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George Washington U faces federal investigation over antisemitism charges after clearing professor of them
(JTA) – Little more than a week after it dismissed allegations of antisemitism against one of its professors, George Washington University will face a federal investigation over the same allegations.
The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights will open an investigation into a federal discrimination complaint brought against the university by the pro-Israel group StandWithUs, the group said. The complaint alleges that the university did not properly respond to student reports of the professor, who teaches graduate-level psychology, making antisemitic comments in class and bringing in a guest speaker who expressed anti-Zionist views.
Opening an investigation does not necessarily mean that the department believes the complaint has merit, but pro-Israel activists still celebrated it as a symbolic victory.
The news came nine days after the university’s own investigation into the matter, conducted by a third party, had determined that student allegations of antisemitism were unfounded. The university’s investigation was also prompted by the StandWithUs complaint, but its interviews with students and reviews of recorded lectures could not corroborate any of the allegations. The investigation concluded, in addition, that StandWithUs’ definition of antisemitism “could infringe on free speech principles and academic freedom.”
The StandWithUs complaint alleges that the university did not properly respond when Israeli students said the professor, Lara Sheehi, had made dismissive comments to them, including telling one, “It’s not your fault you were born in Israel.” The students also said the professor had brought in a guest speaker for an optional lecture who expressed anti-Zionist views, and that Sheehi did not acknowledge that they felt targeted by the talk.
Sheehi has denied the allegations and accused the university of having “colluded” with StandWithUs. The university’s third-party investigation could not corroborate whether she had made the comments in question. It did find that Sheehi had “repeatedly acknowledged the students’ feelings.” The federal investigation is concerned only with whether the university responded appropriately to the student complaints.
The case has attracted both supporters and detractors across the world of higher education. Sheehi has garnered support from academic groups including the Middle East Studies Association. Meanwhile, Jewish groups have pointed to other reported instances of antisemitic behavior on George Washington’s campus over the last couple of years, including graffiti outside the campus Hillel and a damaged imitation Torah at a Jewish fraternity.
StandWithUs trumpeted the news of the federal investigation as a refutation of the university investigation’s findings. Like other pro-Israel groups that have filed legal complaints, the organization has petitioned the Department of Education to explicitly define anti-Zionist speech as antisemitic.
“University administrators have an affirmative obligation to respond adequately when students report allegations of such misconduct,” StandWithUs CEO Roz Rothstein said in a statement, which added that the Department of Education’s civil rights office “has recognized the need to investigate these allegations in a thorough and unbiased manner.”
The Department of Education has been playing a more active role in adjudicating campus disputes over antisemitism allegations since the Donald Trump administration expanded the department’s civil rights mandate in 2019 under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits discriminatory behavior at federally-funded programs or institutions, such as public universities. Earlier this week, the office reached a resolution with the University of Vermont over a separate case, finding that administrators had failed to respond adequately to reports of antisemitism on campus — including anti-Zionist speech from students and teaching assistants.
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The post George Washington U faces federal investigation over antisemitism charges after clearing professor of them appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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Lindsey Graham urges Israel not to strike Iranian oil depots even as he says he helped make war happen
(JTA) — Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina has called on Israel to rein in its attacks on Iranian oil infrastructure, marking a rare note of caution from a Republican lawmaker who has said he helped push the United States to join Israel in waging war against Iran.
In a post on X on Sunday, Graham praised Israel for its role in the war before adding that “there will be a day soon that the Iranian people will be in charge of their own fate, not the murderous ayatollah’s regime.”
“In that regard, please be cautious about what targets you select,” continued Graham. “Our goal is to liberate the Iranian people in a fashion that does not cripple their chance to start a new and better life when this regime collapses. The oil economy of Iran will be essential to that endeavor.”
Graham’s post linked to an Axios article that reported that the United States was alarmed by Israeli strikes over the weekend that targeted 30 Iranian fuel depots. On Monday, U.S. gas prices rose to their highest levels since 2024.
The warning from Graham, an ally of President Donald Trump and staunch supporter of Israel, comes days after the Republican hawk told the Wall Street Journal that he had played a key role in urging Trump to strike Iran.
