George Mason University (GMU) Board of Visitors approved a resolution late last month aimed at combatting antisemitism, despite concerns about language that opponents fear could restrict free speech on the public school’s campuses.
Debate at the board’s meeting on Feb. 27 highlighted grey areas where the policy could be used as a cudgel against pro-Palestinian protestors and crack down on discussions about the ongoing conflict in Gaza.
The resolution, found on pages 341-343 of the board meeting package, prohibits Mason from “officially sponsoring or formally endorsing in advance any activity, or outside organization whose planned or announced position is antisemitic.”
It states that Jewish and Israeli identities are both protected by GMU’s nondiscrimination policies and usage of the words “Zionism” and “Zionist” could be considered discriminatory if they’re “used as a proxy for ‘Jewish,’ ‘Israeli,’ or the similar.”
Visitor Jeffrey Rosen said he introduced the resolution in response to “a rapidly growing problem both on college campuses generally and nationally of antisemitism.” While he said it’s not intended to be political, others on the Board of Visitors worried that’s exactly how it could be used.
Resolution comes in wake of pro-Palestine student protests
Many of the protests Rosen and others cited as examples of antisemitism on college campuses at the meeting have been criticizing Israel for its actions in Gaza following the Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Hamas, the militant group that governs the Palestinian territory.
According to one study, nearly 12,400 pro-Palestine protests and over 2,000 pro-Israel protests were organized in the U.S. between October 2023 and June 2024, including over 100 student encampments.
At Mason, the student group Students for Justice in Palestine — which organized protests, including a “Week of Rage” to mark the Oct. 7 attack’s 1-year anniversary — was suspended on Nov. 12 after FBI agents and Fairfax County and university police raided the home of two of its leaders, who were trespassed from campus.
After guns and threats of violence were reportedly found in the home, Fairfax County prosecutors sought emergency orders that would bar the students’ brother and father from having guns, but the petition was denied, and no criminal charges were filed. None of the law enforcement agencies involved commented at the time on what prompted the raid, the Washington Post reported.
Dozens of faculty and student groups signed a letter questioning the raid and trespass orders and calling for an investigation.
More recently, the Trump administration has stepped up pressure on universities to crack down on alleged antisemitism, though many have already implemented new rules after last year’s pro-Palestine protests.
The Education Department’s Office of Civil Rights sent a letter to GMU and 60 universities on Monday (March 10) warning of “potential enforcement actions” unless the schools do more to “protect Jewish students on campus, including uninterrupted access to campus facilities and educational opportunities.”
Free speech questions raised
At the Feb. 27 meeting, Graduate Student Representative Carolyn Faith Hoffman said she’s concerned the Board of Visitors resolution could be used to limit any GMU event related to the Israel-Palestine conflict, from lectures to student trips to the Middle East.
“These experiences are pivotal not only in the higher education journey but for personal growth,” Hoffman said. “Please do not take away these growth opportunities from current and future students, our next generation of leaders.”
Hoffman said the resolution could only generate further division and antisemitism.
Several other members of the Board of Visitors expressed similar concerns, particularly over what would constitute a university endorsement.
“The challenge here is the word ‘endorse,'” GMU President Gregory Washington said. “It’s a problematic word in the way it’s used.”
Washington said it wasn’t clear whether GMU hosting a debate between two scholars, one of whom might be antisemitic, could be considered sponsoring the event.
“If any entity on this campus is bringing those scholars, somebody is paying for them to be here, to feed or house them,” Washington said. “All of that falls under the content of sponsorship. Modern scholarship is not free. It comes with a cost.”
According to Faculty Representative Solon Simmons, the school faculty he spoke with were generally around 2 or 3 to 1 against the resolution. The board received more than 60 comments on an earlier draft from students, staff, alumni and community members, nearly all of them opposed.
“We’re going to be long gone and this is going to live on,” said Visitor Horace Blackman. “The task of interpreting the definition of this is going to be left to people who aren’t in this room. It’s not clear what we’re trying to say and the more I hear it, I get a little confused. The word ‘endorsed’ doesn’t make sense to me in the context.”
