Eight Colleges Join Together To Protest The War in Gaza At George Washington University

The university says students have until 7 p.m. local time to move their tents off campus.

Students at eight universities joined together to set up encampments Thursday morning at George Washington University to protest the war in Gaza and demand their universities divest from Israel.

“Six months have passed and the United States government and the universities across the nation have not only failed to take any action to end this genocide, but are actively enabling it,” a news release from the DC, Maryland, and Virginia Coalition of Students for Justice in Palestine reads. “Multiple avenues have been explored to pressure universities to divest from the apartheid state of Israel, but all efforts have been met with repression and the silencing of multiple pro-Palestine student organizers and their respective organizations.

American University, Gallaudet University, George Mason University, George Washington University, Georgetown University, Howard University, the University of Maryland and University of Maryland, Baltimore County comprise the eight-school coalition. The coalition’s demands are for each university to divest from “any business that aids the ongoing genocide of Palestinians,” that the schools protect “all speech in support of Palestine ... [and drop] all charges against pro-Palestine student organizers,” and that the schools end all academic partnerships and study-abroad programs with “Zionist institutions.”

Ellen M. Granberg, president of George Washington University, and Christopher Alan Bracey, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs, said in a statement on Thursday that they had called on police to remove the encampments because they were an “unauthorized use of university space at this location and violated several university policies.”

“Occupying campus grounds, establishing outdoor encampments, and blocking access to buildings create safety concerns and can disrupt learning and study, especially during this critical final exam period,” part of the statement reads. “Such activities are inconsistent with the university’s mission, values, and commitment to providing a safe environment for all students and employees.”