Justice Department claims George Washington University failed to adequately address antisemitism

The Justice Department on Tuesday notified George Washington University that it failed to adequately address antisemitism incidents on its school campus, making it the latest prestigious school to face backlash from the Trump administration.

The administration reached the same conclusion about the University of California, Los Angeles, Harvard University, Brown University and Columbia University, among others. The conclusion comes after thousands of college students nationwide participated in anti-Israel demonstrations at their local schools, including demonstrations that harassed Jewish students.

Justice Department officials claimed the school violated the civil rights of its Jewish students and faculty by "acting deliberately indifferent to the hostile educational environment," per Politico.

The department said it will seek "immediate remediation" with the college, and will allow the university to enter a voluntary resolution agreement in order to avoid losing federal funding. If the school does not accept the terms, it could lose millions of dollars.

“Every student has the right to equal educational opportunities without fear of harassment or abuse,” Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon said in a statement. “No one is above the law, and universities that promulgate antisemitic discrimination will face legal consequences.” 

The department also claimed in a letter to the university that the school received at least eight complaints of antisemitic discrimination during the protests last year, which made the students "afraid to attend class, to be observed, or, worse, to be ‘caught’ and perhaps physically beaten on GWU’s campus."

The university has not yet commented on the Trump administration's letter.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.