Academia and Genocide
Title: World News #107 – Academia is Complicit in Genocide
Subject: Universities and colleges censoring Palestinian voices and suppressing pro-Palestinian speech
Created: 2025
Medium: Graphic Design
Software: Adobe Illustrator CC & Adobe Photoshop CC
Dimensions: 48″x36″
Articles
“George Mason adopted the discredited IHRA definition in 2024 in response to the historic wave of student protests for Palestine, and has since faced significant pressure from the Department of Education to further crack down on speech that the Trump administration doesn’t like. The IHRA definition, promoted by right-wing Israel lobby groups, wrongly conflates virtually all criticism of Israel’s human rights violations with antisemitism.
In August 2025, Mason SJP posted a video criticizing the university’s repressive policies towards student activists and condemning Israel’s genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. The very next week, they received an email from the Vice President of University Life, Rose Pascarell, demanding that SJP take down the post as a presumed violation of IHRA.
In what Palestine Legal considers to be among the most egregious examples of censorship using the IHRA definition, George Mason forced students to delete the social media content or risk facing severe disciplinary action for using the phrases “Belly of the Beast” in reference to US foreign policy, and “Turtle Island,” which is a term many Indigenous communities use to refer to North America.
George Mason also stated that the censorship was based on SJP’s use of the popular pro-Palestinian slogan “From The River to the Sea”, which a federal appeals court last week ruled to be protected by the First Amendment, and for describing the state of Israel as “genocidal”.”
– PalestineLegal, George Mason University censors Palestinian student group for saying “Belly of the Beast” and “Turtle Island” in striking violation of First Amendment
“Palestinian students have reported being threatened with violence and harassed with racist messages characterizing all Palestinians as terrorists, according to an Oct. 31 Vox article.
When Zionist Jewish students cry antisemitism, their allegations are taken seriously and result in administrative action; when Palestinian students try to share their experiences with identity-based prejudice, however, they often open themselves up to more harassment and doxxing.
We all come to college expecting to find a diversity of perspectives and opinions, whether it be at UVM or across the 5Cs. Not only are colleges failing Palestinian students, but by suppressing dissent, they are acting counterintuitively to their educational mission for all students.
Recently, UVM administration canceled a talk sponsored by the Will Miller Social Justice Lecture Series where prominent Palestinian poet and journalist Mohammed El-Kurd was supposed to speak due to “safety concerns,” according to an Oct. 23 MYNBC article.”
– The Vermont Cynic, Stop censoring Palestinian voices on campus
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Download the 11″x8.5″ print (.pdf), World News #107 – Academia is Complicit in Genocide ALT.
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World News
World News is a series of artworks by Ihanktonwan Dakota artist David Bernie that discusses issues and stories affecting communities worldwide.
Creative Commons License
World News #107: Academia is Complicit in Genocide © 2025 by David Bernie is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
. You may download, share, and post the images under the condition that the works are attributed to the artist.
