ORLANDO, Fla. — Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration has banned a pro-Palestinian student organization from state university campuses.
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The governor’s office says the group Students for Justice in Palestine is supporting terrorist organizations.
The U.S. State Department designated Hamas a terrorist group in 1997. The European Union and other Western countries also consider it a terrorist organization.
Read: Biden condemns retaliatory attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank
Students for Justice in Palestine has been on U.S. campuses for decades, with frequent protests calling for the liberation of Palestinians and boycotts against Israel, according to reports.
Some members of the organization called the ban an attack on free speech.
Watch: Hundreds gather in downtown Orlando to support innocent lives lost in Palestine
Rep. Randy Fine, who has advised DeSantis on Israel and Jewish policy, said he had called on the administration to take action against the student group but there was none until he released a strongly worded op-ed explaining his decision to switch his endorsement.
“It shouldn’t have taken me endorsing Trump to make it happen. I was begging them for two weeks and was just getting the Heisman at every turn,” Fine said, referring to the college football trophy depicting a player holding his arm out to fend off opponents.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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