George Washington University Apologizes After Graduation Speaker Attacks Israel

George Washington University (GW) has apologized to its campus community over an incident in which a student delivering a graduation speech attacked Israel.

During the speech, a student accused Israel of targeting Palestinians “simply for [their] remaining in the country of their ancestors” and said that GW students are passive contributors to the “imperialist system.”

The student, an economics and statistics major, deceived administrators who selected her to address the Columbian College of the Arts and Sciences ceremony, the university said in a statement issued after the remark circulated on social media.

“The student speaker chose to stray from their prepared remarks, which were materially different when previously reviewed by school leadership,” the university said in a statement. “We are also aware that some students unfurled signs brought under their graduation gowns, despite clear guidance to the contrary. The students’ remarks and signs do not reflect the views of the university.”

It continued, “We apologize to the graduates and families in attendance that their time of special celebration was disrupted. We are investigating this matter immediately, including whether event protocols were followed properly and whether the students’ actions violated the Code of Conduct.”

“I am ashamed to know my tuition is being used to fund genocide,” the student said during the speech. “Every year, the cost of attending this university increases without a corresponding improvement in the facilities and resources provided to students, staff, and faculty. Instead, our money is put into the pockets of those who unequivocally prove time and time again they do not care about the students and faculty that [sic] create this university’s prestigious university [sic].”

During the remarks, the master of ceremonies, gender and sexuality professor Dr. Kavita Daiya, appeared elated and thanked the student, Cecilia Culver, for “sharing your words and your views.”

GW student Sabrina Soffer, who also walked with her peers on Saturday to celebrate the completion of undergraduate study, told The Algemeiner on Monday that the graduation speaker should be sanctioned by the university for spreading antisemitic viewpoints that were once relegated to the darkest corners of the internet but have since become respectable in higher education.

“She spoke the rhetoric of a true antisemite, warranting the withholding of her degree as happened at [New York University], which unambiguously refused to confer a degree to a student who pulled a similar stunt,” Soffer said during an interview. “She should be forced to make a public apology as a condition of receiver her diploma.”

Soffer, who has spent the last four years leading the pro-Israel movement on GW’s campus, added that she believes the commencement incident is emblematic of a larger issue on campus.

“I’ve personally been trying to help the university address its antisemitism problem since I became a student here, and I’ve received much lip service and kind words that never translated into action. This was an example of that — a complete lack of accountability effectiveness in the enactment of policy.”

End Jew Hatred (EJH), a Jewish civil rights group based in New York City, added: “Culver’s speech devalues the diploma she and her classmates earned, giving the public reason to question whether George Washington’s degrees are worth the paper they are printed on, in light of its abject failure to teach basic facts and correct such blatantly false statements. It’s not just Culver, it’s the people who applauded her performance instead of condemning it. George Washington’s failure to educate, let alone enforce its policies, is enough to give both employers and prospective students pause.”

The conclusion of the 2024-2025 academic year has seen other attempts to place anti-Zionism at the center of the public’s attention.

On Wednesday, a New York University senior delivered a commencement speech teeming with antisemitic tropes after lying to the administration about its content, prompting it to withhold his degree and issue an apology.

“NYU strongly denounces the choice by a student at the Gallatin School’s graduation today — one of over 20 school graduation ceremonies across our campus — to misuse his role as student speaker to express his personal and one-sided political views,” university spokesman John Beckman said in a statement. “He lied about the speech he was going to deliver and violated the commitment he made to comply with our rules. The university is withholding his diploma while we pursue disciplinary actions.”

He continued, “NYU is deeply sorry that the audience was subjected to these remarks and this moment was stolen by someone who abused a privilege that was conferred upon him.”

A group of pro-Hamas students at Yale University recently vowed to starve themselves inside an administrative building until such time as officials agree to their demands that the university’s endowment be divested of any ties to Israel as well as companies that do business with it. However, Yale officials are refusing to meet with the students, who have been told that their demonstration is “in violation of university policy.”

Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.

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