Georgetown SJP blasts school for hosting 'anti-Palestinian racist, queerphobic' IDF soldier
The Georgetown Students for Justice in Palestine chapter took aim at the inclusion of the 'anti-Palestinian racist, queerphobic' Benaya Cherlow being allowed to appear on campus earlier this year.
In a post criticizing Georgetown University’s Campus Ministry and administration for hosting Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers on campus, the Georgetown Students for Justice in Palestine chapter especially took aim at the inclusion of the “anti-Palestinian racist, queerphobic” Benaya Cherlow.
Cherlow, who is an IDF reservist and was named as one of Israel’s 75 Promising Young Minds, was hosted by Georgetown Israel Alliance (GIA) to speak earlier this year on his time serving in the Israeli military.
In a June 11 Instagram post, the SJP group wrote: “While on an anti-Palestinian tirade at the panel, cherlow [sic] made a series of comments calling for and fantasizing about violence against Queer and Jewish student protesters, with the full protection of university personnel and police. After Campus Ministry’s panel, cherlow [sic] went to Gaza AGAIN, all the while posting selfies on social media on the blood-stained land he was stealing.”
The group continued: “Having just returned to DC from his second tour, the colonizer-genocider took to the streets of Capitol ‘Pride’ to spread anti-Palestinian and queerphobic zionist propaganda, with the full protection of police — the same police who at the same time were brutalizing Queer pro-Palestine demonstrators at the parade.”
Georgetown SJP further alleged that “[d]espite hundreds of students, faculty, staff, and community members, including Georgetown Campus Ministry chaplains and student workers protesting the event, Campus Ministry has done nothing to rectify the harm it caused by platforming this virulently anti-Palestinian racist, queerphobic, and antisemitic genocider on our campus.”
The post also went on to outline that the SJP group arranged a protest outside of the venue during the talk, which featured “chaplains and campus ministry student workers, from every faith tradition represented in campus ministry.”
[RELATED: Georgetown Law students protest IDF reservist they say is ‘likely’ guilty of ‘war crimes’]
Although Benaya Cherlow was invited to deliver a speech at the “Capital Pride Parade,” Georgetown SJP stated: “Gaza is not having a Pride Parade because genociders like Benaya Cherlow are actively perpetrating the wholesale extermination of Palestinians in Gaza.”
The groups also claimed: “PALESTINIANS ARE NOT A THREAT TO QUEER PEOPLE - ZIONISM IS.”
However, Palestinian oppression of openly gay individuals has been well documented. In 2022, it was reported that a gay Palestinian man was found beheaded on the side of a road after seeking asylum in Israel out of fear of persecution because of his sexuality.
Campus Reform has contacted Georgetown University and the Georgetown SJP for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
