George Washington University

By Zak Failla From Daily Voice

Jewish students at George Washington University were harassed, threatened, and told to leave campus for their own safety — and the US Department of Justice says the school let it happen.

In a scathing letter released on Tuesday, Aug. 12, the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division accused GWU of violating federal civil rights law by being “deliberately indifferent” to antisemitic harassment and abuse targeting Jewish, American-Israeli, and Israeli students and faculty. 

The agency said the misconduct was “shocking,” “abhorrent,” and illegal, and that university officials took “no meaningful action” to stop it.

According to the DOJ, the trouble came to a head between April 25 and May 2024, when protesters set up an “encampment” in University Yard — the center of campus — during finals and graduation. 

The letter says their goal was “to frighten, intimidate, and deny Jewish, Israeli, and American-Israeli students free and unfettered access to GWU’s educational environment.”

The investigation detailed reports of Jewish students being surrounded, harassed, threatened, and told to leave — sometimes by the very officials who were supposed to protect them.

One student said protesters “surrounded, harassed, threatened, and then ordered (him) to leave” after leaving the Law School. The DOJ says GWU’s Assistant Dean of Students told him to go because his presence was “antagonizing and provoking the crowd.”

Another student holding an Israeli flag was met with protesters shouting “F--- you, Zionist go die,” “there is only one solution, Intifada revolution,” “Hamas are freedom fighters,” and “Zionists go to hell!” A GWU police officer told the student to leave “for his own safety.”

The DOJ says GWU received at least eight complaints between April 25 and May 1 alleging discrimination against Jewish or Israeli students. “The antisemitic, hate-based misconduct… was, in a word, shocking,” the letter states.

The department has offered GWU the chance to enter a voluntary resolution agreement to prevent future violations, giving the school until August 22 to respond before pursuing enforcement action.