Days after assuming office, Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger is facing scrutiny from Jewish leaders over her decision to appoint Jim Moran, a former congressman representing northern Virginia now working as a lobbyist for clients including Qatar, to the George Mason University board of visitors, despite his extensive record of using antisemitic tropes and hostility to Israel. 

The appointment, which Spanberger announced on Saturday hours after she had been sworn into office, came as part of a broader leadership shake-up of the state’s three public universities — as the Democratic governor seeks to assert her influence in the wake of a Republican administration whose university board oversight she had criticized during the campaign as politically meddlesome.

But her nomination of Moran, whose incendiary rhetoric has long been a subject of controversy, is raising questions about her approach to countering anti-Jewish harassment at public universities such as George Mason, which last July was the subject of a federal Title VI investigation related to its handling of several high-profile incidents of antisemitism and anti-Israel extremism.

Moran, a Democrat who retired from Congress in 2015, faced widespread criticism as well as calls for his resignation over comments in 2003 in which he blamed the Jewish community for pushing the U.S. into war with Iraq, a remark he reiterated four years later while singling out the pro-Israel group AIPAC.

Even as he has voiced regret for some of his past remarks, Moran, who is now 80, has downplayed accusations of antisemitism and has continued to echo such rhetoric in recent years while appearing on panel discussions with a London-based NGO led by a former Hamas activist. In one virtual event in 2023, for example, Moran attributed Washington’s support for “apartheid” in Gaza to Jewish control of American politics.

“It’s about domestic politics and it always has been,” Moran insisted. “The majority of people who contribute to the Democratic Party in America have Jewish surnames. Now think about that,” he added, arguing that their “principal reason for contributing has been the sine qua non of support for Israel, and unqualified support for Israel.”

Moran’s recent lobbying for the Qatari government, meanwhile, has likewise drawn attention as the Gulf state has increasingly sought to burnish its image in the United States through funding higher education and ongoing outreach to federal lawmakers, among other efforts.

His work has included “outreach on Qatar’s higher education funding,” according to recent disclosures, pointing to possible conflicts of interest in his board appointment. Qatar, a major non-NATO U.S. ally that has frequently drawn criticism for hosting Hamas, has donated $5.9 million to George Mason. 

Jewish leaders voiced befuddlement over the controversial appointment.

Cookie Hymer Blitz, a Jewish and Democratic activist in Northern Virginia, called Moran’s nomination “very concerning, disappointing and surprising.”

“His long history of anti-Israel bias and antisemitic comments seem to make his appointment to this board ill-advised at best,” she told Jewish Insider.

Another prominent Jewish leader, who spoke on condition of anonymity to avoid antagonizing Spanberger, told JI: “It is concerning to hear of anyone who has shared, or continues to share, antisemitic tropes or messages being appointed to leadership roles. I imagine the vast majority of Virginians would take pause.”

The local organized Jewish community is currently weighing a response to Spanberger’s decision in order to help raise awareness about Moran’s views as he prepares to seek confirmation from the state legislature, where he could face questions about his rhetoric and lobbying, according to a Jewish leader involved in government outreach.

Spanberger’s office did not respond to a request for comment from JI on Wednesday regarding the new appointment. 

In an email to JI on Wednesday, Moran said that “Qatar has asked only three things of me but they’re a prerequisite for representing them: 1) always tell the truth, 2) always obey U.S. law and 3) always do what you feel is right.”

George Mason University, he added, “is committed to maintaining a diverse student body where every student feels secure and valued, and it aspires to provide the highest possible quality of educational experience.”

As for his opposition to Israel, he called himself “a longtime supporter of Israel’s Labor Party, although it’s a mere shadow of its former self.” He said he had “shared many meals with” former Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres and was “confident” that his “views on Israel today specifically and the Middle East in general are wholly consistent with Shimon’s worldview.” 

He did not address his past antisemitic rhetoric, only saying that, “for what it’s worth, I’m a subscriber to the Jewish Insider.”

During the gubernatorial election, Spanberger touted her efforts to combat anti-Jewish prejudice as a former congresswoman and said that working to confront antisemitism in higher education would be “a top priority” for her. “My administration will not tolerate antisemitism in any form,” she vowed. 

