A court filing submitted by Advocates for Faith & Freedom has accused officials at George Washington University of a “years-long” pattern of “antisemitic discrimination, intimidation, and harassment” that targeted Jewish and Israeli students.
“This case is about equal protection,” said Joel Oster, of Advocates for Faith & Freedom. “A university cannot promise nondiscrimination and then look the other way while Jewish students are threatened, intimidated, and driven from classrooms and common areas because of their Jewish heritage.”
He said, “Civil rights laws exist precisely to ensure that students are not forced to endure that kind of treatment because of who they are.”
The complaint “details how Jewish students were threatened, physically harassed, blocked from classrooms and campus facilities, intimidated into concealing their Jewish identity, and denied equal access to educational opportunities, even as students, parents, and advocates repeatedly alerted GWU administrators to the rampant antisemitism,” the legal team confirmed in an announcement about the newest court filing.
“Despite those warnings, the complaint alleges the hostility continued.”
In fact, the legal team confirmed, after an investigation, “the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division concluded that 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 legal team said the events came to a head during a spring 2024 “encampment,” where “protesters displayed or shouted messages including ‘final solution,’ ‘Globalize the Intifada,’ ‘Hamas are freedom fighters,’ and ‘Zionist, go die.’”
The violence included protesters breaking through barricades, occupying university property, obstructing access to the campus and threatening “No Zionists.”
BREAKING: Advocates for Faith & Freedom has filed an amended lawsuit against GWU alleging years of antisemitic threats, harassment, discrimination, and exclusion targeting Jewish and Israeli students.
Read more: https://t.co/DZdH2o9dVZ pic.twitter.com/8TcZl3NMT0
— Advocates for Faith & Freedom (@advocates4faith) October 1, 2026
It charges that the leftist agenda went to extremes, extending “beyond campus protests and into university-sponsored programming and classrooms, where pro-Israel and Zionist perspectives were marginalized or excluded.”
“Jewish students should never have to hide their identity, avoid parts of campus, or remain silent in class because they fear for their safety,” said Erin Mersino, a member of the legal team’s staff.
“Universities have a legal obligation to apply their protections equally. When they fail to do so, they must be held accountable.”
The lawsuit raises challenges under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the District of Columbia Human Rights Act, and charges breach of contract.
The case seeks to have the school enforce its nondiscrimination and conduct policies evenhandedly, address antisemitism on campus, and implement meaningful accountability measures.
