George Washington University students are facing backlash and calls for their expulsion after they projected pro-Palestinian messages on a school building.
The Students for Justice in Palestine projected messages on the Gelman Library in the District on Tuesday night before the police told them to stop.
About 10 statements were projected onto the library building for more than two hours, according to the school’s newspaper, The GW Hatchet.
Statements ranged from bashing the university — “GW is complicit in genocide in Gaza,” “Your tuition is funding genocide in Gaza,” and “President [Ellen] Granberg is complicit in genocide in Gaza,” to calling out Israel with messages like “Divestment from Zionist genocide now,” and “Free Palestine from the river to the sea.”
In a statement from the university on Wednesday, officials wrote that the projections violated university policy, and that leadership got involved to have the projections removed.
“The statements made by these individuals in no way reflect the views of the university. We are reviewing this incident and will take any appropriate steps with respect to the individuals involved in accordance with university policies,” the statement said.
The statement also said that the university will “communicate with all members of its community about the support resources available during this difficult time.”
The projections were quickly denounced on social media by many, calling for the students to be expelled and the university to respond.
StopAntisemitism, an activist group, posted pictures and videos on X of the projections and the students.
“George Washington University — students are projecting horrifying messages onto a school library building glorifying Hamas terrorists that beheaded babies, raped teenage girls, and murdered 1400+ people,” the group wrote with the post. “We call on President @PresidentofGW to immediately expel those involved.”
“As an alumni of @GWtweets they should launch an investigation,” Rep. Jared Moskowitz, Florida Democrat, wrote on X. “I look forward to seeing the University statement on this.”
Sen. Mike Lee, Utah Republican, called the statements “genocidal messages.”
“If the students responsible for these messages aren’t severely punished by GWU, something is terribly wrong,” he wrote on X. “Genocide isn’t hip, cute, or in any way acceptable. GWU — do the right thing NOW!”
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Kentucky Republican, called attention to the projections on the Senate floor on Wednesday.
“Last night, at George Washington University here in the nation’s capital, student activists projected anti-Semitic messages on the side of a campus building named for a pair of Jewish benefactors,” Mr. McConnell said. “They issued a call to ‘free Palestine from the river to the sea.’ For anyone unfamiliar with Israel’s geography, that is a call for the destruction of the Jewish state.”
• Mallory Wilson can be reached at mwilson@washingtontimes.com.
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