Woke George Washington University stands by psychology professor accused of antisemitism

George Washington University is standing behind a psychology professor accused of antisemitism by students after a review by an outside law firm cleared her of the allegations.

The probe was launched after a complaint was filed against Professor Lara Sheehi, who allegedly told students in her diversity class they were Islamaphobic for using the term 'terrorist attack.'

Israel advocacy group StandWithUs filed the claim on behalf of Jewish students who alleged Sheehi told them 'It's not your fault you were born in Israel,' and said the presence of Jewish students was 'violent.'

On Monday the university shared the findings of the firm's report, which stated there was 'no evidence that the discourse crossed the line,' and said StandWithUs had an 'expansive view of the definition of antisemitism,' according to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

GW president Mark Wrighton sent a letter the university's community voicing his support for the probe's findings, writing it 'faithfully represents' what the school learned through the investigation.

Officials at George Washington University launched an investigation into allegations psychology professor Lara Sheehi made antisemitic remarks towards Jewish students

George Washington president Mark Wrighton supported a probe which said Sheehi had committed no wrongdoing

StandWithUs filed its complaint to the US Department of Education alleging Sheehi's in-class behavior in the fall of 2022 left Jewish traumatized and led them to begin taking anti-depressant medication.

In January the university announced it would be opening an investigation and hired Crowell & Moring LLP to conduct it.

The firm ruled Sheehi had done no wrong, and that if StandWithUs' definition of antisemitism was applied to the school it 'could infringe on free speech principles and academic freedom.'

Wrighton agreed with the findings, writing 'after careful review, I believe the summary faithfully represents what the university learned through this third-party investigation.'

He said he was 'looking forward, we will continue to work closely with our community members as well as campus and national partners to best support our Jewish and Arab communities.'

StandWithUs expressed its disappointment in the findings and the school's stance.

'While we had hoped that the GW administration would take this opportunity to begin remedying its pervasive antisemitism problem, wrote StandWithUs CEO Roz Rothstein. 'Its published 'summary' demonstrates that it intends only to persist in its course of disregarding the rights of its Jewish and Israeli students.'

She said the report was 'self-serving,' and included numerous statements that were 'patently untrue,' according to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

In January the university announced it would be opening an investigation, and hired Crowell & Moring LLP to conduct it

In addition to her own comments, the professor allegedly invited a guest speaker who targeted and 'demonized' Israeli and Jewish individuals.

Sheehi is also accused of claiming that all Zionists - Jews who believe in the establishment of Israel as a religious homeland - suffer from 'settler psychosis' and that 'anti-Zionism is not antisemitism' because 'Zionism in and of itself indicates that Jewish folks are different.'

Additionally, the students accused Sheehi of spreading rumors that the Jewish students referred to the speaker as a 'terrorist' and suggested they were Islamophobic before making verbal attacks directly against them. 

Stand With Us also alleged that the university and the professor retaliated against the students who made complaints. 

'This has had a very real impact on myself and the other students,' said one student, according to Fox News. 'More than one of us has had to go on antidepressants as a result of this. I had to pause my part-time job, couldn't keep food down, couldn't sleep because this is really an assault on my identity in a class... It's had a real physical and psychological impact.'

'We were demeaned, and she twisted our words to make us look like the problem, which is pretty classic anti-Semitism, scapegoating the Jew, gaslighting the Jew, making us seem like we're the issue,' said another student.

The professor 'teaches decolonial, liberatory and anti-oppressive theories and approaches to clinical treatment, case conceptualization, and community consultation,' according to her bio.

Sheehi was defended by the Arab American Anti-Discrimination Committee which said she was being 'wrongfully targeted by [a] far-right Israeli group.'

The group said she would 'not have resulted in such an exaggerated and prejudicial response' if she 'were not Arab and her scholarship and activism were not focused on Palestine,' the group claim.