But Kenneth Marcus, a leading expert on antisemitism and the founder and chairman of the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, questioned Spanberger’s commitment to such pledges as she now moves to elevate Moran to a key role in Virginia’s public university system.

Marcus, whose appointment by former Gov. Glenn Youngkin to George Mason’s board of advisors was rejected by Democratic lawmakers last year, called the nomination “hardly an auspicious start for Gov. Spanberger.”

“Given the lengthy trail of antisemitism accusations that Mr. Moran has faced for a long period of years,” Marcus told JI, “it is surprising that Gov. Spanberger has tapped him for leadership at an institution where so many questions have arisen about antisemitism.”

Adam Mossoff, a law professor at George Mason University’s Antonin Scalia Law School, resigned on Thursday from his position as a visiting fellow at the Heritage Foundation in response to the organization’s president refusing to disavow Tucker Carlson for his platforming of neo-Nazi influencer Nick Fuentes.

In an email to Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts and John Malcolm, director of the Edwin Meese III Center for Legal and Judicial Studies at Heritage, Mossoff cited Roberts’ Oct. 30 video lashing out at Carlson’s critics and his “subsequent interviews, videos, and commentary” on the subject as the reason for his resignation from the Meese Center. 

Mossoff wrote in the email, obtained by Jewish Insider late Thursday, that the video, in which Roberts called out the “venomous coalition attacking” Carlson, and the Heritage president’s comments after the fact “reflects a fundamental ethical lapse and failure of moral leadership that has irrevocably damaged the well-deserved reputation of Heritage as ‘the intellectual backbone of the conservative movement’ (your words in your October 30 video).”

He explained that Roberts’ handling of the fallout of the original video had “made it clear to me that Heritage is no longer the storied think tank that I was proud to join in 2019.”

After accusing Carlson of “quickly following Candace Owens down the very dark path of Jewish conspiracy theories and defenses of Nazis,” Mossoff then accused Roberts of sending “mixed messages … about the lesson you have learned” from the fallout to his Oct. 30 video. 

“Although you told us in the [staff] townhall last Thursday that you made a mistake in your October 30 video, you have not retracted or withdrawn the video. It remains on your X account with more than 24 million views to date. Thus, it remains unclear precisely and specifically what you regard as your moral mistake and failure in leadership,” Mossoff wrote. 

“You have continually reiterated, for example, your claims in your October 30 video that we should not ‘cancel’ our ‘friends,’ and that Tucker ‘always will be a close friend of the Heritage Foundation.’ As far as I’m aware, you have not disavowed this claim,” he continued. “But you falsely conflate here the struggle sessions and cancelation campaigns that the woke left inflict on their apostates and heretics with the proper and steadfast moral condemnation of nihilism, collectivism, Nazism, and Jew hatred.”

Mossoff also wrote that he “waited two weeks to send my resignation notice” because he “did not wish to act in haste, and I wanted my decision to be the result of a considered judgment, not a reaction based on the passions of the moment.”

Mossoff announced his resignation publicly in a post on X on Thursday morning, in which he wrote that his decision was “based on my considered judgment of Dr. Kevin Roberts’ October 30 video and the subsequent commentary, interviews, and meetings in the past two weeks. I look forward to continuing my research in patent law and my work in innovation policy as a professor and fellow at other think tanks, in addition to my new part-time position at the USPTO [U.S. Patent and Trademark Office].”

Mossoff is a vocal advocate for the U.S.-Israel relationship and is one of two Jewish law professors at George Mason who began needing permanent police protection last year because of an increase in threats. His decision to give up his visiting fellow position marks the latest in a string of resignations in protest of Roberts’ refusal to disavow Carlson. The National Task Force to Combat Antisemitism, a Heritage-aligned operation, also cut ties with the conservative think tank last week. Former Rep. Michele Bachmann resigned from the task force over the weekend, citing the response by Heritage leadership to the controversy.

“I resigned from the Heritage antisemitism task force because Heritage leadership failed to stand against the voices of antisemitism on the political right,” Bachmann told Newsmax. “Inexplicably, consistent voices of antisemitism on the political right were embraced and, worse, defended by the leadership of Heritage Foundation.”

