Catholic University of America Removes Approved October 7 Memorial

Citing the University’s flag policy, administrators at the Catholic University of America (CUA) removed a display that was set up by Students Supporting Israel (SSI) to honor the memory of those who were killed and captured in the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel by Hamas.

The flag policy states that only the flags of the United States, the District of Columbia and the Vatican can be flown in public areas on campus.

However, Felipe Avila, president of SSI, provided Accuracy in Academia with a picture showing flags from other countries on display-including the Palestinian flag that appears to violate the policy but remains in place. Avila called the policy “dishonest” in an email to AIA.

“The university is trying to hide behind a ‘flag policy,’ but it is fundamentally dishonest to use a rule that they conveniently ignore for other student organizations. When a policy is only used to silence one viewpoint, it stops being a rule and becomes a pretext for discrimination.”

As for the Israeli flags SSI had placed on display, Avila commented:

“We eventually found our memorial flags stuffed into a clear trash bag in an administrator’s office.”

To add insult to injury and demonstrating how tone-deaf the CUA administration is in this case, they removed the memorial on the second anniversary of the Hamas attack, which they later apologized for.

Colleges and universities across the country have come under intense scrutiny for antisemitic behavior with the Trump administration forcing many of the schools in question to agree to changes to ensure that they treat Jewish students fairly and make sure they are safe in the future from attacks from supporters of Hamas and the Palestinian state.