[4][5] Institutional mechanisms described by pro-Palestinian advocates that enforce the Palestine Exception include the adoption of specific definitions of antisemitism that encompass criticism of Israeli state policies, the implementation of restrictive speech or dialogue policies in educational institutions, the elective application of "balance" requirements in media coverage, and external pressure from pro-Israeli advocacy groups such as the AIPAC, the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, and the Women’s International Zionist Organization.
The phenomenon has also been claimed to extend into primary and secondary education systems, such as with the Toronto District School Board's allowance of pro-Israel lobbyists such as the Centre for Israel and Jewish to directly shape class curriculum.
[4][6] A notable example occurred at the University of Toronto's Faculty of Law, where an employment offer to scholar Valentina Azarova was initially withdrawn following external pressure from a donor related to their work on Palestinian human rights.
[14] Since the onset of the Gaza war, the Palestine Exception was frequently used to describe documented patterns of disproportionate institutional reactions to pro-Palestinian protests compared to other social justice movements on university campuses.
[25] Many pro-Palestinian advocacy groups shifted to less restrictive social media platforms such as Twitter/X in order to speak openly about the Gaza war and the resulting humanitarian crisis to evade censorship or punishment.