“This is the biggest PR disaster in Heritage’s history,” she added. “Heritage leadership shot a cannon through their brand.”

Reached for comment, a Heritage spokesperson told JI, “We’re thankful for every member of our team and appreciate Adam’s work as a visiting fellow at Heritage. We wish him the best. Heritage remains focused on our vital work to revive the American family, protect the dignity of work, safeguard our national sovereignty, and revitalize the role of citizenship.”

George Mason University is the latest target of the Trump administration’s investigations into universities for allegedly violating Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by not cracking down on harassment of Jewish students. 

The Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights launched the investigation on Tuesday, according to a letter first obtained by the Free Beacon. The school has until July 21 to provide detailed information requested by the administration, including all complaints surrounding antisemitism. 

“George Mason University has received notice of an impending investigation and a request for data,” a university spokesman told the Free Beacon. “The university believes the allegations to be false, and is working on a timely and comprehensive response.”

The public university in Northern Virginia contended with several major incidents of antisemitism on its campus during the last academic year. The administration faced scrutiny from several pro-Israel individuals affiliated with the school about its response, perceived to be lackluster, after pro-terrorism materials were found in the home of two of its students and a third student was charged with plotting a mass causality attack in November. 

George Mason’s administration suspended its Students for Justice in Palestine chapter after two of the group’s student leaders vandalized a campus building with anti-Israel graffiti — and barred the two women from campus for four years. The university also expelled a freshman student who was charged with plotting a terror attack against the Israeli consulate in New York. Administrators later conducted a meeting with Jewish groups to discuss safety and security on campus.

But the university’s response to the incidents avoided any mention of the suspects’ antisemitic motivations or their Islamist sympathies. The police search of the home of the George Mason SJP leaders, sisters Jena and Noor Chanaa, found firearms, scores of ammunition and pro-terror materials, including Hamas and Hezbollah flags and signs that read “death to America” and “death to Jews.”

The OCR investigation into the university comes as the federal government has frozen billions of dollars in federal funding following similar investigations at several elite colleges including Columbia, Harvard and Northwestern. 

Members of Bowdoin University Students for Justice in Palestine who set up an anti-Israel encampment last week inside the college’s student union building are now facing disciplinary action from the school — including prohibition from attending classes pending permission from the dean’s office.

At Columbia University last month, administrators launched an investigation — together with law enforcement — just hours after anti-Israel demonstrators used cement to clog the sewage system in the School of International and Public Affairs building and sprayed the business school with red paint. 

Days before that, Columbia suspended a student who participated in a masked demonstration in which four people barged into a History of Modern Israel class, banged on drums, chanted “free Palestine” and distributed posters to students that read “CRUSH ZIONISM” with a boot over the Star of David.  

The University of Michigan announced last week that Students Allied for Freedom and Equality, the campus’ SJP chapter, would be suspended for up to two years. Weeks earlier, George Mason University barred the leaders of its SJP chapter from campus for four years after they were caught vandalizing a university building.  

The recent crackdowns on SJP and its affiliated groups — along with other episodes of anti-Israel extremism on campus — are the latest indication that university administrators are approaching antisemitic incidents with a new seriousness since the Trump administration issued executive orders aimed at deterring campus antisemitism.   

Several campus leaders welcomed the shift. For too long “there were no consequences,” said Mark Yudof, chair of the Academic Engagement Network and the former president of the University of California system. “The new Trump administration is very serious and I’ve told [certain universities] they are in jeopardy.” 

“Many of these campuses are at risk,” Yudof told Jewish Insider. In response, “they are saying SJP can have chapters, but they’re violating rules by preventing people from crossing campus or doing overnight encampments or occupying the library.”

Yudof called the Title VI settlements that came in the final days of the Biden administration “relatively weak” and noted that university requirements could “become much stricter in terms of what they need to do by way of enforcement” if the remaining complaints are settled. 

Even with the recent investigation and suspension at Columbia, the university’s Hillel director, Brian Cohen, noted that other university investigations remain open, such as ones against students involved with the encampments and the takeover of Hamilton Hall last April. “These cases should have been resolved months ago, and many of the students involved in those cases remain on campus and continue to break university rules,” Cohen said. “Complicating this all is that despite the best efforts of Columbia’s Public Safety Department to identify students who violate university rules and policies, they are hamstrung by university policies that allow students to conceal their identities.” 

