Over 700 affiliates of George Washington University (GW) have signed an open letter urging school officials to withhold the diploma of a student who used her commencement speech to lodge spurious accusations of apartheid and genocide against Israel, a notion trafficked by neo-Nazi groups and jihadist terror organizations.

As previously reported by The Algemeiner, the student, Cecilia Culver, accused Israel of targeting Palestinians “simply for [their] remaining in the country of their ancestors” and said that GW students are passive contributors to the “imperialist system.” An economics and statistics major, Culver deceived administrators who selected her to address the Columbian College of the Arts and Sciences ceremony, the university said in a statement issued after the remarks circulated on social media.

“I am ashamed to know my tuition is being used to fund genocide,” Culver said, prompting waves of applause and exclamations of support. “Every year, the cost of attending this university increases without a corresponding improvement in the facilities and resources provided to students, staff, and faculty. Instead, our money is put into the pockets of those who unequivocally prove time and time again they do not care about the students and faculty that [sic] create this university’s prestigious university [sic].”

Culver also charged that GW has “blood” on its hands.

Now, over 700 affiliates of the university — a figure which includes students, parents, and alumni — are calling for Culver’s diploma to be withheld indefinitely as punishment for what they described as her ruining graduation for hundreds of Jewish students and families.

“To set an affirmative precedent for ensuring a safe and welcoming community at GW, swift and serious action must be taken. The undersigned therefore strongly urge the immediate rescission of Cecilia Culver’s diploma until she issues a public apology retracting her statement to the university community, acknowledging the antisemitic nature and inappropriateness of her conduct. Comparable disciplinary action was taken by NYU [New York University] under similar circumstances; GW must hold itself to a no lower standard,” said Tuesday’s open letter, authored by another graduating GW senior, Sabrina Soffer. 

The letter noted that during Culver’s speech, the master of ceremonies, gender and sexuality professor Dr. Kavita Daiya, appeared elated and thanked Culver, for “sharing your words and your views,” insisting that she too must “apologize for her role in legitimizing and appearing to support Culver’s incitement, rather than giving it no attention at all, cutting the microphone, or making an unambiguous statement condemning Culver’s speech as inappropriate and hateful.”

It continued, “Regardless of intentions, harm was caused by Dean Daiya’s actions, or lack thereof. Anything less would signal that rules at GW are optional — and that the administration is willing to tolerate the politicization of sacred academic milestones and the demonization of entire communities under the guise of so-called social justice activism.” 

Responding to an inquiry about the letter, a GW spokeswoman referred The Algemeiner to a statement issued on Tuesday. It said: “We deeply regret that this moment of special celebration was violated for our students, their families, and other members of our community by this speaker, a former student who earned her degree in December of 2024. The speaker’s conduct during Saturday’s Columbian College of Arts and Sciences Celebration event was inappropriate and dishonest: the speaker submitted and recited in rehearsal very different remarks than those she delivered at the ceremony. The speaker has been barred from all GW campuses and sponsored events elsewhere. We are conducting a thorough review of the incident, and will take appropriate accountability actions.”

Soffer told The Algemeiner in a statement that GW does not have the option of pretending that Culver’s speech did not happen.

“The idea that the university can simply release a statement and move on without taking meaningful action points to a serious accountability crisis,” she said. “That must change. GW has the opportunity to demonstrate to its community that it upholds its values and policies — not just in words, but through real, swift consequences. Let’s be clear: turning a graduation ceremony into a platform for a hateful political tirade — of any kind — does not champion free speech. Instead, it infringes on everyone’s right to celebrate and enjoy the occasion for what it is meant to be: a shared moment of achievement and unity.”

As previously reported by The Algemeiner, George Washington University has become a hub of extreme anti-Zionist activity that school officials have struggled to quell. A major source of such conduct has been Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), which recently escalated its behavior by issuing an ominous warning to a professor who was involved in crafting a proposal to relocate Palestinians in Gaza.

“This notice is to inform you that you are hereby evicted from the premises of the George Washington University,” SJP wrote in a missive it taped to the office door of international affairs professor Joseph Pelzman, who first shared the resettlement plan with Donald Trump’s presidential campaign in July 2024, according to an account of events he described to the podcast “America, Baby!” the following month.

Denouncing Pelzman as the “architect of genocide,” SJP added, “Pelzman’s tenure is only one pernicious symptom of the bloodthirsty Zionism permeating our campus … The proprietors of this eviction notice demand your immediate removal.”

SJP’s threat to Pelzman, an accomplished academic who has focused heavily on the Middle East region, came as the group served probation for breaking a slew of school rules during the 2023-2024 academic year — a term which saw it heap abuse on school officials, visitors to campus representing former US President Joe Biden’s administration, and African Americans. Earlier this year, SJP held a “teach-in” that commemorated the First Intifada, an outbreak of Palestinian terrorism which began in December 1987 and, lasting for nearly six years, claimed the lives of scores of Israelis.

The group is currently suspended, according to The GW Hatchet, as the university has decided it is “a threat to the stability and continuance of normal university functions.”

GW faculty have also contributed to the promotion of anti-Zionism on campus. In 2023, former psychology professor Lara Sheehi was accused of verbally abusing and discriminating against her Jewish graduate students.

As recounted by a civil rights complaint filed by StandWithUs, Sheehi expressed contempt for Jews when, on the first day of term in August 2022, she asked every student to share information about their backgrounds and cultures. Replying to a student who revealed that she was Israeli, Sheehi said, “It’s not your fault you were born in Israel.” Jewish students said they made several attempts to persuade the university to correct Sheehi’s behavior or arrange an alternative option for fulfilling the requirements of her course. Each time, StandWithUs alleged, administrators said nothing could be done.

Later, the complaint added, Sheehi spread rumors that her Jewish students were “combative” racists and filed misconduct charges against them. One student told The Algemeiner at the time that she never learned what university policies Sheehi accused her and her classmates of violating.

In April, the advocacy group GWU Jewish Pulse — founded by author Lea Wolf, Soffer’s mother — told the university in an open letter that it must address these issues before deeming it appropriate to solicit donations from community members who feel that it has failed to curb hatred and discriminatory practices that would not be tolerated were they perpetrated against other minority groups.

“Before asking parents and alumni to contribute financially, perhaps it is time to confront the environment the university has actively cultivated — and what, if any, meaningful measures have been offered to Jewish students amid rising hostility, blatant hatred, and a stream of empty institutional platitudes,” said the letter. “For many families, George Washington University has indeed been transformational — but due to the intense and painful realization that GW is tolerant of Hamas propaganda and is willing to sacrifice its Jewish community in pursuit of financial gain, shielding liability, and a dangerous political agenda.”

Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.

The post 700 George Washington University Affiliates Call for Rescission of Diploma Over Anti-Zionist Commencement Speech first appeared on Algemeiner.com.