“They Spat on Us”: Jewish Students Demand Justice from George Washington University

A group of Jewish students filed a 176-page federal lawsuit last week against George Washington University (GW) in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, alleging the university has failed to address pervasive anti-Semitic harassment on campus, as reported by The Washington Free Beacon. The complaint details a hostile environment where Jewish students face physical assaults, property vandalism, and relentless verbal abuse, with administrators allegedly turning a blind eye. The lawsuit comes amid rising concerns about antisemitism at U.S. universities following the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel, which killed 1,200 and sparked global tensions.

One plaintiff recounted severe harassment within a GW fraternity. After raising concerns about antisemitism, he faced a tirade of “conspiratorial anti-Semitic epithets” about “Jews and money” and “Jews and loyalty” from a peer, while another student, who posted pro-Hamas content online, stormed out of a meeting. The harassment forced the Jewish student to leave the fraternity, but GW officials took no action when informed. In another incident, Lance Lokas, leader of GW’s Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) chapter, allegedly spat on a Jewish student, with no investigation by the university. Lokas has publicly endorsed violent “resistance” against Israelis and praised Palestinian terrorist “martyrs,” according to prior Free Beacon reports.

The lawsuit also targets GW’s Institute for Middle East Studies faculty. Former psychology professor Lara Sheehi, now in Qatar, allegedly singled out Jewish students, once telling an Israeli student, “It’s not your fault you were born in Israel,” and hosted a guest lecturer who glorified a Palestinian terrorist. Professor Michael Barnett claimed Palestinians have a “right of resistance,” while Professor William Youmans, an SJP co-founder, defended Hamas’s October 7 attack as a justified “uprising” and praised its mastermind, Yahya Sinwar.

The case reflects broader legal actions against elite universities, including Harvard, which briefly lost its ability to accept international students supporting terror on May 22, 2025, per the Department of Homeland Security, though a judge paused the order. GW’s inaction, the plaintiffs argue, violates federal civil rights laws, demanding accountability for a campus environment hostile to Jewish students.