Aug. 12 (UPI) — The U.S. Department of Justice announced Tuesday that George Washington University was in violation of federal civil rights laws and described it as “deliberately indifferent” to anti-Semitism on campus.
The DOJ published a letter to GWU President Ellen M. Granberg saying that the department had finished its probe of the allegations against the university and found that GWU’s response to incidents of anti-Semitic discrimination and harassment of Jewish and Israeli students that “despite actual notice of the abuses occurring on its campus, GWU was deliberately indifferent to the complaints it received, the misconduct that occurred, and the harms that were suffered by its students and faculty, in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.”
The letter from Assistant Attorney General Civil Rights Division Harmeet K. Dhillon offered “the opportunity to resolve this matter through a voluntary resolution agreement.”
The allegations stem from campus protests in April and May 2024. The protests were about the Israeli attacks on Gaza, but some Jewish students experienced alleged anti-Semitism on several university campuses.
The letter alleged that students and faculty at GWU experienced a hostile educational environment “that was objectively offensive, severe, and pervasive. The anti-Semitic, hate-based misconduct by GWU students directed at Jewish GWU students, faculty, and employees was, in a word, shocking. The behavior was demonstrably abhorrent, immoral, and, most importantly, illegal.”
GWU hasn’t yet responded publicly.
The allegations stem from an encampment that students created in GWU’s University Yard, in the middle of campus.
“The purpose of the agitators’ efforts was to frighten, intimidate, and deny Jewish, Israeli, and American-Israeli students free and unfettered access to GWU’s educational environment. This is the definition of hostility and a ‘hostile environment.’ [DOJ’s] investigation found numerous incidents of Jewish students being harassed, abused, intimidated and assaulted by protesters. To be clear, Jewish students were afraid to attend class, to be observed, or, worse, to be ‘caught’ and perhaps physically beaten on GWU’s campus.”
The letter cites a few examples of students being harassed and having their movements restricted. It says the students were told by faculty and security personnel to leave for their own safety, and no other measures were taken.
“Jewish students, parents and alumni contacted GWU numerous times to express their alarm and concern about the actions of protesters and to express their legitimate and reasonable fears for their safety,” the letter said.
GWU is one of dozens of American universities that have been targeted by the Trump administration with civil rights and constitutional investigations in connection to protests over Israel’s war in Gaza.
Since returning to the White House in January, President Donald Trump has been cracking down on institutions of higher learning, especially elite schools, over a slew of allegations, from not protecting Jewish students to illegally enforcing diversity, equity and inclusion policies.
On Aug. 1, the University of California, Los Angeles, announced it had lost research funding from the federal government over the accusations of anti-Semitism on campus. UCLA paid $6.13 million to three Jewish students and one professor who said their civil rights were violated.
On July 30, Brown University agreed to pay $50 million over 10 years to workforce development organizations in Rhode Island, its home state. It also agreed to:
- Separate men’s and women’s sports facilities on the basis of sex.
- Stope the health system from prescribing puberty blockers or conducting gender reassignment surgeries on minors.
- Ban programs that contain “unlawful efforts to achieve race-based outcomes” and instead utilizing “merit-based” admission policies.
- Provide data and information to the federal government showing compliance with the deal.