Columbia University anti-Israel student group removed from Instagram due to policy violation

The Instagram account of the Columbia University student group that organized nationwide anti-Israel protests, constructed camps on campuses nationwide, and was accused of acting as a proxy for Hamas has been removed due to repeated violations of the platform's "dangerous organizations and individuals" policies.

On Monday evening, the Students for Justice in Palestine chapter at Columbia announced that both its main Instagram account, with approximately 124,000 followers, and its backup account were permanently deleted from the platform. The student group stated that when they attempted to create a new account, Instagram deleted it two days later.

The "Dangerous Organizations and Individuals" policy of Meta aims to tackle the most severe risks to the security of its users.

"Our policy prohibits organizations or individuals with a violent mission or history of violence from being present on our platforms. We evaluate these entities based on their behavior both online and offline, particularly their ties to violence."

In April, the Students for Justice in Palestine chapter at Columbia University set up a "Gaza Solidarity" encampment to protest the Israel-Hamas war and U.S. support for the Jewish state. This conflict, which resulted in student and non-student protesters illegally occupying an academic building on Columbia's campus, sparked a wave of other anti-Israel protest encampments at universities and colleges nationwide.

The protests at Columbia, including the one that took place there, were criticized as antisemitic. A video from a night of tense demonstrations at Columbia showed a protester holding a sign that pointed towards a group of Jewish students. The sign read "Al-Qassam's Next Targets," referring to Hamas' military wing.

Anti-Israel agitators physically assaulted Arab-Israeli journalist Yoseph Haddad while other protesters yelled "We Are Hamas" and called pro-Jewish passersby "pigs."

Families who lost loved ones on Oct. 7 are urging U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland to probe Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) for allegedly violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA). SJP, with a national office and numerous local chapters, is accused by the families of working as a front for Hamas at universities and colleges across the U.S.

The Shurat Hadin Israel Law Center, acting on behalf of the families, stated on Facebook last week that American campuses should prioritize education over being used as a means to spread hate and violence.

The National Students for Justice in Palestine and its parent group are being sued by victims' families, with the help of the National Jewish Advocacy Center and other groups, for a coordinated effort to justify Hamas' Oct. 7 attack, according to The Jerusalem Post.

The removal of the Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine chapter from Instagram led to a joint social media post by the national Students for Justice in Palestine and the Palestinian Youth Movement, as well as Columbia University Apartheid Divest, expressing support and condemning the cancellation.

"The Columbia administration has proactively suppressed pro-Palestinian protests with the start of the fall semester, and the SJP account ban has resulted in the censorship of student organizers both on campus and online."

Columbia's Students for Justice in Palestine chapter did not respond to Planet Chronicle Digital's inquiry.