Professors at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. have recently formed a chapter of the controversial anti-Israel group Faculty for Justice in Palestine (FJP).
The formation of the group was mentioned by professors Peter Calloway, helen [sic] DeVinney, Amr Madkour, Sara Matthiesen, and Dara Orenstein in an Oct. 28 op-ed published in The GW Hatchet.
“As we pass one year of a genocide funded by the United States and U.S. universities that has expanded to bombing campaigns in Syria, Lebanon, Iran and Yemen,” the faculty members wrote, “we and other conscientious members of GW’s faculty and staff have recently established a chapter of Faculty and Staff for Justice in Palestine.”
The faculty members wrote that they “stand in solidarity with the students and grieve the continued atrocities against the people of Palestine,” and condemned the university’s leadership for disciplining students who participated in a disruptive anti-Israel tent encampment at the school.
The professors stated that they are “bearing witness” with “brave and visionary students — who are committed to disclosure and divestment and who call for our administration to treat students with dignity and respect using their voices, bodies and organizing skills to fight for a better world for all.”
FJP chapters have been spreading across American higher education, including to schools like the Universities of Pennsylvania, Princeton, and Harvard. FJP members routinely participate in anti-Israel protests similar to those engaged in by activist student groups.
A recent study conducted by the AMCHA Initiative, an organization dedicated to fighting anti-Semitism, found that the presence of FJP chapters can exacerbate anti-Semitism on campuses.
The AMCHA Initiative report accused the FJP of “influencing student-led antisemitic activism” and “spearheading the promotion of academic boycotts that target Jewish students, faculty, and pro-Israel organizations for harm.”
The report also found that “the presence of FJP chapters correlates strongly with the rise of violent antisemitic behavior on campuses, including physical assaults and death threats,” and called on school leaders to “take immediate and decisive action” to protect Jewish members of their communities.
Campus Reform has contacted George Washington University for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
This article was originally published at campusreform.org
