GWU suspends Jewish Voice for Peace chapter over two infractions
A progressive "anti-Zionist" student organization has been suspended at George Washington University after two incidents that took place in early 2025.
The sanctions, which are not the first levied on Jewish Voice for Peace, have prompted activists to start disaffiliating from the school.
George Washington University has suspended the campus chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) through 2026, the latest move in a growing national struggle over antisemitism and discipline on college campuses.
JVP describes itself as the “largest progressive Jewish anti-Zionist organization in the world,” aiming to organize American Jews into solidarity with the “Palestinian freedom struggle.”
The sanctions, announced quietly in an update to GWU’s student organization conduct records, come at a moment of intense scrutiny from the Trump administration. Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Justice concluded that GWU violated federal civil-rights law by being “deliberately indifferent” to antisemitic incidents on campus. The ruling found that harassment of Jewish students had become severe, putting the university at risk of losing federal funds if it failed to act.
[RELATED: Jewish students sue GWU over alleged failure to address campus anti-Semitism]
The university’s records cite two incidents from spring 2025: an April 20 JVP rally held while under a limitation of privileges and without university approval, and a social media post by the group that university officials said created a hostile environment for Jewish students. As part of the sanctions, the group must delete the post, adopt new online policies, and remain on probation until 2027 before it can return to normal standing.
This isn’t the first time GWU has sanctioned JVP. In 2024, the group led a multi-day encampment in violation of school policy, prompting administrators to suspend its activities until December of that year.
This time, however, it appears JVP is ready to break ties with the university.
The George Washington University Jewish Voice for Peace chapter has now decided to disaffiliate with the school, attributing the decision to the continued sanctions and a lack of faith in the appeals process.
JVP characterized GWU’s enforcement action as a “blatant and cowardly attempt to muzzle and incapacitate the only anti-Zionist Jewish organization on campus from functioning entirely,” according to The GW Hatchet, an independent newspaper at the university.
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Hillel International claims that some 3,000 Jewish students are currently enrolled as undergrads at GWU, and that it remains one of the group’s most active campuses.
The broader battle is far from over. GWU’s JVP is one of 50 campus chapters nationwide, many of which have led encampments, sit-ins, and protests over Israel since 2023. The question now is whether other universities will follow GWU’s lead in imposing serious sanctions, or whether federal authorities will need to step in again to enforce civil-rights protections.
