PHOENIX — Arizona State University canceled a speech by U.S. Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib hours before its scheduled 4 p.m. Friday start on the university's Tempe campus.
Late in the day Friday, event organizer Arizona Palestine Network told 12News that Tlaib would speak via cellphone at 4 p.m. to the crowd gathered at ASU's Neeb Hall, the planned site of the in-person speech.
Tlaib, the only Palestinian-American member of Congress, has been a harsh critic of Israel.
A university spokeswoman provided this statement to 12News:
"Organizers of events using ASU facilities must be properly registered with ASU and must meet all university requirements for crowd management, parking, security, and insurance.
"In addition, the events must be produced in a way which minimizes disruption to academic and other activities on campus.
"The event featuring Congresswoman Tlaib was planned and produced by groups not affiliated with ASU and was organized outside of ASU policies and procedures.
"Accordingly, that event will not take place today on the ASU Tempe campus."
Sponsors of the event included the campus chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine and other Arizona organizations.
On its Instagram page, the SJP chapter posted a suggested email to ASU's top in-house attorney:
"Arizona State University's attempt to cancel today's Rashida Tlaib speaker event is completely unacceptable.
"Rashida Tlaib must be heard on campus as the only Palestinian member of Congress who plans to speak on an American issue at this event.
"ASU cannot claim to hold free speech as a principle while denying Palestinians their voices on campus."
12News has requested comment from Tlaib.
Censured Over Use of Slogan
Tlaib, a Democratic congresswoman from the Detroit area, has become a political lightning rod since Hamas' surprise Oct. 7 attack on Israel ignited a war.
The House of Representatives voted last week to censure Tlaib for her statements about the war.
She embraced the slogan "from the river to the sea," widely viewed as a call to destroy the State of Israel.
Tlaib defended the phrase as "an aspirational call for freedom, human rights and peaceful coexistence."
Ahead of the planned speech, a bipartisan group of Arizona lawmakers issued a statement saying Tlaib's "extremist, anti-Semitic views... are not welcome in the state of Arizona." But they defended her right to speak on campus.
Tlaib Speaking at CAIR Banquet
The ASU event was one of two events Tlaib has scheduled in the Valley.
She is the keynote speaker Saturday night at the annual banquet for the Council on American-Islamic Relations of Arizona.
CAIR-AZ said earlier this month that a Mesa hotel cancelled its contract for the banquet, based on alleged threats to the hotel and its staff. A new venue has been secured.
Azza Abuseif, executive director of CAIR-AZ. said in a statement to 12News:
"I am deeply troubled by the actions of ASU suppressing freedom of speech, as it shows disrespect and shame towards the principles of the United States Constitution. This biased and discriminatory act targets the Palestinian congresswoman and everyone advocating for a humanitarian cause.”
Campus Roiled by Reported Rock Throwing
The ASU campus has been roiled this week by a police investigation of rock throwing at a building where a student government meeting was being held. The leader of a Jewish student group attending the meeting said they had to be escorted to safety by police.
For much of this year, ASU President Michael Crow has been under fire from the left and the right over the university's free-speech policies.