The Students for Justice in Palestine did not proceed with a rally they planned Thursday in Tucson, Arizona, after University of Arizona President Robert Robbins condemned the group.
Robbins said that the national organization of the group is why he disagrees with the rally, but said that they still were allowed to hold the demonstration.
"The national organization has made statements endorsing the actions of Hamas in Israel, which are, of course, antithetical to our university's values," Robbins said in a statement.
"I want to be clear that SJP is not speaking on behalf of our university. But they have the constitutional right to hold their views and to express them in a safe environment," he said.
He also directly called out antisemitism in the statement, as the university as a sizeable Jewish population, and he encouraged civility in the coming days as tensions run high.
As a result, the school's chapter said in an Instagram post that they "no longer feel safe" and said they would postpone their demonstration.
The Anti-Defamation League's Arizona chapter praised Robbins for directly calling out Hamas, the terrorist group that triggered the conflict in Israel.
"We are very grateful to [University of Arizona President] Robbins for your letter to [University of Arizona] students & faculty condemning the acts of Hamas as “antisemitic hatred, murder, and [an] atrocity.” We appreciate your calling out SJP’s endorsement of Hamas as antithetical to the university’s values," the organization posted to X, formerly known as Twitter, on Thursday.