Prior to the joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran, Graham made several trips to Israel where he met with members of the Mossad, Israel’s intelligence agency, as well as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu whom he said he coached on how to lobby Trump to strike Iran.
“They’ll tell me things our own government won’t tell me,” Graham told the newspaper.
On Monday, Graham also directed his criticism at Saudi Arabia’s decision to stay on the sidelines of the campaign against Iran.
“It is my understanding the Kingdom refuses to use their capable military as a part of an effort to end the barbaric and terrorist Iranian regime who has terrorized the region and killed 7 Americans,” wrote Graham in a post on X Monday. “Question – why should America do a defense agreement with a country like the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia that is unwilling to join a fight of mutual interest?”
The post Lindsey Graham urges Israel not to strike Iranian oil depots even as he says he helped make war happen appeared first on The Forward.
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Belgian officials investigating synagogue explosion as possible act of terrorism
(JTA) — Belgian officials are investigating an explosion in front of a synagogue in Liège early Monday as a possible act of terrorism.
The explosion, which took place at 4 a.m., damaged the door of the historic neo-Romanesque synagogue and blew out the windows of multiple buildings across the street. No injuries were reported.
A range of Belgian politicians, including the prime minister and the mayor of Liège, characterized the explosion as act of antisemitism.
“Antisemitism is an attack on our values and our society, and we must fight it unequivocally,” Prime Minister Bart de Wever said in a statement. “We stand in solidarity with the Jewish community in Liege and across the country.”
The explosion comes amid a surge of concern about possible attacks by agents associated with the Iranian regime, against which the United States and Israel launched a war last week. Iran has a long record of supporting attacks on Jewish targets abroad, including two bombings in the 1990s in Argentina that killed more than 100 people at the Israeli embassy and a Jewish community center. Now, with Iran being pummeled at home, watchdogs are warning that it might lash out through its Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force, responsible for attacks abroad.
Azerbaijan said Friday that it had foiled multiple terror attacks planned by Iranian agents on Jewish sites. In London, four men were arrested last week for allegedly spying on the Jewish community for Iran, with the intent of planning attacks against the community. And a string of shootings at synagogues in Toronto has ignited concern in Canada, too.
Iranian agents have taken aim at non-Jewish targets, too. On Friday, a Pakistani man who prosecutors said had been directed by Iran’s IRGC was convicted of plotting to assassinate President Donald Trump.
The attack in Liège, in the primarily French-speaking Wallonia province, comes amid a range of recent developments that have unsettled Belgian Jews, who number approximately 30,000. They include antisemitic carnival caricatures in the city of Aalst; a ban on ritual slaughter preventing the local production of kosher meat; and an ongoing row between U.S. and Belgian officials over Jewish circumcision practices. The attack also follows a 2014 shooting in which a gunman associated with the Islamic State, a rival to Iran’s Islamic Republic, shot four people to death at the Jewish Museum in Brussels.
A spokesperson for the Liège police described the effects to the area as “only material damage” to the 1899 building. Rabbi Joshua Nejman told local media that he was hoping that security footage would reveal the perpetrator.
“I’m going to try to calm my heart, because it is beating faster and faster this morning,” said Nejman, who said he had been at the synagogue for 25 years.
“Liege is home to a very small but vibrant Jewish community where I personally grew up,” Eitan Bergman, vice president of the Coordinating Committee of Jewish Organisations in Belgium, told Reuters. “Today, the feelings among our community members are a mixture of sadness, worry and profound shock.”
Liege’s mayor, Willy Demeyer, praised the synagogue community to RBTF, Belgium’s French-language national broadcaster. He added, “We cannot allow foreign conflicts to be imported into our city.”
The post Belgian officials investigating synagogue explosion as possible act of terrorism appeared first on The Forward.
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The Top 100 People Positively Influencing Jewish Life, 2025
In honor of The Algemeiner‘s 12th annual gala, we are proud to present our “J100” list — 100 individuals who have positively influenced Jewish life over the past year.