Amman – "I never imagined for a moment that our support for the steadfastness of our people in the Gaza Strip would be the reason for our expulsion from our university," said Ahmed Haider, a student who was expelled from the Jordanian Private University of Applied Sciences, to Al Jazeera Net, confirming that the decision to expel him permanently was unexpected.
The student added that his expulsion came shortly after the formation of an educational media team titled "Colleges Deluge" on the student team's "ES+" social media platforms, "with the aim to raise awareness about what is happening in the Gaza Strip, support the persistence of the Palestinian resistance in the sector, boast about the resistance's achievements and legendary steadfastness in the face of aggression practiced by the Zionist enemy, and the genocide our people in Gaza are facing."
Student Ahmed Haider faced permanent expulsion from his university in Jordan due to activities in support of Gaza (Al Jazeera)
Crackdown
Ahmed mentioned that "the university administration asked me to come to the Dean of Students' office to receive a letter related to me after investigations conducted about the formation of the media team supporting Gaza. When I received it, it turned out to be about my complete expulsion from the university, with unclear and incorrect charges that have nothing to do with the activities we're conducting."
He also clarified that the student team's actions are consistent with the university's literature, which says it has organized many activities in support of the Palestinian people's perseverance in the Gaza Strip. He added, "We are currently in touch with lawyers to legally contest our expulsion from the university, especially since we have not committed any crime punishable by Jordanian university laws."
The student team "ES+" has demanded the cancellation of the expulsion of students Ahmed Haider and Ezzedine Arfa, asserting that the "application of the articles that the investigative committee relied upon to issue the sanctions is completely incorrect and does not match the charges attributed to the students." It also mentioned its commitment to taking all legal and peaceful measures to stop these sanctions.
Recently, the universities of Applied Sciences and Al al-Bayt made decisions either to expel students or issue warnings to others due to their involvement in activities and events supporting the Palestinian resistance in the Gaza Strip. Clips and images have spread on social media showing university security at the Islamic Sciences University preventing students from praying for the souls of Gaza's martyrs.
University Administration Statement
The administration of the Applied Sciences Private University stated on its Facebook page that the university "has taken its usual procedures in dealing with any deviations from the law, customs, and traditions in higher education institutions, transferring two of our students to the university's investigative committee, for using the university's name in unrelated activities, despite continuous warnings about this for more than a year."
Despite warning one of the students before the recent events for the same reason, the investigative committee members from the university's faculty were surprised by one of the aforementioned students' disrespect when dealing with committee members, along with proven misconduct under investigation, therefore, they deserved the punishment meted out to them, according to the statement.
The statement also mentioned that "it is not lost on us that nothing is uglier than disrespecting a teacher, except doing so in the name of patriotism and religion. It would have been more appropriative for the mentioned students to learn from young people of their age who resist for the dignity and honor of the nation, without seeking personal glory, twisting facts, or showing arrogance towards the law, respecting their authority."
The university noted in its statement that since the beginning of the aggression on Gaza, it has conducted numerous supportive activities for the people in Gaza, such as donation campaigns and supportive exhibitions. However, these two students violated instructions and norms related to respecting the teaching staff.
Human Rights Violations
The Student Observatory stated that it is following up on human rights violations in several Jordanian universities by issuing sanctions against a group of students because of their engagement with the just cause of Gaza and their solidarity with its people and their right to resistance, with the latest being the expulsion decision against the two students from the University of Applied Sciences.
The Observatory, in a statement obtained by Al Jazeera Net, expressed their condemnation and disgust of these shocking sanctions against Jordanian students, stating they contradict the official stance of the Jordanian state on the genocide in Gaza and consider them a blatant infringement on the public rights and freedoms system and a distortion of the general image of the stance of Jordanian state institutions toward the Palestinian cause, which cannot be accepted.
The Observatory also mentioned Al al-Bayt University's summoning of students by the Dean of Students and issuing warning punishments to three students for participating in solidarity stands with Gaza and its people, who are facing collective genocide.
Future Concerns
Coordinator of the National Campaign for the Defense of Students' Rights "Thabhtoona" Dr. Fakher Da'as commented on the decision to expel the two students, saying, "Although Jordanian university administrations allow students to organize activities and events in support of Gaza, lately, some universities have been noticed to crack down on student activism within the university campus, either by preventing events without prior authorization or by wholly banning them."
He further discussed with Al Jazeera Net, expressing his belief that the primary goal is to prevent the formation of an effective student movement in light of the aggression in the Gaza Strip. This has led students to form frameworks intending to organize activities, potentially becoming an influential student movement in the future, which university administrations fear might happen.
The national and popular student forces in Jordanian universities have announced the establishment of the Student Forum to Support Resistance to be a home for national and popular work supporting resistance in Palestine and its surroundings, while Jordanian universities have seen dozens of solidarity stands in support of the resistance and in support of the people of the Gaza Strip, who have been undergoing an unprecedented Israeli aggression lasting more than 70 days.
