Several Washington, D.C., residents and students at George Washington University (GWU) told Fox News Digital that they felt unsafe on campus and expressed concern about the escalation of anti-Israel student protests in a series of interviews on Tuesday.
GWU is one of many universities across the U.S. that has seen student spaces overtaken by anti-Israel protests, usually in the form of tent encampments.
Fox News Digital witnessed several police stationed around the encampments as students moved in and around GWU’s University Yard between classes. It is one of the school’s few green spaces on an urban campus that is nestled in Northwest D.C.
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On one school sign, there was graffiti in chalk depicting hateful messages, including “f— Israel.” Student signs in the encampment displayed a variety of anti-police, anti-university and pro-Palestinian messaging.
But some students on campus said that the protests were critical for the safety of students in D.C. and around the world.
“I feel more safe to be Jewish inside of this encampment than outside of this encampment,” a pro-Palestinian activist and Georgetown University student, Miriam, told Fox News Digital.
“We’re here focusing on the liberation of the Palestinian people,” Miriam said. “All of our safety is intertwined. All of our liberation is intertwined. None of us are safe until we remove all oppression from the world.”
“Really, we’re fighting for everyone’s safety here. We’re fighting for the liberation of the entire world,” she continued.
One student on campus told Fox News Digital, however, that the atmosphere on campus changed dramatically after the tent encampments were erected.
“It just does not feel that going outside of my apartment or my dorm is the safest right now,” Jacob, a Jewish student at GWU, said.
“It’s very upsetting,” he added. “A lot of us just feel very unsafe.”
Le, a junior at GWU, also expressed concerns about safety on campus.
“I do feel concerned about my safety, but I know that these are just non-violent demonstrations and I hope it’s not going to escalate,” he said.
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Jacob explained that despite rhetoric from anti-Israel students that the protests are “peaceful,” demonstrators have been seen breaking down barricades and yelling at police.
“If you were here a few nights ago, in the middle of the night when they broke through the barricades, they were extremely violent, they were going around harassing police, so their ideology of a peaceful protest is clearly not peaceful at all,” he said.
The fourth day of protests at GWU saw students tearing down barricades around University Yard, according to local news reports.
Jacob contrasted pro-Israel protests, which he said usually involved singing and organized demonstrations, with anti-Israel activism.
The anti-Israel protests, Jacob said, were markedly more aggressive and involved students “getting in people’s faces, constantly chanting and none of it is ever peaceful.”
When asked about the mood of protests at GWU, Dan, a pro-Palestinian Catholic activist and peace organizer, said that he was concerned about infiltration.
“At any protest, whenever I’ve been at non-violent actions, there’s always the fear that people from outside will come in, either pretending to be on your side and provoking violence, or people that believe in the same cause but don’t believe in the same means,” Dan said.
He also condemned antisemitism and said that he was “vigilant” about not allowing that rhetoric to distract from the cause of peace.
Others similarly said they were concerned about antisemitism on college campuses.
“A lot of the comments they’re making are really antisemitic,” Jacob said of GWU protesters.
A Jewish mother who was protesting on behalf of Jewish students at GWU told Fox News Digital that many anti-Israel students were “confused” about the war.
“There’s just such a loss of civility and I feel for young people who are obviously very confused,” Robin said, arguing that there can still be no excuse for putting “so much hate and fear into the lives of Jewish students.”
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GWU shared multiple statements and updates with Fox News Digital on the state of protests on campus.
“Our highest priority is, and always will be, maintaining a safe campus environment that allows for the world-class academic experience our students and their families have entrusted us with providing. The encampment on University Yard violates our clearly defined rules of conduct and behavior. Further, the actions of some protestors have been highly offensive to many members of our community.”
Another statement from a GWU spokesperson also emphasized safety and security on campus.
“We remain committed to implementing the safest resolution possible and have arranged for additional security resources to respond appropriately to this escalation. MPD remains on the scene and is monitoring the situation. Despite the ongoing disturbance on University Yard, GW is open and operating with enhanced safety measures. We will release additional details as the situation evolves.”