Washington suggested adding a definition of endorsement to the resolution, but Rosen rejected the idea.
“I don’t think it’s that hard to know what’s an official sponsorship or an official endorsement in advance,” Rosen said. “I just disagree fundamentally that that’s some term that nobody knows what endorse means… This is extremely narrow: is the university going to endorse events that are announced ahead of time as being planned or announced positions of antisemitic activity?”
Much of the discussion involved visitors appointed by Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin facing off against school administrators and visitors appointed by Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam. Youngkin appointees Rosen and Robert Pence both served in President Donald Trump’s first administration — as an ambassador to Finland for Pence and as acting attorney general for Rosen.
Pence said Washington’s statement after the Oct. 7 attack was “weak” and recalled on-campus protests last year where students chanted “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” a phrase that — like much of the century-old conflict — has a complicated history.
Activists have adopted the chant as a call for peace for Palestinians who have been confined to the Gaza Strip by the Mediterranean Sea and the West Bank along the Jordan River. However, critics interpret it as advocacy for the state of Israel to be abolished.
Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares claimed in a 2023 letter to university and college presidents that the phrase indicates protestors “are calling for a second Holocaust.” Pence echoed that sentiment, characterizing the slogan as “advocating for genocide” and suggesting it should be banned from campus.
“It’s despicable and I don’t think it should be allowed to be said,” he said. “I find it incredible that people don’t understand what an official endorsement means.”
Visitor Charles Cooper, who opposed the resolution, said he doesn’t support the phrase, but it should still be protected as free speech.
“Anyone in this room can say those words,” Cooper said. “The University can decide whether it will say those words and attach itself, its imprimatur, its reputation to those words.”
The resolution passed in a vote with eight in favor, four against and one abstention. According to Fourth Estate, GMU’s student newspaper, protestors held up signs during the discussion, and one person called the vote “a disgrace” before leaving.
The “resolved” section of the approved resolution is below:
RESOLVED, this board directs that the university publish a factsheet on Shared Jewish Ancestry/Israeli National Origin discrimination, including the [International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance] definition and contemporary examples. The method of promulgation will be consistent with the universities’ other non-discrimination policies and that method will be reported to the Board.
RESOLVED, this board directs the university to ensure all Mason employees (defined as anyone who receives a paycheck from Mason) receive guidance on IHRA during required inperson or online Equal Opportunity trainings through the ODEI; and that applicants for admission to the university be provided with access to University Policy 1201 during the application process; AND
RESOLVED, this board directs that the University, and each of its colleges, schools, departments, and official academic units refrain from officially sponsoring or formally endorsing in advance any event, activity, or outside organization whose planned or announced position is antisemitic. This directive applies solely to institutional endorsement or sponsorship in advance by the University and its academic units, and shall not (a) restrict the individual speech or academic freedom of faculty members, students, or student or faculty organizations on campus, (b) prevent students or faculty from gaining access to university facilities for events, activities, or organizations because of the constitutionally protected viewpoint or position taken by such individuals or student or faculty organizations; nor (c) impact the University’s decision to recognize a student organization because of the constitutionally protected viewpoint or position taken by such organization. Nothing anywhere in this resolution shall be interpreted to infringe on rights protected by the United States or Virginia Constitutions, including but not limited to the First Amendment of the United States Constitution or Article I, Section 12 of the Virginia Constitution; AND
RESOLVED, this board declares that the University seeks to prevent unlawful antisemitic discrimination or violence in any of its forms and manifestations, and will have no tolerance for Prohibited Discrimination on the basis of actual or perceived Jewish shared ancestry or Israeli National Origin. Prohibited Discrimination that violates university policy shall result in meaningful consequences following established disciplinary processes for students, faculty or staff. The President of the university shall provide this board with a report of all findings of violations of Policy 1201 at the end of each academic year, and as otherwise requested by the board.
