George Washington University, a private school in downtown Washington, D.C., stated on Tuesday that it is aware of reports of people placing vials with “an unknown substance” around an Israel Fest celebration last week, “in an apparent attempt to disrupt the festival.”
“At least one student was injured by this incident, which is now under an investigation that will examine among other things whether individuals were targeted based on their Jewish faith,” the school said. “The university condemns this reprehensible and criminal action.”
“The university, in cooperation with law enforcement as appropriate, will utilize all available avenues to investigate these concerning reports thoroughly and hold any perpetrators who are identified accountable to the fullest extent under university policies and applicable law,” GW said.
The Hillel at GW states that it serves “more than 3,000 Jewish undergraduates and 1,500 Jewish graduate students” at the school.
Anti-Israel activists set up an encampment at the school in 2024. GW has suspended a Students for Justice in Palestine chapter and its Jewish Voice for Peace chapter, and the U.S. Justice Department has said that GW exhibited “deliberate indifference” to antisemitic incidents on campus that were “objectively offensive, severe and pervasive.”
