Alan Sukharev is a sophomore and the cultural director of GW for Israel, Jeremy Bach is a junior and the education director of GW for Israel, Joshua Horwich is a sophomore and the political affairs director of GW for Israel, Nate Neustadt is a sophomore and the president of GW for Israel and Leonardo Viola is a first-year and the freshman representative of GW for Israel.
On Feb. 20, a group of GW students testified before the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, detailing their experiences with antisemitism on campus. As members of GW for Israel’s executive board, we commend these students for sharing their stories and shedding light on a major problem facing Jewish students across the country. Speaking up about antisemitism is essential to ensuring that future Jewish students feel safe on campus. But we strongly disagree with their claims that the GW administration is complicit in the rise of antisemitism at the school.
In our capacity as leaders of GW for Israel, we have had the opportunity to work closely with University President Ellen Granberg, Dean of Students Colette Coleman and countless other University officials since Oct. 7, 2023, and can attest to the care, support and compassion they have shown for Jewish students at GW in recent years.
Across the country, Jewish students have been let down by their administrations’ failures to take action against antisemitism. At the University of Pennsylvania, former university President Liz Magill refused to say that calling for the genocide of Jewish people violated the school’s conduct policy in a hearing before the U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce on Dec. 5, 2023. At the University of California, Los Angeles, students physically blocked Jewish students from attending classes in 2024. At Columbia University, the administration only intervened to stop the pro-Palestinian encampment after protesters broke into buildings, destroyed property and verbally attacked Jewish students during demonstrations.
In our experience, GW has a different story to tell. GW took more explicit action to support Jewish students compared to other schools. When students from GW organized their own pro-Palestinian encampment in University Yard, Granberg immediately called on the Metropolitan Police Department to remove demonstrators, which D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser did not act on until the protest reached day 14. Coleman has consistently stood beside Jewish students at Shabbat dinners at both Hillel and Chabad, provided support for Jewish students planning events on campus and continues to meet with Jewish leaders on campus to address antisemitism. On the second anniversary of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel, Chief of Staff Scott Mory joined GW for Israel at a vigil, where he shared words of encouragement for Jewish students in a time of need. No university administration is perfect, but we, as GW students, are lucky to have leaders who will stand with the Jewish community when Jews at other schools feel isolated.
Since Oct. 7, 2023, the rise in antisemitism across the world has skyrocketed and must be addressed on the federal, local and university levels. But taking aim at those who have consistently stood by Jewish students only distracts from the task at hand. To combat antisemitism means to confront it head on — we must confront those who commit acts of hatred against Jewish people and those who defend those attacks. The GW administration does not fall under that category. Student-led pro-Palestinian groups have displayed hateful images on Gelman Library, chanted antisemitic slogans in University Yard, defaced hostage posters and intimidated Jewish students during protests and in classroom settings. This must be our focus. The administration has taken swift action in handling these incidents, but its steady support will only take us so far. As Jewish students, we must support each other and confront those who hate us as a united front. At the same time, Jewish students need allies who will call out antisemitism in the moment and stand up for their Jewish friends and neighbors.
As members of GW for Israel’s executive board and leaders in the Jewish community at GW, we know addressing antisemitism requires both accountability and partnership with others at the school. Our experience has shown that GW’s leadership is committed to supporting Jewish students and engaging with our concerns — they have sat beside us in events and held meetings with us to discuss security measures. We thank the GW administration for their steadfast support and continued work to ensure their commitment translates into a campus where Jewish students feel secure and supported.
At a time when Jewish students across the country have felt abandoned by their universities, it matters that GW’s leadership has chosen a different path. That does not mean every decision has been perfect or that they have resolved concerns to everyone’s satisfaction. It does mean that when Jewish students have asked for meetings, officials have always granted them. When we have needed security, they have provided it — something that Jewish students at other universities often can’t say. When we have gathered in grief or solidarity, University officials have stood beside us. That is not indifference. That is leadership operating within the real constraints of law, policy and a charged political environment, especially during a time when administrators across the country are opting to stay quiet.
As this debate continues, we should be careful not to erode the very relationships that have allowed Jewish students to effectively advocate for themselves. The fight against antisemitism is too serious to be reduced to misplaced blame. GW’s administration did not create the hatred we have seen, and they have not ignored it. Moving forward, our campus will be strongest if we pair moral clarity about antisemitism with intellectual honesty about who is responsible for it. Jewish students deserve both accountability for those who target us and institutional partners who stand with us. At GW, we have the latter, and that is worth saying plainly.