The student government at the University of Maryland passed a resolution Wednesday that seeks to ban Israel Defense Forces members from speaking on campus.
“The resolution came after a pro-Israel student group hosted IDF soldiers, which protesters disrupted by calling them ‘baby killers’ and comparing the IDF to the KKK,” the Jewish Journal reported.
According to the Diamondback student newspaper, the resolution — which passed unanimously — urges administrators “to condemn the hosting of the soldiers and change university policy so that student organizations and academic departments will not be able to host speakers who have been found, or are being actively investigated for genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity or systematic human rights violations.”
The resolution is non-binding, meaning it only represents the opinions of the student government and is not enforcable.
The crux of the controversy centers on an event held Oct. 21 by Students Supporting Israel featuring three guest speakers, Israel Defense Forces soldiers, who shared “their experiences fighting for Israel before and after October 7, and their advice for us college students on standing up against antisemitism and anti-Zionism every day,” according to the group.
The event prompted a protest, during which four students, including two student journalists, were detained by police for an hour, the Diamondback reported; according to campus police: “Four people were in the hallway causing a disruption. This disruption included screaming, holding signs and recording their actions.”