Jewish students and the advocacy coalition Compliance, Accountability, Policy, Ethics – Ed, or CAPE-Ed, have filed an amended federal lawsuit accusing George Washington University of failing to adequately address antisemitic harassment and discrimination against Jewish and Israeli students.
The amended complaint, filed on Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, follows U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden’s July dismissal of the plaintiffs’ original complaint. McFadden dismissed the case without prejudice, ruling that the nearly 200-page filing and more than 1,000 paragraphs violated federal pleading rules because of its length. He gave the plaintiffs 30 days to file an amended complaint.
The lawsuit, originally filed in May 2025, centers in part on a 13-day anti-Israel encampment in the university’s University Yard in April and May 2024. The complaint describes confrontations involving Jewish students, including protesters shouting, “Zionists, go to hell” and “We don’t want no Jewish state.”
The plaintiffs also allege that Jewish students faced further harassment and intimidation and argue that the university’s response denied them equal access to their education. They are suing under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the D.C. Human Rights Act.
The case follows a 2025 investigation from the U.S. Department of Justice that found GW had violated federal civil rights law by acting with “deliberate indifference” toward a hostile educational environment affecting Jewish, American-Israeli and Israeli students and faculty. The department cited harassment and intimidation during the 2024 encampment and said GW had failed to take meaningful action in response to complaints.
GW has disputed the characterization of its conduct in the lawsuit. A university spokesperson told The GW Hatchet, a student publication, that the school was reviewing the amended complaint and would respond through the legal process, while emphasizing its opposition to discrimination, including antisemitism.
The amended complaint is substantially shorter than the original filing and was submitted by a new legal team for the plaintiffs. The case remains pending.
