Yale University drew tepid praise from the Trump administration Thursday for yanking Yalies4Palestine’s status as a registered student group and penalizing protesters accused of antisemitism during a virulent anti-Israel demonstration on campus Tuesday.
On Tuesday evening, protesters erected eight tents on Beinecke Plaza on Yale’s central campus and allegedly engaged in “disturbing antisemitic conduct” while demonstrating against Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir’s forthcoming visit.
The Trump administration’s Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism, which includes representatives from the Education Department and the Department of Health and Human Services, cautiously praised the New Haven, Conn., school for its handling of the ordeal.
“But with respect to on-campus events, Yale University appears to have enforced its time, place, and manner policies, cleared the area, de-registered a student organization involved in the incident, and started an investigation into individual discipline for students who crossed the line from speech into unlawful conduct,” the task force said in a statement.
“We are cautiously encouraged by Yale’s actions and will be keeping an eye on the situation and aftermath.”
Campus officials announced Wednesday that they were yanking Yalies4Palestine’s registered student organization status after concluding that the group had joined forces with an “unregistered group” and was “taking credit” for the Tuesday protest.
Yale University didn’t elaborate on the specific instances of “disturbing antisemitic conduct” that it claimed transpired during the Tuesday protest, saying that it is still “investigating those concerns.” The Post reached out for comment.
Over 100 anti-Israel agitators had initially convened around Beinecke Plaza at 8 p.m. local time and planned to stay the night before its encampment was disbanded due to threats from administrators just before midnight, the student newspaper, Yale Daily News reported.
In addition to protesting Ben-Gvir’s visit, the protest came on the anniversary of authorities breaking up the first encampment on campus by anti-Israel protesters. Yale Police arrested 48 individuals, 44 of whom were students at the time.
Some of the student protesters on Tuesday had previously received warnings from the university for violating its policies and will be “subject to immediate disciplinary action,” Yale said.
“Yale supports free expression on campus, including permitting peaceful vigils, rallies, protests, and counterprotests that comply with the university’s time, place, and manner rules,” the Ivy League School said in a press release.
Yalies4Palestine denied involvement in planning to protest on Tuesday, but the university pointed to examples of it blasting out requests for people to join the demonstration.
In one Instagram Reel shared by Yalies4Palestine, the group had called on its followers to “Join the students,” and in another post wrote, “HAPPENING NOW YALE STUDENTS RELAUNCH ENCAMPMENTS.”
The debacle on Tuesday also came just a day after “Yalies4Palestine had met with Yale College officials to discuss recent policy violations and were warned that further violations would jeopardize the group’s privileges.”
Now that the group has lost its status as a registered student group, it will be cut off from reserve spaces on campus, getting funding from the university, using Yale’s name and more.
The Trump administration has been carefully monitoring activity on campuses across the country in the wake of last year’s unrest that saw a surge of anti-Israel demonstrations and antisemitic incidents.
“DOJ @CivilRights is tracking the concerning activities at Yale, and is in touch with affected students,” Harmeet Dhillon, the assistant attorney general for the Justice Department’s civil rights division, wrote on X.
Dhillon highlighted a video of a Jewish student being blocked by anti-Israel protesters who were chanting in favor of divesting from the Jewish state. They told him to go around them.
“This Task Force is committed to stopping unlawful antisemitic harassment on campus,” it added. “We encourage all universities to independently uphold their anti-discrimination obligations under the law and to appropriately discipline students consistent with their policies.”
On Wednesday, during Ben-Gvir’s visit to campus, anti-Israel agitators reemerged.
Protesters surrounded him while screaming and hurling water bottles at the Israeli national security minister.
“The event is taking place against the backdrop of a round of diplomatic meetings that the minister is holding in the US, after speaking at President Trump’s mansion in the past 24 hours, and the day before at a meeting with Jewish communities in the US,” Ben-Gvir’s office said in a statement afterwards.
Ben-Gvir, a vocal supporter of President Trump, is a controversial figure who was previously convicted for provoking anti-Arab racism as well as supporting a terrorist organization and had once been booted from the military due to his hardline views against the Palestinians.
This week’s trip marked his first time in the US as Israel’s national security minister.
Trump’s team has threatened to strip and, at times, has cut off funding for colleges and campuses that decline to step up against antisemitism on campus and enact other changes to their policies that it has sought.
Earlier this month, the administration axed well over $2.2 billion in funding for Harvard University. Last month, Columbia University caved to the Trump administration’s demands.