I never expected that peacefully handing out information about Israel at my alma mater would get me banned from campus, or that challenging that ban would lead to university-wide policy change nearly two years later. But as this journey finally comes to a close, it has been a powerful reminder that speaking up can make a difference.

From the beginning, this was about more than what happened to me. I fought back because peaceful expression on a public university campus should be governed by clear rules that are applied equally to everyone. Pro-Israel students and community members deserve the same clarity, equal treatment and freedom of expression as everyone else.

Getty Images

I am an alumnus of the University of Missouri and live in the local Columbia community. For the last decade, I have volunteered to help Mizzou students organize Jewish and pro-Israel events, and I also hand out educational materials about Israel and Zionism outside campus and community events that present a one-sided or anti-Israel agenda.

On November 20, 2024, I attended a screening of “Israelism” at the University of Missouri. The documentary is highly critical of Israel and, in my view, mischaracterizes important aspects of the Arab Israeli conflict, so I came prepared to offer another perspective. Before the screening, I set up a small table with educational materials about Israel produced by StandWithUs. I made sure it did not block any walkways or entrances because I was not there to disrupt the event or interfere with anyone else’s right to speak. I simply wanted to peacefully exercise my own right to free expression.

The deputy spokesperson for the University of Missouri was monitoring the event and approached me. He explained the rules governing protests and told me not to disrupt the screening. I agreed and understood from our conversation that I could continue my peaceful activity.

I later learned that University of Missouri professor Rasha Abousalem contacted campus police about me. I knew Professor Abousalem from her anti-Israel activism on campus. Earlier that semester, I had witnessed her marching near a protester carrying a sign that read, “Save Hamas.” According to the police report she filed, she asked officers to determine whether I had permission for my table and, if not, to remove it. 

A police officer came to investigate my table based on her complaint. The responding officer first spoke with people at the screening, who described me as “peaceful and respectful.” He observed that my table was against the wall and did not block the walkway. He then spoke to the university employee in attendance and reviewed the university’s written guidance on protests and demonstrations. It expressly stated: “You can distribute literature inside an open meeting before or after the meeting.” The officer then contacted his University Police supervisor, who said that if I was peaceful and not causing a problem, “it should be fine.”

After consulting his colleagues and reviewing the university’s guidance, the responding officer told Professor Abousalem that I was not causing a disturbance, my table was not blocking access, and he could not find anything saying that I could not have it there. He also told her that because the screening was a public event, I was allowed to attend. I stayed until the end of the event with no issue. No officer or university employee ever told me that I was violating university policy. No one told me to remove my literature or my table. No one asked me to leave. That should have been the end of the story.

Yet weeks later, I learned that the university was preparing to ban me from campus. The university wrote saying that I had violated a separate policy which was buried on its website. It alleged that I violated Section 6:054 of the Business Policy and Procedure Manual because I had not obtained approval from the Mumford Hall building coordinator before distributing non-university publications inside the building. I was stunned.

I had never heard of that policy and nobody had mentioned that requirement to me that night. A university spokesperson had addressed my activity, campus police had investigated the situation, officers had taken the question up their chain of command and they had reviewed the university’s written guidance. No one told me I was violating anything.

I wrote to University President Mun Choi and objected. I explained what had happened and noted that I had seen similar literature distribution at other campus events without comparable enforcement. On December 17, 2024, the university sent a letter in response that disregarded my evidence, refused to acknowledge any inconsistencies in their policies or employee conduct and ultimately issued a six-month no-trespass notice against me. The university seemed to rest its entire decision on the fact that the deputy spokesperson who had first addressed me was not the designated Mumford Hall building coordinator and therefore could not provide the specific approval required under Section 6:054. That explanation did not sit right with me.

If the policy was clear enough to justify banning me from campus for six months, why did no university employee or law enforcement officer tell me I was violating it? And even if I had unknowingly violated a technical rule, how could a six-month ban be a reasonable response to peaceful conduct, especially when I had seen anti-Israel activists engage in similar conduct without consequence?

I decided to fight back because I was not willing to accept what appeared to be a double standard against pro-Israel speech on campus. I turned to StandWithUs Saidoff Law for help. With assistance from their attorneys, I filed a civil rights complaint with the Missouri Commission on Human Rights. I challenged the treatment I received and the confusing university policies that led to it. And after nearly two years of fighting, we won.

The University of Missouri revised Section 6:054 and agreed to ensure that relevant employees understand the new policy and how it should be enforced. It also updated its website outlining free expression rights on campus to clarify the rules for distributing literature at indoor meetings and assured me that I would not be trespassed for handing out literature in accordance with its updated policies and procedures.

For years, I have watched people come onto the campus of my alma mater to spread anti-Israel hate. I have seen protests, leaflets, signs and demonstrations that I strongly oppose. They have the right to speak. Yet Jewish and Zionist students and community members on campus often face ambiguous rules or double standards for trying to voice their views in support of their connection to the land of Israel. That is why students, alumni and community members must speak up, educate others, assert their rights and reach out to organizations like StandWithUs for help when necessary.

Standing up for your rights is not only about obtaining justice for yourself. It is about making sure that the next person who speaks up does not have to fight the same battle.

University of Missouri alum Daniel Swindell has supported Jewish and pro-Israel life at Mizzou and in the broader Columbia, MO, community for more than a decade, including founding the Zionist Book Festival, an annual event that engages students in discussions of the history and experiences of the Jewish People.