Trump claimed during his 2024 campaign that, if reelected, U.S. universities that failed to address antisemitism would lose accreditation and federal support. In the weeks leading up to Trump’s return to the White House, a number of universities rushed to settle antisemitism complaints with the Biden administration’s DOE in its final days. 

Weeks after Inauguration Day, Trump issued an executive order calling on every federal agency and department to review and report on civil and criminal actions available within their jurisdiction to fight antisemitism. 

Under the executive order, the Department of Justice is directed to review existing antisemitism cases and prepare to more actively bring legal action against those who commit acts of antisemitism in violation of federal civil rights laws. The Department of Education is directed to conduct a thorough review of pending Title VI complaints and investigations. The order also “demands the removal of resident aliens who violate our laws,” according to a White House fact sheet. 

Days later, the DOJ announced a new multi-agency task force whose “first priority” will be to “root out anti-Semitic harassment in schools and on college campuses,” according to an announcement by the department. The DOE also took its first major action under the new administration to combat antisemitism by launching investigations into alleged antisemitic discrimination at five universities — Columbia University; the University of California, Berkeley; Portland State University; Northwestern University and University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. 

“Any student group that openly and continually violates campus rules and/or the law must be held accountable,” Sara Coodin, American Jewish Committee’s director of academic affairs, told JI. “We are glad to see administrators taking steps to enforce their rules and regulations that are meant to foster campus environments welcoming to all students.” 

A spokesperson for the Anti-Defamation League echoed that the group is “pleased that many universities are now holding student organizations accountable for violations.” 

“We have been calling for the last 16 months for universities to enforce their policies and codes that govern conduct of students, faculty and student organizations,” the ADL said in a statement to JI, noting that because these types of disciplinary cases often take some time to move through the processes, “it is difficult to attribute recent action to the new administration.”

“But as we have said, fighting antisemitism requires a whole-of-society approach and we welcome the focus and actions from the Trump administration to combat antisemitism on campus,” the statement said. 

Cary Nelson, former president of the American Association of University Professors, emphasized that cracking down on SJP activity does not suppress political speech. “An SJP chapter that has its campus recognition withdrawn can still post messages on Instagram or X, so its group speech rights remain intact,” Nelson told JI. “Students and faculty remain free to endorse SJP messages.” 

“Moreover, some banned SJP chapters continue to organize campus events,” Nelson said. “But the bans cancel campus funding and send the message that violating laws or campus regulations have consequences, including public condemnation.” Nelson also pointed out that even with the new rules, on many campuses, SJP’s faculty partners, Faculty for Justice in Palestine, retain recognition and can function as SJP surrogates.

As George Mason University contends with several major incidents of antisemitism on its campus, Democrats in the Virginia State Senate rejected Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s renomination of one of the country’s leading antisemitism experts — who has been advising the university — to its board of visitors.

State Sen. Adam Ebbin, a member of the Senate Privileges and Elections Committee, which handles nominations, told Jewish Insider that the Jan. 22 vote to block Ken Marcus, founder of the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, whom Youngkin appointed to GMU’s board of visitors in July, won’t impact the “administration and board’s ability to stand against antisemitism.” 

“I appreciate Mr. Marcus’ work against antisemitism, but it is also important to me that the civil rights of minority, female and LGBTQ students are protected,” Ebbin, who is Jewish, told JI. 

Another Jewish Democrat in the state Legislature, State Sen. Scott Surovell, told JI that “it’s a tradition, at least in my caucus of the senate, not to get into the merits of individual people who are really not able to defend themselves on the floor of the Senate, so we try not to get into that.” Ebbin and Surovell are the two Jewish members of the state Senate. 

Other Democratic Virginia state legislators did not respond to requests for comment from JI asking whether they think Marcus deserves a position on George Mason’s board, especially given the difficult environment for Jewish students on campus. 

Marcus was described by The New York Times as “the single most effective and respected force when it comes to both litigation and the utilization of the civil rights statutes” to combat antisemitism. Amid an increase of campus antisemitism, the Brandeis Center has lodged a number of Title VI cases on behalf of Jewish students seeking recourse against antisemitism. 

