George Washington University (GWU)’s medical school reportedly hosted a faculty panel asserting that the Palestinian terror group Hamas has a so-called “right of resistance” against Israel.
During the event, panelists referred to Israel’s military operation in the Gaza Strip as “ethnic cleansing” and “genocide,” while failing to mention the October 7 Hamas terrorist attack against the world’s only Jewish state, according to video footage obtained by the New York Post.
The panelists also reportedly failed to mention that Hamas is designated as a foreign terrorist organization, as well as the fact that it is still holding more than 100 Israeli and U.S. civilians hostage.
The panel, titled, “Understanding the Conflict in Israel and Palestine,” was held on December 4 and sponsored by the School of Medicine and Health Sciences’ Anti-Racism Coalition and the Institute for Middle East Studies.
“Israel rightly can claim self-defense, but I also want to note here that Hamas and the Palestinians also have a right of resistance,” professor Michael Barnett said during the panel.
Israel and the terrorist organization, however, already had a ceasefire since May 2021, after Hamas fired thousands of rockets into Israel over an 11-day period. The Palestinian terror group’s latest attack on Israel in October 7 has since ended that ceasefire.
The October 7 terrorist attack by Hamas in Israel left more than 1,300 Israelis dead, and also involved rapes and kidnappings. Israel responded by declaring war against Hamas, issuing airstrikes and sending military to Gaza.
While one panelist at the GWU event affirmed Israel’s right to defend itself against terrorists, several others went on to portray the Israel Defense Force (IDF)’s response as part of a larger “colonial” project to ultimately kill everyone in Gaza.
“Israel launched an unprecedented carpet bombing campaign in the strip that for the past eight weeks, we now know, has deliberately targeted and continues to deliberately target high-rise residential buildings, bakeries, schools, universities, and UN shelters,” professor Shira Robinson said during the panel.
Hamas, however, is known to use civilians in Gaza as human shields, putting them in danger by carrying out operations and stockpiling weapons at hospitals, schools, and mosques — another fact never brought up by the panel at GWU.
Concerned students and faculty who tried to speak up during the December 4 panel at GWU were ignored, with some even berated by anonymous users in the chat box during the Zoom meeting, the Post reported.
Jewish students at GWU’s medical school were reportedly appalled by the panel discussion, telling the outlet that it had contributed to the spread of antisemitism on campus.
Moreover, Diversity and Inclusion Dean Yolanda Haywood reportedly issued a statement to medical school community apologizing about the panel, but somehow failed to mention Jewish students, as well as denounce antisemitism.
“The primary goal was to offer an experience that would result in thoughtful reflection and be a stimulus for broader, open communication,” Haywood’s statement read. “As the webinar proceeded, it became clear that this program was not a balanced presentation on this most divisive and difficult subject.”
Jewish students told New York Post that Haywood’s statement was simply one of the many “generic corporate apologies” issued by administrators who have not “taken any actionable steps to make their Jewish students feel safe on campus.”
As Breitbart News reported, students at GWU projected pro-terror, anti-Israel messages onto a school library in late October, after Hamas carried out a mass murder of Israelis in Israel.
George Washington University President Ellen Granberg responded to the students, saying the messages were “antisemitic” and were in violation of university policy. Granberg’s generic and weak comment on disciplining the students is that the school “will take appropriate steps in accordance with university policies.”
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