WASHINGTON: The Trump administration said on Tuesday it found George Washington University had violated federal civil rights law regarding Jewish, American Israeli, and Israeli students and faculty and will seek “immediate remediation” from the school.

In a statement, the US Department of Justice said GWU had acted “deliberately indifferent to the hostile educational environment for Jewish, American-Israeli, and Israeli students and faculty” during pro-Palestinian protests in April and May 2024. Representatives for the university based in Washington, DC, could not be immediately reached for comment. In a letter sent to university President Ellen Granberg on Tuesday, Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon said the Justice Department found members of the university community engaged in “antisemitic, disruptive protests,” including by establishing an encampment at Uni­versity Yard. Dhillon said these efforts were meant to “frighten, intimidate, and deny” Jewish, Israeli, and American Israeli students access to the university environment.

“The Department finds that despite actual notice of the abuses occurring on its campus, GWU was deliberately indifferent to the complaints it received, the misconduct that occurred, and the harms that were suffered,” Dhillon’s letter said.

Dhillon said the Justice Department intends to proceed with enforcement, but is offering the university the opportunity to resolve the matter through a voluntary resolution agreement.

Published in Dawn, August 13th, 2025