George Washington University economics professor Joseph Pelzman arrived at his office Tuesday morning to find that anti-Israel activists had defaced the door overnight. 

The academic papers that were usually hung there were torn down and replaced by dozens of copies of a threatening sign, which called him an “architect of genocide,” and read, “Every sector of this community will be mobilized against you.” The document, titled “Notice of Eviction,” went on to call the professor a “pernicious symptom of the bloodthirsty Zionism permeating this campus” and stated that the group would “upend” the university if Pelzman is not removed from the university’s premises.

Pelzman, who heads the university’s Center of Excellence for the Economic Study of the Middle East and North Africa, authored a plan to relocate Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and redevelop the enclave and submitted it to President Donald Trump’s team in July 2024, part of a 49-page paper he wrote called “An Economic Plan for Rebuilding Gaza,” he told Jewish Insider on Tuesday. The sign on his door referenced Pezlman’s “active role in incepting the genocide and planned ethnic cleansing of Gaza” and his “disgusting plan for the complete destruction and foreign occupation of Gaza.”

Pelzman said he’d be “happy to consult” if Trump’s team does call. “I put it in the mailbox, I have no idea whether he got it,” the professor quipped. 

The professor first publicly shared details of the historic plan in August on the podcast “America, Baby!” He painted an idyllic picture of Gaza, which would include “an above ground monorail system with sidewalks and green spaces,” focused on three main economic sectors: agriculture, tourism and technology.

“We sent a copy of the paper to Trump’s people and to [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu. I’m not a political person, I’m an economist,” Pelzman told JI. “But we thought, nobody has a plan, we’re academics, we have a plan. It doesn’t deal with genocide.” Pelzman noted that he has not heard back from the Trump administration regarding the plan, which appears to have overlap with the president’s proposal earlier this month to evacuate Palestinians from Gaza. 

The plan involves “starting from scratch,” Pelzman continued, which would mean entirely emptying out Gaza. “You can’t build there right now. Hamas has booby-trapped everything,” he continued. His paper presents a vision of public-private partnerships previously implemented in developing countries which would cost between $1-2 trillion and could take up to 15 years. 

“I don’t know what about the plan worries [the demonstrators]. Other than that they didn’t read it,” said Pelzman, whose office has a mezuzah hanging on the door, which the perpetrators left untouched. 

A spokesperson for GW told JI, “The university condemns and takes very seriously any acts that deface university property or threaten any members of our community. GW Facilities personnel have removed the flyers, and GWPD is leading an investigation into this incident and has been in contact directly with Professor Pelzman. Should the individual perpetrators of this act be identified, we will take all appropriate steps in accordance with all applicable local laws and university policies.”

The university’s chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine, which celebrated the incident on Instagram, remains on disciplinary probation through May for its involvement in last year’s illegal anti-Israel encampments.