Jewish Students File Title VI Action Against George Washington University
On May 22, 2025, a cohort of Jewish students from George Washington University (GWU) filed a Title VI action alleging a hostile educational environment.
Antisemitism has surged on college campuses in the wake of the October 7 terror attack against Israel, and recent events at GWU reveal a stunning indifference on the part of GWU Administration officials to respond to it.
The experience for Jewish students at GWU has been nothing short of appalling. In the immediate months following the October 7 terror attacks, Jewish students encountered a litany of antisemitic slogans and chants emanating from on-campus protests, including, “Globalize the Intifada;” “Fuck you, Zionist, go die”; “There is only one solution, Intifada revolution”; “Hamas are freedom fighters”; “We don’t want no Jewish state”; and “Zionists, go to hell.”
Meanwhile, protesters vandalized GWU property in what amounted to rioting and blocked Jewish students from traversing campus freely, attending class, and otherwise engaging in educational opportunities. Jewish students were spit at, harassed, and socially ostracized.
Jewish and Zionist academics have suffered similar harassment, as well. Recently, the office of an Israeli economics professor was vandalized, as signs with an antisemitic and threatening message were posted on his office door and littered throughout the building. One sign called the Israeli professor a “pernicious symptom of the bloodthirsty Zionism permeating our campus [emphasis original].”
The complaint alleges that this antisemitism festered and became firmly entrenched on campus due to the deliberate negligence of GWU Administrators.
The complaint asserts that the GWU Administration allowed an antisemitic environment, buttressed by the Middle East Studies Association and the Institute for Middle East Studies to fester, and in doing so, failed to meet its obligations under Title VI, leading Jewish students to feel frustrated, isolated, and in fear of their physical safety.
“GWU has obligations under Title VI and other laws to protect its Jewish students and faculty, and our complaint demonstrates that GWU failed its obligation. We look forward to this case and to protecting current and future Jewish students at GWU,” said Jason Torchinsky, Partner at Holtzman Vogel.
Mark Goldfeder, CEO and Director of NJAC, stated, “Jewish students, like all students, deserve a place to study free from harassment and unlawful discrimination. What is happening here is clearly unreasonable and cannot be allowed to go unchecked.”
More information about the National Jewish Advocacy Center can be found here.
Information about Holtzman Vogel’s antisemitism work can be found here.
Edward M. Wenger, Jason Torchinsky, and Erielle Davidson of Holtzman Vogel Baran Torchinsky & Josefiak PLLC; Doug Brooks of Libby Hoopes Brooks & Mulvey P.C.; and Mark Goldfeder and Ben Schlager of the National Jewish Advocacy Center (NJAC) represent litigants in this matter.
