The letter-writers, whose organizers include the ardently pro-Israel groups Jews In School, Students Supporting Israel and Israel War Room, said they believed the speech was “filled with demonstrably fabricated accusations of genocide and apartheid directed at Israel” and that the dean’s comments amounted to “a dereliction of duties to return the celebration to neutrality.” Letter organizer Sabrina Soffer, a recent GWU Judaic Studies graduate who spoke at the November 2023 March for Israel in Washington, DC, said on Instagram that Culver’s speech was “filled with antisemitic commentary” and that Daiya had given an “implicit endorsement of those remarks.” Soffer’s Instagram post did not list the names of the letter’s signatories but claimed hundreds had signed. Her actions and the university’s response stood out at the tail end of an academic year that had seen notably more muted campus Israel protests than the previous year amid the Trump administration’s curtailing of federal funding for higher education and rounding up of student protesters.
Author: BY ANDREW LAPIN/JTA
Published at: 2025-05-21 22:45:27
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