Critics on the left say the group silences what they see as protected political speech criticizing Israel. 

“It’s not clear to me what all of these issues have to do with a job of being a member of the board of visitors at the George Mason University,” Marcus said. “But I’m certainly proud of my record and disappointed that others may be trying to politicize the issue.” 

Marcus noted that the role of the board of visitors is not necessarily to create civil rights policy, but to “ensure that the university complies with federal and state law.” 

“Given my background as a civil rights official, a teacher and an author, I believe I have deep experience in that field.” 

In addition to Marcus, Democrats, who control the Virginia Senate, rejected eight of Youngkin’s other board appointments last week. The names could still be restored by the House of Delegates when it takes up the appointments legislation later this month. 

Youngkin said in a statement to the Washington Post that “Senate Democrats have rejected excellence. This isn’t just simply petty politics; their actions hurt Virginia and institutions like George Mason University and Virginia Military Institute. Virginians are looking to the House to right this wrong.”

At the same time, hundreds of other Youngkin appointees — including conservative Republicans — were approved by Democrats for state boards, cabinet posts and agency positions.

The move to block Marcus, who was assistant secretary of education for civil rights in President Donald Trump’s first administration, comes weeks after pro-terrorism materials were found in the home of two George Mason students who were leaders of the campus’ chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine. Separately, a third student was charged with plotting a mass casualty attack on the Israeli consulate in New York. 

Several pro-Israel individuals affiliated with the university expressed concern to JI earlier this month about the university’s response to these incidents. 

The Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington has held conversations with leadership on the issue. 

In a statement to JI, the JCRC said, “Ken Marcus and the Brandeis Center have been tireless leaders in the fight against antisemitism, especially over the last year and a half, as we have seen rates of antisemitism skyrocket to alarming levels. Over the last several days, we have been actively involved in facilitating open conversations about Mr. Marcus’s appointment to the George Mason University Board. Given the procedural status of the nomination and how quickly it is moving, we are focusing our efforts on direct communication with leadership.” 

At the same time, Vicki Fishman, director of Virginia government and community relations at the JCRC of Greater Washington, told JI on Wednesday that the George Mason board issue was “not the primary focus” of a recent JCRC-led Advocacy Day, in which Jewish groups from around Virginia gathered in Richmond to lobby legislators.

Several sources familiar with the meetings with legislators said that while the issue of antisemitism at George Mason University was not on the official list of JCRC talking points, the concerns ran so deep that it was brought up organically in many of the individuals’ meetings with state lawmakers.

“It was brought up in side conversations,” Fishman told JI. “What we all collectively lobbied on was continued funding for the Hate Crimes Security Grant Program and generally measures to combat antisemitism.” 

“People are interested in understanding what the [board] process is and how this happened,” Fishman said. “There were some questions.” 

Several pro-Israel individuals affiliated with George Mason University are expressing concern with the university’s response after pro-terrorism materials were found in the home of two of its students and a third student was charged with plotting a mass causality attack. 

The worries persist even as local Jewish leaders are praising how the public university in Fairfax, Va., has handled these threats. 

George Mason University’s administration suspended its Students for Justice in Palestine chapter last November after two of the group’s student leaders vandalized a campus building with anti-Israel graffiti — and barred the two women from campus for four years. The university also expelled a freshman student who was charged with plotting a terror attack against the Israeli consulate in New York. Administrators later conducted a meeting with Jewish groups to discuss safety and security on campus.

But the university’s response to the developments avoided any mention of the suspects’ antisemitic motivations or their Islamist sympathies. The police search of the home of the George Mason SJP leaders, sisters Jena and Noor Chanaa, found firearms, scores of ammunition and pro-terror materials, including Hamas and Hezbollah flags and signs that read “death to America” and “death to Jews.” 

The university also hasn’t publicly addressed how the freshman student charged with plotting a terror attack — an Egyptian national with a history of spreading ISIS content online — could be admitted to the university without any vetting as part of the admissions process. 

