US universities intensify crackdown on pro-Palestinian activism
The University of Michigan "recruited" state attorney general Dana Nessel to prosecute pro-Palestinian protesters advocating for Gaza, according to an investigation from The Guardian published on Thursday.
In a rare move, Michigan’s Board of Regents allegedly "bypassed" local prosecutors, opting to collaborate with Nessel, a political ally with ties to board members of the university, according to the report.
The Guardian reported that this decision, spurred by frustration with local prosecutors who had chosen leniency in similar cases, marks an instance of “forum shopping”, where Nessel’s office could potentially pursue harsher actions against protestors.
According to The Guardian, Nessel’s office charged 85 percent of the arrested protesters, a stark contrast to the 10 percent charged by the Washtenaw County Prosecutor’s Office, while Wayne County dismissed all five Gaza protest cases.
Critics argue that Nessel’s strong ties to pro-Israel donors and political figures, including the university’s regents, reveal potential conflicts of interest.
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Six out of eight board regents have collectively donated over $33,000 to Nessel’s campaigns, with some university donors also advocating for pro-Israel stances.
A former prosecutor told The Guardian that taking cases from local prosecutors is legal, but “generates distrust of the justice process”.
Nessel’s office denies that these donations influence prosecutorial decisions, maintaining that the choice to prosecute was based on jurisdictional overlaps.
The University of Michigan's Assistant Vice President for Public Affairs, Colleen Mastony, told Middle East Eye it "strongly disputes any allegation that the university’s board of regents and the Michigan attorney general may have acted inappropriately because of normal, entirely legal contributions and relationships."
"The attorney general represents the people of Michigan and decides which cases to bring. She cannot be hired or recruited by individuals or institutions. Likewise, the university does not have the power to bypass local prosecutors," Mastony said in an emailed statement.
The university says that Nessel reached out to the university in May and offered to investigate and prosecute cases "based on her multijurisdictional authority and expertise in First Amendment principles and law."
Legal experts and advocacy groups, including the ACLU, have voiced concerns about Nessel’s involvement, particularly regarding the criminalisation of non-violent protests.
Observers worry that the decision reflects broader, potentially biased, suppression of campus activism supporting Palestine, as similar cases on US campuses also reveal an increasing pattern of investigations and disciplinary actions against both students and faculty.
Investigations extend to faculty
Across the US, universities have launched investigations and disciplined faculty members vocal in their support of Palestine, according to The Guardian.
The Guardian reports that Columbia University’s Katherine Franke, a law professor and director of the Center for Gender and Sexuality Law, is under investigation for comments related to Israel and the treatment of Palestinian students on campus.
When asked about the case, Columbia University's media office told Middle East Eye that they would not comment on a pending investigation.
The scrutiny has intensified since the beginning of the academic year, as universities attempt to navigate heightened tensions surrounding the war in Gaza.
Other faculty members, including Maura Finkelstein from Muhlenberg College and Ruha Benjamin from Princeton University, also face disciplinary actions over their pro-Palestinian statements and activism, according to the report.
Middle East Eye reached out to Princeton University but did not receive a response by time of publication.
These investigations, often triggered by student complaints or administrative objections, have led to firings, suspensions, and increased legal battles.
Finkelstein’s case in particular highlights the conflation of anti-Zionist views with antisemitism, leading to her dismissal after reposting a message on Instagram by Palestinian poet, Remi Kanazi.
Legal advocacy groups, including the Knight First Amendment Institute, stress the danger of penalising faculty for political speech, arguing that such actions stifle academic freedom and inhibit open discourse on contentious topics.
Faculty members, often tenured, argue that universities’ handling of these cases establishes a “culture of fear” and discourages critical examination of complex international issues, such as the Israel-Palestine conflict.
These disciplinary actions, alongside Michigan’s legal crackdown on student protesters, underscore growing concerns among advocates that US universities are moving towards an unprecedented suppression of Palestine solidarity, and with it, a crackdown on freedom of speech.
Finkelstein urged her colleagues to resist this suppression.
She told The Guardian, “It’s not shocking to me that our institutions are going to be cracking down on that, but it sets such a terrifying precedent. What is a college or university, if not a place where we can actually talk about these things?”
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