Demonstrators gather at The George Washington University in Washington, D.C. on March 21, 2025 to protest the war in Gaza. Photo: Bryan Dozier/NurPhoto via Reuters Connect.

George Washington University (GW) has suspended the Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) chapter operating on its campus until Spring 2026, punishing the group for a series of unauthorized demonstrations it held on school property last month, according to a recent report in The GW Hatchet.

The move marks one of the severest disciplinary sanctions SJP has provoked from the GW administration since it began violating rules on peaceful expression and assembly, as well as targeting school officials for harassment, following Hamas’ Oct. 7 massacre across southern Israel. Until next May, SJP is barred from advertising and may only convene to “complete sanctions or consult with their advisor,” according to report.

A number of SJP chapters around the country have been disbanded or suspended by university administrators over the past two years.

The gatherings in question occurred during GW’s so-called “Palestine Liberation Week,” the Hatchet added. Administrators repeatedly told SJP to “cease” the activity, but it the ignored their directives, choosing instead to charge ahead with a “teach in” and another event to which it denied an administrator access. By the time the group’s leaders were hauled before the disciplinary panel which shut it down for an entire academic year, it had racked up a bundle of additional misconduct charges for, the Hatchet said, “disorderly conduct, discrimination, and non compliance” — of which it was ultimately found not guilty.

SJP will be placed on probation for one year after its suspension is lifted, the paper continued, during which it must request and acquire prior approval for any expressive activity. Additionally, members will be required to attend “teach-ins on university policy” for “ten consecutive semesters.”

As previously reported by The Algemeiner, George Washington University has been a hub of extreme anti-Zionist activity that school officials have struggled to quell. A major source of the troubling conduct is 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 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 Dec. 1987 and, lasting for nearly six years, claimed the lives of scores of Israelis.

Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.

The post George Washington University Suspends Students for Justice in Palestine for One Year first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

US President Donald Trump speaks to reporters at the White House in Washington, DC, US, April 23, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

US President Donald Trump said his goal to achieve the complete “dismantlement” of Iran’s nuclear program during a Sunday interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

Trump made the comments during a sit-down discussion anchor Kristen Welker. 

“Total dismantlement. Yes, that is all I would accept,” Trump told Welker regarding Iran’s nuclear program. The comments

The US president cautioned that the “world will be destroyed” if Tehran is able to acquire a nuclear weapon. 

“I want Iran to be really successful, really great, really fantastic. The only thing they can’t have is a nuclear weapon,” Trump added. “If they want to be successful, that’s OK. I want them to be so successful.”

The president’s comments come amid increasing pressure by Republican lawmakers to clearly outline his position on whether the US should take a more forceful stand against Tehran’s nuclear program, which Western officials believe is ultimately meant to build nuclear weapons. Iran claims its nuclear activities are only for civilian energy purposes.

Trump indicated that he would accept the creation of a civilian nuclear program for Iran, echoing comments from US Secretary of State Marco Rubio that the White House would support giving Tehran “a pathway to a civil, peaceful nuclear program.”

Tehran has repeatedly claimed that its nuclear program is for civilian purposes rather than building weapons. However, the UN’s nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), reported last year that Iran had greatly accelerated uranium enrichment to close to weapons grade.

The UK, France, and Germany said in a statement at the time that there is no “credible civilian justification” for Iran’s recent nuclear activity, arguing it “gives Iran the capability to rapidly produce sufficient fissile material for multiple nuclear weapons.”

Lawmakers and analysts who wish for a tough US posture toward Iran have expressed concern about the ongoing US-Iran talks to reach a nuclear deal, arguing the Trump administration has seemingly vacillated positions on Iran’s nuclear efforts.

US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff drew backlash last month when, during a Fox News interview, he suggested that Iran would be allowed to pursue a nuclear program for so-called civilian purposes, saying that Iran “does not need to enrich past 3.67 percent.” The next day, Witkoff backtracked on these remarks, writing on X/Twitter that Tehran must “stop and eliminate its nuclear enrichment and weaponization program.”

Some members of the former Obama administration have expressed cautious optimism that the approach of Trump and his team to the current nuclear talks might mirror the steps they took to reach the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the 2015 deal which placed temporary restrictions on Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of major international sanctions. Trump withdrew the US from the accord during his first presidential term in 2018, arguing it was too weak and would undermine American interests.

However, many high-profile lawmakers believe that the Trump administration should aggressively pursue the complete destruction of the Iranian nuclear program, arguing that such a program poses a substantial threat not only to Israel but also to the United States. 

