Temple University suspends pro-Palestinian student group after protest leads to 4 students arrested

PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Temple University has suspended a pro-Palestinian student group over a protest that led to four students being arrested.

The group Students for Justice in Palestine was protesting vendors at a career fair hosted by Temple on Sept. 26. Temple police arrested four of them for disorderly conduct.

Two of the women arrested accuse police of brutality. One said an officer yanked her breast, and another said an officer pulled off her hijab.

Temple police say they have looked at footage from body cameras and found no evidence to support either of those claims.

Police say the video shows the protestors illegally disrupting the event and then pushing the officers. They say the police used reasonable force in response.

The Philadelphia chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations is calling on the Philadelphia Police Department to investigate.

Temple officials are meeting with CAIR on Thursday.

In August, Rutgers University-New Brunswick suspended the local Students for Justice in Palestine chapter until the 2025-26 academic year.