University of Manitoba Nursing Students’ Association president Arij Al Khafagi is currently appealing her suspension.
Al Khafagi was suspended after university officials deemed social media posts she made criticizing the Israeli military’s actions in Gaza antisemitic.
One Instagram post featured a cartoon which likened an Israeli soldier to a soldier in Nazi Germany, captioned “the irony of becoming what you once hated.” Another post Al Khafagi shared was a video of people searching for a missing child in Gaza, condemning supporters of Israel for supporting a government committing mass violence against Palestinian civilians.
Al Khafagi told the Free Press she was called into a meeting to discuss her posts and was told senior staff at the nursing college were considering expelling her from the program after receiving a number of complaints, some of them anonymous. She confirmed her suspension on Instagram on Nov. 23.
If Al Khafagi’s appeal is denied, she will graduate at least one year later than expected.
Students held a rally in front of the administration building to protest Al Khafagi’s suspension last Thursday.
At the event, Ramsey Zeid, president of the Canadian Palestinian Association of Manitoba, accused the university of censoring students.
Zeid led the crowd in a series of chants, including “shame on you U of M, this censorship has got to end.”
