On Monday, Brandeis became the first private university to ban the campus chapter of National Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP). It was the same day Brandeis President Ronald Leibowitz published an op-ed in the Boston Globe warning that any student organization that participates in antisemitism should “lose all privileges associated with affiliation at their schools.”

More of this, please. No, Brandeis is not stripping a student organization of its First Amendment rights. It is severing its relationship with a student organization, National Students for Justice in Palestine because it openly supports Hamas. That is unacceptable, especially today, a time in need of moral clarity. Hamas has been designated as a terrorist organization. National SJP has called on its chapters to support Hamas in its call for the violent elimination of Israel and Jews. There is no right to college students supporting terrorist organizations.

“This decision was not made lightly, as Brandeis is dedicated to upholding free speech principles, which have been codified in Brandeis’ Principles of Free Speech and Free Expression,” the letter said. “However, those Principles note that ‘The freedom to debate and discuss ideas does not mean that individuals may say whatever they wish, wherever they wish, or however they wish,’ and that, ‘…the university may restrict expression…that constitutes a genuine threat or harassment…or that is otherwise directly incompatible with the functioning of the university.’”

The letter continued, “The National SJP has called on its chapters to engage in conduct that supports Hamas in its call for the violent elimination of Israel and the Jewish people. These tactics are not protected by the University’s Principles. As a result, the University made the decision that the Brandeis chapter of the National SJP must be unrecognized and will no longer be eligible to receive funding, be permitted to conduct activities on campus, or use the Brandeis name and logo in promoting itself or its activities, including through social media channels.”

The letter further states that students who choose to participate in conduct that supports Hamas“will be considered to be in violation of the University’s student code of conduct.”

“Students who wish to express their support for the rights of Palestinian civilians may form another student organization, through established procedures, that complies with University policies,” the document continues.

Any questions? I think that letter sums it all up nicely. Students can organize a group to support Palestinians but it can’t support terrorism. Where are all the other presidents of private universities? Can they muster up a little moral clarity and do the right thing? Dissolve any groups on campus that knowingly support terrorism. This isn’t hard. They are not entitled to the perks that go along with an association with a university. Universities must not fund these groups.

Maybe other universities will follow suit. Too bad Brandeis didn’t see the writing on the wall earlier. In February, an SJP rally was held at Brandeis as a response to an Israeli military raid in the West Bank. It drew national attention for its antisemitic rhetoric. Shouldn’t that have been enough to shut the organization down?

Governor Ron DeSantis outlawed SJP last month at all of Florida’s public universities.

“Based on the National SJP’s support of terrorism, in consultation with Governor DeSantis, the student chapters must be deactivated,” the state university system’s chancellor, Ray Rodrigues, wrote in a memo in October to university leaders.

The move marked the first time a state has outlawed SJP. The Florida university system said its SJP ban is based on a “toolkit,” issued by the national organization to chapters ahead of its Oct. 12 “Day of Resistance.” JI obtained a copy of the “toolkit,” which has since been removed from the internet. The seven-page kit referred to Hamas’ massacre of 1,400 Israelis on Oct. 7 as “the Palestinian resistance.”

Those in charge have to lead, whether it is a private school’s president or a governor for public schools in a state. Hamas has to be eliminated, and its supporters have to be shut down.