Israel Fest is a celebration of Israeli food, music, and culture. This year’s gathering was held on April 27.
Jewish students have previously complained about a hostile environment on campus and facing angry or insulting responses from both faculty and students when they attempt to offer a pro-Israel perspective.
This particular event often draws protesters, which are of course protected speech. Yet, I have spoken to Jewish students about their fear of attending this event given the anger on campus. Others have told me how students in classes for weeks have been bad-mouthing the planned event and have described those attending as “supporting genocide.” One student said that even when she raised the popular camel, which is part of the annual celebration, she was met with fierce condemnation for using the animal to draw people to the event.
Our campus has long seen protests that resulted in property damage or the occupation of our quad. All of my children went to George Washington University. After the October massacre, my kids witnessed students pulling down pictures of hostages and other anti-Israeli protests.
In my book, “Rage and the Republic: The Unfinished Story of the American Revolution,” I recounted how exactly two years ago, on May 6, 2024, I wrote about witnessing the extremism of these anti-Israeli protests:
In May 2024, I was working on this book when suddenly I felt pulled into the pages of my research. A mob outside was crying “Guillotine! Guillotine! Guillotine!” Those words were not chanted on Place de la Concorde in Paris but on the quad of George Washington University in Washington, D.C. I was literally working on the material from the French Revolution when it seemed like the French Revolution had come to me.
Students were holding a mock trial of the university president, the provost, board of directors, and others over their refusal to yield to demands in an anti-Israel protest. Encamped for weeks in the yard next to my law school office, the students chanted “off with their heads” and “off to the motherf*cking gallows with you.” No one seriously expected the tumbrels to roll down Pennsylvania Avenue. The students were venting and mocking the administration. Nevertheless, the faux trial induced a certain “what if ” moment, considering whether we could ever actually devolve into such madness. It came at a time when protests are becoming more radicalized and, at times, violent.
…We have survived every age of rage because of a constitutional system that was designed not for the good times but the bad times that come with democracy. Despite having the most successful and stable constitutional system in history, there is still that moment: a fleeting doubt as to whether the system could survive the morning, survive the times we are living in, survive us.
We still need to learn more about this incident, including why news of the alleged attack was so delayed. The University released a statement on May 5, the week after the event.
The university stated that “At least one student was injured by this incident, which is now under an investigation that will examine, among other things, whether individuals were targeted based on their Jewish faith.”
The university condemned “this reprehensible and criminal action.” However, I am perplexed by when the university first learned of the incident and whether there was a police report on that day. The university clearly has enough information to characterize the incident as “criminal” in nature. If so, it is not clear why it was not immediately known to the campus, which has an alert system in place.
It is also unclear why the Hatchet, our campus newspaper, did not report on this incident. I may have missed something last week, but I only learned of the incident in the last 24 hours.
There are lingering concerns over past delays and coverage of damage caused by protesters on campus.
There may be a reasonable explanation for the delay, but the university would be wise to make it public without further delay. Parents are likely to wonder why they receive an immediate alert for a fire truck on campus but have to wait until the following week to hear of a possible hate crime against a Jewish student.