Group of UPenn students could be disciplined after screening Israel-Palestine doc
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- A group of University of Pennsylvania students could face disciplinary action for defying the university's decision to delay a documentary screening on Israel-Palestine issues.
Over the next two weeks, the documentary "Israelism" is scheduled for screenings at about a dozen colleges and universities in the United States and Canada.
UPenn is now the second school to attempt to cancel one of these student-led screening events.
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Erin Axelman, co-director of the documentary "Israelism," says the first canceled event was at Hunter College in New York City.
But despite UPenn's directive to postpone Tuesday night's screening of the film out of an abundance of caution, Penn Chavurah, a progressive Jewish student group, refused to take no or "not now" as an answer from the university.
"I got a call from the vice provost of the university life threatening disciplinary action if our student group continues to host this screening," Jack Starobin, a student at Penn, said.
"Some universities have received over 20,000 emails telling them to cancel our film and telling them our film is dangerous for Jewish students," Axelman said. "Even though the majority of student groups and faculty organizing these screenings are Jewish. Our film is made by an almost entirely Jewish film team."
In a statement to CBS News Philadelphia, a university spokesperson said in part:
"Consistent with university policy, the student organizers will be referred to the office of community standards and accountability to determine whether a violation of the code of student conduct occurred."
Axelmen and students are confused as to why the film is being met with resistance.
"There's a groundswell of young Jewish people in America who have come to realize that we can both fight antisemitism while also fighting for Palestinian rights," Axelman said.
"We are within our rights as students to exercise our free speech," Starobin said. "We are abiding by open expression guidelines."
