Adalah petitions court against Haifa University’s decision to prohibit activities of Arab student clubs on campus

Adalah: How do activities celebrating International Children's Day or the end of the school year threaten public safety? 

On Sunday 1 June 2014 at 9 AM, the Haifa District Court will hold a hearing to decide on a petition submitted by Adalah against Haifa University's decision to prohibit the activities of the al-Jabha/Hadash and Sons of the Village (Abna Al Balad) student clubs on the university campus until the end of the school year. The university also prohibited activities organized by the Tajammu’/Balad student club for one month. The petition, submitted by Adalah Attorneys Sawsan Zaher and Fady Khoury on 27 May, stated that the decision by Haifa University "is one of the most radical decisions made by the university that obstructs students’ freedom of expression on campus."

On 18 May 2014, the Dean of Haifa University announced that the university will prohibit any activities organized by the Arab student clubs al-Jabha and Abna Al Balad until the end of the school year, due to their activities to commemorate Nakba Day without permission on 12 May. The dean also announced that he will prohibit any activities organized by the Balad student club for one month, saying that they held a meeting on campus with the Secretary-General of the Balad political party on 28 April without permission. 

Adalah demanded that the Dean's decision be cancelled and that the student clubs be allowed to conduct their regular activities until the court decided on the case. Adalah argued in its petition that the Dean's decision violates the university’s internal laws and regulations, which do not grant the Dean the authority to issue such a sweeping decision to prevent student activities. Further, the Dean’s decisions were issued through an unfair process that ignored the students’ right to express and defend their positions. 

Adalah Attorney Sawsan Zaher wrote that the decision to prohibit student activities on campus constitutes "a serious violation of the right of Arab students to protest, their freedom of expression and freedom of association, and there is no justification or legal basis for this prohibition." Attorney Zaher further pointed out that "the university law restricts the right to express opinions only in extreme cases, and that is when there is a belief that organizing an activity will harm public safety. But on 1 June 2014, for example, the students will organize an activity to celebrate International Children's Day, and Shabath and Abna Al Balad will also organize an event to celebrate the end of the school year – how does this threaten public safety?" 

Attorney Fady Khoury from Adalah said: "The university's decision is discriminatory at its core, and represents the selective application of the law. This is the first time that such a sweeping and dangerous decision has been made, which harms only political clubs that organize Arab student events on campus."

Read more:

Read Adalah PR, “District Court cancels Haifa University’s decision to expel Arab students”, 20 May 2014

Case Citation: Motion 50557-05-14. Ahmed Masalha et al. vs. Haifa University et al. (Haifa District Court)

Keywords: Haifa University, Freedom of expression, Freedom of Association, Education, Discrimination against Palestinian citizens, Nakba Day