Email George Washington University: #PalestiniansDeserveCare
In June 2021, during a traumatic moment for Palestinians processing and resisting the ethnic cleansing of their people, the Office of Advocacy and Support at George Washington University recognized that Palestinian students needed trauma care. But when the office started a trauma processing space to support Palestinian students, the university swiftly struck down and cancelled the event. Within 24 hours.
George Washington University (GW) is actively discriminating against its Palestinian students and denying them access to mental health services, even in their most traumatic moments. In response, Nada Elbasha, an advocacy specialist at GW’s Office of Advocacy and Support, initiated a civil rights complaint against the university with Palestine Legal’s representation.
“To deny Palestinians support because their pain is politically inconvenient is not just wrong, it’s illegal,” said Palestine Legal senior staff attorney Radhika Sainath.
Email George Washington University Now
Right now, we need you to loudly call out GW’s anti-Palestinian racism and discrimination—to send a powerful message that there is a whole movement behind any community that faces racism on campus, Palestinians included.
GW administrators have even put the Office of Advocacy and Support under an audit, threatening to shut down their vital work providing services to all students who’ve experienced trauma or violence.
Your action can force GW to provide the trauma services that students need, especially between the pandemic and racist violence of the present moment.
The last time Palestine Legal called out GW for anti-Palestinian discrimination, after campus police ordered a student to remove a Palestinian flag from his window, GW’s president backtracked and apologized. We can force action to stop further anti-Palestinian racism again.
Voice your support for community care for Palestinians at GW—and everywhere. Send an email now.
On social media? Make sure to call out GW for their anti-Palestinian racism and share your support for Palestinian students who are entitled to trauma care. Use the toolkit at bit.ly/PalestiniansDeserveCareToolkit.