“As criminal proceedings progress, the university will take appropriate action on student code of conduct violations,” George Mason University President Gregory Washington wrote in a message to the campus community. In a statement to JI following the second incident, a university spokesperson said that the school could not “speculate on broader implications.” 

The recent incidents come as the Department of Education is conducting an investigation into GMU’s handling of antisemitic discrimination and potential violations of Title VI, a federal statute that bars discrimination based on national origin.

“There needs to be a reckoning to what extent the environment at the university has become conducive to radicalism and extremism and antisemitism in ways that could be dealt with without violating First Amendment rights,” David Bernstein, a law professor at George Mason’s Antonin Scalia Law School, told Jewish Insider. 

“There haven’t been a lot of terrorism cases on campuses around the country,” Bernstein continued. “Why is it that there are several at our university? Could we be speaking up more about antisemitism and extremism? Should we have made greater efforts to disassociate the university from pro-Hamas sentiment which appeared on campus almost immediately after Oct. 7?” 

Jewish communal leaders on campus and in the Washington area have come to George Mason University’s leadership’s defense in the aftermath of these incidents.

Vicki Fishman, director of Virginia government and community relations at the JCRC of Greater Washington, told JI that the university’s “diligence in enforcing its rules is an element of why these three students were stopped in their activities.”  

“We’re not condemning the university administration, [which is] showing leadership,” Fishman said. 

Rabbi Daniel Novick, executive director of George Mason University Hillel, said to JI that the campus group was “grateful that [the administration] is making these efforts to learn more and do more and making known clear steps to ensure the safety of our Jewish students.” 

In a joint statement on Jan. 10, Fishman and Novick thanked university leadership for “meeting with us, hearing our concerns, and deploying the full weight of the university’s security and disciplinary measures to prevent these students from perpetrating harm on campus.” 

Ken Marcus, the founder of the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, whom Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin appointed to the board of visitors of GMU in July, confirmed to JI that the school administration has tasked him with working to combat antisemitism. Marcus declined to provide details. 
Marcus said he has been “very concerned, even alarmed,” at recent developments involving antisemitic activity at the university.

 “My role has mostly involved asking a lot of very pointed questions of the administration, for which I have gotten some answers and am expecting more in the days and weeks to come,” Marcus told JI. “There is a lot more that needs to be done and my hope has been to be a part in making sure that they are completed.”

Marcus added: “Although George Mason has had significant, high-profile challenges in the area of campus antisemitism, we have also been active in developing strong responses, including the new International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance policy” on defining antisemitism, Marcus said. “Needless to say, not everyone has liked that.” (GMU officially endorsed the IHRA definition of antisemitism in August. According to Marcus, it provided a model that Harvard University built on for its adoption of IHRA earlier this week).   

A source involved with George Mason Jewish life expressed frustration with the school’s Hillel and JCRC for not condemning the administration’s muted response and called for the groups to “do more publicly beyond statements — controlling the narrative won’t change the problems Jewish students face,” the source told JI. 

“What’s being done is the opposite of what’s really needed here, which is to push back against the administration. Since Oct. 7, there has been very little engagement with Jewish student groups on campus and in part that’s because the university has not done enough.” 

Evelyn Johnston, president of Students Supporting Israel at George Mason University and a sophomore studying international security and law, echoed the urgency for a more explicit response to antisemitism from administration — while also expressing understanding for Jewish groups’ defense of the university.  

“I’m glad the administration finally took the necessary steps to ban SJP, but right now it’s an interim suspension. That suspension should be final and unequivocal,” Johnston told JI. “Allowing people who support violence to congregate at our university [and to] have access to university funds, should not [happen] in any circumstance.”

Johnston called for the Chanaa sisters to be “permanently expelled and their degrees should not be valid.”

“They committed felony vandalism and allowing behavior like this to continue and not condemning it in the strongest possible terms puts us in danger and makes us unsafe.” Johnston also noted that since SJP’s temporary suspension, SSI has been cautious about holding events.

“These groups are getting smaller but they are also getting more radical as time goes on, especially with the administration finally suspending SJP,” she said. “We were very concerned that there would be some retribution … SJP has repeatedly violated university regulations. They have done everything possible to break as many rules as possible, as quickly as possible, they’ve promoted pro-terror messaging time and time again [and for a long time] received zero repercussions.” 

