Christy Thornton

On April 26, 2024, over 500 faculty and staff of universities signed the “DMV Faculty for Academic Freedom Open Letter.” DMV refers to the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia region.

The letter accused Israel of conducting a “genocidal campaign” in its war against Hamas terrorists. It further called the war a “mass killing of Palestinians.”

The letter was published in support of the anti-Israel and pro-BDS encampment at GW, which took place from April 25 to May 8, 2024. The Washingtonian reported that protesters chanted: “From the River to the Sea [Palestine will be free!],” which is a chant used to call for the elimination of the State of Israel. In April 2024, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution condemning the chant as antisemitic.

The GW encampment was organized by the DMV Coalition of Students for Justice in Palestine and many participants were from other local universities, according to The Washingtonian. Local university media said 33 protesters were arrested, at least six of whom were GW students. Seven GW students were suspended.

At one point during the encampment, protesters took down the GW flag and replaced it with the Palestinian flag, according to georgetownvoice.com.

In August 2024, The GW Hatchet reported that the university sanctioned nine student organizations for their involvement in the April 2024 encampment. GW’s Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) chapters were suspended through December 2024 and placed on disciplinary probation through May 2025.

The Student Coalition for Palestine at GWU, Socialist Action Initiative, Muslim Students Association (MSA), GW Dissenters, Black Defiance, Arab Student Association, and Asian American Student Association were placed on disciplinary probation.

The term “genocide” was coined in 1942 and first used at the Nuremberg Trials of Nazi war criminals. Since Israel's founding in 1948, anti-Israel activists have accused Israel of "genocide" in an attempt to compare Jews to Nazis and delegitimize the creation of a Jewish state in the Land of Israel.

On October 7, 2023, Hamas murdered approximately 1,200 Israelis, kidnapped 251 and wounded thousands. War crimes included various systematic sexual crimes like gang rape and genital mutilation. Men and women were violated, even after being murdered. Victims who survived that day, including hostages, endured forms of humiliation and torture.

Gazans working in the targeted Israeli villages provided intelligence to Hamas on which families to kill and torture, including long-time employers. Many Palestinian civilians joined in and celebrated the attacks. Hamas livestreamed their crimes on social media, including to victims’ accounts for families to see. To learn more, see the Canary Mission page on Hamas.

The Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement was founded by pro-terror activist Omar Barghouti in 2005 to turn “Israel into a pariah state, as South Africa once was.” Barghouti has also called for Israel's destruction and the BDS movement demands would result in that same goal.

BDS initiatives include calling on institutions and individuals to divest from Israeli-affiliated companies, promoting academic and cultural boycotts of Israel, and organizing anti-Israel rallies, protests and campaigns.

The movement’s most notable achievement has been infiltrating university campuses through lobbying for “BDS resolutions.” In these cases, student governments propose resolutions to boycott or divestment from Israel or Israeli-affiliated entities. BDS activity is often aggressive and disruptive. It has been noted that universities that pass BDS resolutions see a marked increase in anti-Semitic incidents and pro-terror activism on campus.