Indiana University: Jewish Studies Program boots student from meeting, cuts travel funding over Zoom profile picture

On September 19, 2025, Indiana University doctoral student Sabina Ali joined a Zoom workshop hosted by IU’s Jewish Studies Program with her profile picture featuring a drawing of a woman wearing a keffiyeh and the slogan “Free Palestine.” The program’s interim director, Günther Jikeli, asked Ali to either change the profile picture or turn her camera on, and when Ali did not respond, Jikeli removed her from the meeting. On October 3, Jikeli overruled a unanimous faculty committee decision and denied Ali’s request for travel funding to present research at a conference. On October 9, the Jewish Studies Program promulgated a new Zoom policy, banning all profile and background photos and slogans. On November 7, FIRE wrote IU, explaining that the First Amendment bars retaliation for protected expression like Ali’s profile photo and that the new Zoom policy impermissibly allows administrators to discriminate based on viewpoint.