Responding to Hillel’s approval of the university’s handling of antisemitism, Johnston suggested that the campus group’s goal is to “protect their people, which generally comes down to using their administrative connections to talk to administration behind closed doors but in the end not make a lot of noise so they don’t become a target for SJP.” 

That leaves student-led groups, such as SSI, to fill a gap, according to Johnston.  

“It’s important that we have multiple organizations fill multiple roles. Hillel gives a space to students who may not be fully in on the Israel issue,” she said. “Organizations like SSI step into these issues. We’ve been meeting with administration members regularly since Oct. 7 to make sure all the regulations are ironed out and bring SJP incidents to the attention of the administration.” 

Fishman said that the administration “is not necessarily perfect, but has been in conversation and in learning mode” with Jewish leaders for years to address safety of students, noting that she was “impressed” by the most recent meeting.  

The joint statement also announced that George Mason agreed to enter into the Campus Climate Initiative run by Hillel International, which “assess the climate for Jewish students and develop a campus-specific action plan to enhance Jewish students’ sense of belonging,” according to Hillel. 

Fishman told JI that the timing of entering into the program was “coincidental” and not related to the recent pro-terrorism incidents. 

“CCI is independent of these three students and something that the university had been interested in participating in for some time,” Fishman said. CCI launched in 2020 to address antisemitism on more than 50 college campuses. “I don’t know that there’s a response to the three students, because [the administration’s] actions were involved with those three students being stopped from what they were doing,” Fishman said. 

Bernstein said he would have liked to see “more of an acknowledgement by the university of the antisemitism aspect, not just that there were students who happened to violate the law, but that there was antisemitic material.” 

Bernstein noted a double standard, pointing to a “very strong statement” denouncing Islamophobia from the school’s president in November 2023 after three Palestinian college students had been shot in Vermont, an incident that was unrelated to GMU. “It does make one wonder why there hasn’t been a similarly strong, or even stronger, statement about events going on on campus,” Bernstein said. 

At the same time, Bernstein recognized that Hillel directors nationwide are “in a very delicate situation of balancing their relationship with the university versus standing up for Jewish students.” 

“If you’re a Hillel director, you want to have a good relationship with the administration,” he said. “It puts you in a difficult position to be adversarial, you want to be cooperative with your university. In some situations standing up for Jewish students will involve having a good relationship with the university.” 

Lawmakers in Virginia raised varying degrees of concern about the safety of Jews in the state in statements to Jewish Insider after a George Mason University freshman was charged on Thursday evening with plotting a mass casualty attack at Israel’s consulate in New York. 

The state’s Republican governor, Glenn Youngkin, told JI that the thwarted terrorist attack “serves as yet another wake-up call that antisemitism and the threat to Jewish students and the Jewish community in Virginia, and across America, is very real.” 

“We must remain vigilant against hatred and violence in all its forms,” Youngkin said. “My administration has been fully committed to safeguarding the safety of every Virginian, and we will continue working hand in hand with law enforcement to combat extremism wherever it appears.” 

Statements from prominent Virginia Democrats indicated that the incident had awakened a greater sense of urgency to combat antisemitism after a separate incident earlier this month involving GMU students drew little reaction from many lawmakers. In the earlier incident, two sisters were disciplined over their anti-Israel vandalism of school property, which led to a search of their home where pro-terror and antisemitic paraphernalia was found along with unsecured firearms.. They were later expelled from school.

Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) said on Friday of the attempted terrorist attack that the “horrifying incident underscores the fear felt by many in the Jewish community as antisemitism continues to rise across the country and around the world.” 

“These charges are extremely serious,” Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) told JI. “The reporting I’ve seen about violent and antisemitic posts this individual was involved with are deeply troubling. I will continue to use my platform as a U.S. Senator to fight against all forms of bigotry, including antisemitism.”

Rep.-elect Eugene Vindman (D-VA) said, “We need to fight antisemitism and ensure our intelligence and law enforcement agencies have everything they need to stop serious foreign and domestic terrorist threats, like this one, that we face as a nation. I trust that law enforcement will continue to investigate this incident including any foreign connections.” 

