The Trump administration said on Tuesday it found George Washington University had violated federal civil rights law regarding Jewish, American Israeli, and Israeli students and faculty and will seek \u201cimmediate remediation\u201d from the school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a statement, the U.S. Department of Justice said GWU had acted \u201cdeliberately indifferent to the hostile educational environment for Jewish, American-Israeli, and Israeli students and faculty\u201d during pro-Palestinian protests in April and May 2024. Representatives for the university based in Washington, D.C., could not be immediately reached for comment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a letter sent to university President Ellen Granberg on Tuesday, Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon said the Justice Department found members of the university community engaged in \u201cantisemitic, disruptive protests,\u201d including by establishing an encampment at University Yard. Dhillon said these efforts were meant to \u201cfrighten, intimidate, and deny\u201d Jewish, Israeli, and American Israeli students access to the university environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe Department finds 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,\u201d Dhillon\u2019s letter said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dhillon said the Justice Department intends to proceed with enforcement, but is offering the university the opportunity to resolve the matter through a voluntary resolution agreement. The university has until August 22 to indicate whether it has \u201cinterest in such a dialog,\u201d according to the letter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
George Washington is the latest university to be targeted by the Trump administration, which has threatened to cut federal funds for universities over pro-Palestinian protests<\/strong><\/u><\/strong><\/a> against U.S. ally Israel\u2019s war in Gaza<\/strong><\/u><\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Protesters, including some Jewish groups, say the Trump administration wrongly equates their criticism of Israel\u2019s military assault in Gaza and its occupation of Palestinian territories with antisemitism, and advocacy for Palestinian rights with support for extremism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n