By Esther Wickham
The Center Square

The U.S. Department of Justice announced this week that George Washington University violated federal civil rights laws by doing nothing while Israeli students faced antisemitic discrimination on campus.

The investigation, launched by the Civil Rights Division, found the Washington, D.C. university violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by “acting deliberately indifferent to the hostile educational environment for Jewish, American-Israeli and Israeli students and faculty.”

The DOJ sent a letter to GWU President Ellen Granberg, stating that despite the notice of abuse that was happening to Jewish students, the school took no action on the complaints received from Jewish and Israeli students and faculty.

An account, one Jewish GWU student described in the letter, was being surrounded, threatened and ordered to leave by antisemitic protestors after walking out of the university’s law school. GWU’s assistant dean of students instructed the student to leave because the student’s presence, according to the dean, was “antagonizing and provoking the crowd.”

Another encounter occurred as a Jewish student quietly held up an Israeli flag while protestors linked arms together blocking the student’s movement, while the crowd shouted racial slurs. A nearby GWU police officer reportedly did nothing to prevent or intervene in this harassment and instead told the Jewish student to leave the area for his safety.

“Every student has the right to equal educational opportunities without fear of harassment or abuse,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon, who heads the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division. “No one is above the law, and universities that promulgate antisemitic discrimination will face legal consequences.”

In a Faculty Senate meeting on Tuesday, President Granberg said the university believes there is no place for antisemitism on campus and defended its commitment to addressing antisemitic actions.

Granberg also said the university has collaborated with members of GWU’s Jewish community to enhance campus safety and create a more welcoming environment for students.

“I want to make it very clear that GW condemns antisemitism,” Granberg said.

The DOJ requested that GWU enter into a voluntary resolution agreement by Aug. 22.