Neither Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-VA), who is running for governor, nor Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, the Republican candidate in the Virginia governor’s race, responded to requests for comment from JI. 

The case involves GMU student Abdullah Ezzeldin Taha Mohamed Hassan, an Egyptian national, who shared his plans with an FBI agent posing as a terrorist sympathizer. “Two options: lay havoc on them with an assault rifle; or detonate a TATP [suicide] vest in the midst of them,” Hassan reportedly told the agent. 

The 18-year-old faces one count of demonstrating how to manufacture an explosive with intent to murder internationally protected persons, which carries a maximum possible sentence of 20 years. 

He reportedly praised Osama bin Laden frequently on social media while boasting about the antisemitic and terrorist propaganda he was spreading, according to the Washington Post.

The previous incident this semester followed a police search into the family home of GMU Students for Justice in Palestine leaders, where officers found firearms, scores of ammunition and pro-terror materials, including Hamas and Hezbollah flags and signs that read “death to America” and “death to Jews.”

In response to the propaganda found earlier this month, most Virginia elected officials — with the exception of Youngkin, who said in a statement to JI that SJP poses a threat to the Jewish community in Virginia — didn’t say much about the presence of pro-terror sympathizers on the prominent Virginia college campus. 

The university’s response to both developments has been muted and avoided any mention of the suspect’s Islamist sympathies. “As criminal proceedings progress, the university will take appropriate action on student code of conduct violations,” George Mason University President Gregory Washington wrote Thursday in a message to the campus community.

In a statement to JI on Friday, a university spokesperson said that the school could not “speculate on broader implications.” 

Following the news of the thwarted attack, George Mason law school professor Adam Mossoff shared on X that for the past year, a permanent police presence has been stationed on the school’s law school campus to protect two Jewish law school professors. “I have greater clarity now why this had to be done. It’s shameful that GMU has fostered an environment where this is needed for its profs,” Mossoff wrote on Thursday.

Guila Franklin Siegel, associate director of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington, told JI on Friday that the group is “in the process of reaching out to George Mason University to have a conversation about the deep concerns that our community has about what has transpired.” 

After Mossoff divulged that Jewish professors have required additional security on campus, Franklin Siegel said that Jewish leaders have additional “concerns about the climate at the university and the safety of the Jewish community on campus.”

“It’s something we will really need to be looking into and making an assessment about whether enough is being done,” she said. “If the university feels that Jewish professors need that level of security then we need to look at the climate at the school. Jewish faculty should not need security when they go to work.” 

Jewish Insider’s congressional correspondent Emily Jacobs contributed reporting. 

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced on Friday that he had appointed Kenneth Marcus, the founder of the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, as a member of the board of visitors of George Mason University in Fairfax County, Va.

Marcus is a former assistant secretary of education for civil rights, and his work has focused intensely on antisemitism on college campuses. George Mason, a public university, is currently under Department of Education investigation for alleged violations of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act over accusations of antisemitism and Islamophobia.

“I am grateful to Governor Youngkin for appointing me to this position at George Mason — a university that has been near and dear to my heart for many years,” Marcus said in a statement. “I’ve been proud to support Governor Youngkin’s recent work combating antisemitism here in Virginia – including his leadership in legislation adopting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of antisemitism. I was also pleased to address Governor Youngkin’s Commission to Combat Antisemitism, which made significant contributions to the well-being of Virginians — and I deeply appreciate his support for adding my voice to the Board.”

The George Mason branch of Students for Justice in Palestine posted a statement days after the Oct. 7 Hamas attack praising the attack and hosted a rally where chants calling for the elimination of Israel were reportedly heard.

GMU played host to the national SJP conference in 2016. Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares is currently investigating American Muslims for Palestine, a group involved with supporting and organizing SJP chapters, accusing it of potentially supporting terrorist groups.

Members of the board of visitors — 16 in total — serve four-year terms and are responsible for policy-making and oversight at the school, including hiring and salaries for faculty and staff and academic programs.

Marc Short, the former chief of staff to former Vice President Mike Pence; Nina Rees, a former leader of the Office of Innovation and Improvement at the Department of Education and charter school advocate; and Jon Peterson, a real estate CEO, are joining the board alongside Marcus.