GWU students demand reinstatement of group that projected pro-Hamas messages on school building
On Feb. 3-4, students at George Washington University protested the ongoing suspension of the Students for Justice in Palestine chapter and called for GWU to divest from Israel.
Protesters also reportedly held signs that read 'Resistance is justice,' 'Divest from Zionist genocide,' 'End the siege in Gaza,' and 'From the river to the sea.'
On Feb. 3-4, students at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. protested the ongoing suspension of the Students for Justice in Palestine chapter and demanded that the school divest from Israel.
Around 150 students participated in the first protest on Saturday, Feb. 3, which was held at GWU’s University Yard. The students petitioned the university to reinstate SJP’s student group status and pushed for GWU to sever ties with corporations that have business dealings with Israel.
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GWU’s SJP chapter was suspended in November for projecting pro-Hamas, anti-Semitic phrases onto a school building. As Campus Reform previously reported, those slogans included “Free Palestine,” “From the River to the Sea,” and “Glory to Our Martyrs.”
During the protest on Feb. 3, demonstrators reportedly joined together in chants such as “Granberg, Granberg, you’re a coward, we the students have the power,” referring to Ellen Granberg, the current president of GWU who is also Jewish. Students also chanted “Free SJP” and “We pay your tuition, we fill your pockets, why are you funding Israel’s rockets?”
George Washington University - students are projecting horrifying messages onto a school library building glorifying Hamas terrorists that beheaded babies, raped teenage girls, and murdered 1400+ people.
We call on President @PresidentofGW to immediately expel those involved.… pic.twitter.com/tecz0R7zF2— StopAntisemitism (@StopAntisemites) October 25, 2023
Protesters also reportedly held signs that read “Resistance is justice,” “Divest from Zionist genocide,” “End the siege in Gaza,” and “From the river to the sea.”
At the next protest on Sunday, Feb. 4, demonstrators chanted “Suspended over a few projections, why won’t you listen to our objections” and “Israel bombs, GW pays, how many kids did you kill today?”
Several officers from the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department were present at the protest on Saturday, according to The GW Hatchet. Nine student organizations reportedly participated in the event as well, including the No Guns for GW Student Coalition, the Socialist Action Initiative, and Jewish Voice for Peace.
“They refuse to acknowledge that it has to do with our solidarity,” one student said of GWU, according to The GW Hatchet. “They refuse to acknowledge their fascism.”
The GW Hatchet also reports that students have claimed that SJP has been accused of violating its suspension by the Students Rights and Responsibilities division. They claim that SJP and the recently formed Student Coalition for Palestine have been blamed for violations like “community disturbance, disorderly conduct and noncompliance.”
Campus Reform has contacted George Washington University, GWU’s chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine, GWU’s Student Rights and Responsibilities division, and GWU’s Student Coalition for Palestine for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
