George Washington University faces growing unrest as dozens of student groups push for the school to become a sanctuary campus—a move that would bar all law enforcement, including ICE and the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department. The demand comes after the Department of Justice ruled that GW acted “deliberately indifferent” to anti-Semitism on campus, creating a hostile environment for Jewish students and faculty.
The petition, backed by over 45 organizations, urges GW to “refuse to cooperate with government efforts to surveil, monitor, deport, or otherwise punish or harm students, workers, faculty, and staff.” It also calls for university-funded legal support for those facing deportation or prosecution. Leading the charge is the GW Socialist Action Initiative, which seeks the “total eradication of the capitalist-imperialist system,” alongside Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), and other anti-Israel groups.
The Justice Department’s letter to GW highlighted disturbing anti-Semitic incidents. Jewish students reported being cornered by agitators who “yelled antisemitic slurs in their faces, and forced them to flee.” A separate lawsuit accused GW of failing to address “pervasive and severe anti-semitic harassment.” Allegations included SJP’s president spitting on a Jewish student and members taunting others with slurs like, “Imagine being a Zionist, they’re so ugly, fat, and stupid.”
The Socialist Action Initiative condemned any potential agreement with the Trump administration, warning, “Any deal that GW could reach with the Trump Administration will harm student life and wellbeing.” In a final rallying cry, the group declared, “Now more than ever it is essential to stand together and protect our community.”