“We cannot negotiate with Iran. It’s time to destroy their nuclear program and neutralize the remaining capabilities of its proxies. I remain steadfast with Israel. Provide whatever is necessary to carry this out,” Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) posted on X/Twitter on Sunday.

Israel has been among the most vocal proponents of dismantling Iran’s nuclear program, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arguing that the US should pursue a “Libyan option” to eliminate the possibility of Tehran acquiring a nuclear weapon by overseeing the destruction of Iran’s nuclear installations and the dismantling of equipment.

The post Trump Vows to Pursue ‘Total Dismantlement’ of Iranian Nuclear Program first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) occupy a section of Swarthmore College on April 30-May 3, 2025. (Protesters’ faces were obfuscated by SJP, not The Algemeiner). Photo: Screenshot.

Nine students and non-students were arrested by law enforcement at Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania on Saturday after they disobeyed orders to clear a pro-Hamas encampment which illegally occupied the institution’s Trotter Lawn section of campus.

According to The Phoenix, Swarthmore College’s independent campus newspaper, the encampment was stationed by Students for Justice in Palestine, a campus group which has been linked to Islamist terrorist organizations, on Wednesday evening in an attempt to “revive” similar demonstrations staged last year. Naming the encampment the “Hossam Shabat Liberated Zone,” SJP called on its supporters to “escalate” and establish a “site of colonial resistence” [sic] from which to demand divestment from companies holding economic ties to Israel.

No sooner had SJP done so than Swarthmore president Val Smith denounced the group for uttering “abhorrent statements celebrating violence and promoting hate” and directed school staff to begin removing lawn furniture SJP had moved to Trotter Lawn to support its occupation of it. Later, the Phoenix added, the Smith College Police Department formally alerted SJP that its members will be trespassed from the area, distributing a notice which cited Pennsylvania law as cause for the arrest of the participating demonstrators.

Developments slowed to a creep over the next three days, however, as Smith refrained from ordering arresting the students to provide them a chance to voluntarily comply with an ultimatum to leave Trotter Lawn by 11p m on Friday, after which time they would be detained and charged with a crime. Meanwhile, faculty and provost Kathleen Howard launched their own diplomatic effort, promising students “less severe” disciplinary sanctions in exchange for their abandoning the protest before the ultimatum expired. Some SJP members repelled their offers even, setting up the following morning’s confrontation with law enforcement.

According to the Phoenix, officers drawn from eight local departments responded to Swarthmore College’s plea for assistance with restoring order at 7:45 am on Saturday. Nine protesters were ultimately arrested, two of whom are students who were given interim suspensions. Seven of their classmates received a similar punishment before the demonstration was finally quelled. Accusations of police misconduct abounded after the police action but none that can, as of yet, be verified by video evidence.

“We tried talking with the protesters, but they refused to engage in any substantive conversation about ending the encampment,” Smith said in a statement issued after the encampment ended. “SJP continued to use social media to urge individuals from beyond Swarthmore to come to campus. In addition to placing the community at risk, the promotion of the protest on social media drew the attention of law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, who urged us to bring the encampment to an end as quickly as possible.”

She continued, “Some believe we acted too quickly and too forcefully; others will feel just as strongly that we waited too long to intervene. These divergent views reflect the complexity of a situation in which every path forward was fraught. Ultimately, I carry the responsibility of ensuring the safety and security of our entire community, and I acted with that interest in mind.”

On Sunday, SJP issued a volley of statements reviling America, Israel, Swarthmore College, law enforcement, and capitalism.

“Swarthmore enlisted a fascist brigade to secure a property financed by the commodification of violence,” the group said. “This is the logical conclusion of decades of actively financing and profiting off of apartheid, settler colonialism, and genocide. The ‘comfort’ that we receive from our scholarships, housing, and food, is funded by investments that actively destroy the world around it.”

Swarthmore College’s relatively swift dispersal of the encampment comes amid the Trump administration’s crackdown on who government officials have described as antisemitic, pro-Hamas protesters and the “woke” elite colleges who allegedly harbor them even as they violate the civil rights of Jewish students. Since March, government officials have been slashing federal funds previously awarded to universities over their apparent refusing to discipline such students and enact reforms which, conservatives believe, would prevent their being admitted to prestigious higher education institutions in the first place.

Swarthmore was the recipient of $2.8 million in federal grants in fiscal year 2024, according to the Phoenix, which amounts to “slightly more than 1 percent of its $234 million in revenue for the year.”

Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.

The post Swarthmore College Anti-Israel Encampment Thwarted, 9 Arrested first appeared on Algemeiner.com.