GW alumni in Congress express ‘total disgust’ over anti-Israel protest projection
‘The glorification of Hamas terrorists and calls for the destruction of Israel is vile and antisemitic,’ the lawmakers’ letter reads
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A bipartisan group of seven House members who are all alumni of The George Washington University (GW) wrote to the school’s president on Wednesday condemning a display on campus on Tuesday night, in which student protesters projected anti-Israel slogans on the side of a university library.
The student protesters projected messages including “glory to our martyrs,” “free Palestine from the river to the sea” and “divestment from Zionist genocide now” on the school’s Gelman Library. The school’s statement on the incident on Wednesday, which does not mention the subject of the projections or specifically condemn the statements as hateful or antisemitic,elicited further criticism.
The lawmakers said in their letter, obtained by Jewish Insider, that they “write today in total disgust for the images projected on Gelman Library.” The letter was led by Reps. Andrew Garbarino (R-NY) and Jared Moskowitz (D-FL), joined by Reps. William Timmons (R-SC), Jill Tokuda (D-HI), Erin Houchin (R-IN), Darren Soto (D-FL) and Neal Dunn (R-FL)
“The glorification of Hamas terrorists and calls for the destruction of Israel is vile and antisemitic,” the letter continues. “GW must condemn these actions in the strongest possible terms and take immediate steps to protect its Jewish students.”
The lawmakers described the incident as “only the latest in a string of disturbing antisemitic instances at GW,” including a student “vigil for the martyrs of Palestine” during which students praised the Hamas terrorists who attacked Israel, a complaint filed against a professor accused of discrimination against Jewish and Israeli students, the 2021 desecration of a Torah on campus and a 2020 incident in which a student found a swastika in his dorm room.
“Nearly a quarter of undergraduate students at GW are Jewish. These students fear for their lives and do not feel safe,” the letter reads. “GW must make clear to its student body that this despicable behavior won’t be tolerated, and an investigation must be launched without delay.”
Sens. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Mark Warner (D-VA) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Reps. Julia Brownley (D-CA) and Susan Wild (D-PA), who are also GW alums, did not respond to requests for comment on the situation at GW.