouring or cooperating with terrorists. This is a claim that the government supports in court.

My Experience

At my college of George Washington University, I observed a group of students repeatedly try beginning clubs centered on Palestine. Each time, they were struck down by school administrators each time. The school banned the organization after a group of Palestinian students revealed that George Washington University is funding the genocide in Gaza. Later, students would participate in the nationwide encampments. The university would cooperate with police when they used pepper spray to disperse the peaceful protestors and implemented a curfew accompanied by metal fences.

Other organizations practicing similar lawfare are The International Legal Forum (ILF), the Investigative Project on Terrorism (IPT), Keren Kaymeth Leisreal/Jewish National Fund (KKL-JNF), the Lawfare Project, the Middle East Forum (MEF), NGO Monitor (NGOM), UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI), and the Zachor Legal Institute.

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