Ohio State University has suspended a far left group that calls itself the “Central Ohio Revolutionary Socialists” (CORS) for repeatedly violating school rules and using the logo of a Palestinian terrorist organization.
“There is reasonable cause to believe your organization’s activities pose a significant risk of substantial harm to the safety or security of your organization’s members, other members of the university community, or to university property,” a school official told CORS, according to excerpts of the university notice shared by the group. The official also noted that CORS has posted unauthorized flyers, reserved campus space without permission, and ignored their adviser’s several entreaties for a meeting to discuss their conduct.
The story was first reported by The Lantern, an Ohio State campus newspaper.
Ohio State spokesperson Dave Isaacs said among CORS’s several violations, the group disseminated materials that included a logo associated with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), which is designated as a terrorist organization by the US and several other countries.
CORS, which in its recent response did not address the university’s accusation that it used the PFLP’s logo and declined to speak on the record about it to The Lantern, charged that pro-Palestinian activism is being squelched and said an event it hosted, titled “Intifada Revolution and the Path to a Free Palestine,” prompted the suspension. The group did not mention that it used the PFLP’s logo in flyers promoting the event.
The word “intifada” has been used as a call for violence against Israel and those who support the Jewish state.
“The claim that our organization is dangerous for hosting an educational meeting is ludicrous enough in itself, but it is positively disturbing given the real dynamics at play across American society right now,” CORS said. “The message from the Ohio State University is clear: pro-Palestine activism is dangerous, and if your organization advocates for Palestinian equality, you face the risk of repression.”
Ohio State University is not the first public university to suspend a campus group for extremist activity that breaks school rules, cheers terrorism, and promotes antisemitic conspiracies and tropes. Rutgers University suspended its Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) campus chapter last month, alleging disorderly conduct that disrupted classes and university operations. Several private universities, including Brandeis University, George Washington University, and Columbia University, have taken similar actions as well.
CORS’s suspension came amid mounting pressure on colleges to take a firm stance against extreme anti-Zionist and antisemitic rhetoric. In the past month, at least one president has been ousted from office for failing to do so. After telling a congressional committee that calling for a genocide of Jews would only constitute a violation of school rules in “context-dependent” circumstances, Elizabeth Magill of the University of Pennsylvania resigned after 17 months on the job.
US college campuses have experienced an alarming spike in antisemitic incidents — including demonstrations calling for Israel’s destruction and the intimidation and harassment of Jewish students — since Hamas’ Oct. 7 massacre across southern Israel. Elite universities have been among the biggest hubs of such activity, with students and faculty both demonizing Israel and rationalizing the Hamas atrocities.
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has recorded 470 antisemitic incidents on college campuses between Oct. 7 and Dec. 18. During that same period, antisemitic incidents across the US skyrocketed by 323 percent compared to the prior year.
The Algemeiner has reported on numerous incidents that occurred in that span of time. At Harvard University, for example, anti-Zionism escalated to antisemitic harassment when a mob of anti-Israel activists — including Ibrahim Bharmal, editor of the prestigious Harvard Law Review whose alumni includes former US President Barack Obama — followed, surrounded, and intimidated a Jewish student on campus, according to videos that went viral across social media. “Shame! Shame! Shame! Shame!” the crush of people screamed in a call-and-response chant into the ears of the student who —as seen in the footage — was forced to duck and dash the crowd to free himself from the cluster of bodies that encircled him.
At Cornell University, someone posted on a social media forum that is popular with students messages calling for the murder and rape of Jews. In addition to threatening the lives of Cornell’s 3,500 Jewish students, who comprise about 22 percent of the school’s student population, the posts called for an attack on a campus kosher dining hall — named 104West — affiliated with the Steven K. And Winifred A. Grinspoon Hillel Center, which forced campus officials to shutter the property.