Georgetown Grapples with Gaza: Free Speech and Israel-Palestine at Georgetown University

Originally Published in May 2024

The Gaza conflict has been an incredibly controversial topic in the United States. The conflict has been accompanied by an alarming rise in antisemitism and Islamophobia across the U.S., and it has led to the trampling of free speech and expression on college campuses. 

Harvard, MIT, and the University of Pennsylvania have recently been under fire, facing a litany of legal suits and civil rights complaints for their poor record on campus free speech and inability to counter hateful rhetoric in light of the October 7 terror attacks. Students across the U.S. have established tent encampments at schools including Columbia University and George Washington University. Organizers say the purpose of the encampments is to put pressure on university administrations to divest from Israel and companies supporting the Israeli military. 

I sat down with Dr. Nader Hashemi, director of Georgetown University’s Prince Al-Waleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim Christian Understanding (ACMCU) to discuss how Georgetown University has handled free speech and expression differently from its peers. 

For example, Georgetown has offered constructive spaces for dialogue such as the Gaza Lecture Series, hosted by the ACMCU alongside the Center for Contemporary Arab Studies, Georgetown University Qatar and The Georgetown University African Studies Program. 

“The speakers we have hosted are carefully selected based on their professional and scholarly reputations but also because we believe they can provide critical perspectives that challenge the dominant US foreign policy narrative and mainstream media perspective on Gaza,” Hashemi said about the lectures. “We seek to raise the level of moral debate on campus via this lecture series.” 

The University administration’s modus operandi throughout the conflict has been to condemn Hamas’ October 7 terror attack, while strongly urging understanding and peace by drawing on faith perspectives. In a recent email on April 1, Georgetown President John DeGioia quoted Pope Francis’ Easter message. 

“I appeal once again that access to humanitarian aid be ensured to Gaza, and call once more for the prompt release of the hostages seized on October 7 and for an immediate ceasefire in the Strip,” DeGioia wrote.

By approaching the situation through the context of Georgetown’s Catholic and Jesuit heritage, the Georgetown administration has been able to maintain consistency in addressing the situation in Gaza. 

“Compared to other universities like Columbia, [the] University of Pennsylvania, and Harvard, Georgetown has done a much better job,” said Hashemi. “This is largely due to the professionalism of our senior university officials who take freedom of speech and academic freedom seriously. I think President DeGioia, Provost Robert Groves and Dean Joel Hellman have behaved honorably and with integrity in this context.” 

Despite this approach, many students have pushed back against the administration. Student publications such as The Hoya, The Voice, and others have voiced skepticism towards Georgetown’s official responses and statements, pointing out how DeGioia’s original message to the Georgetown community on October 19 omitted any reference to a ceasefire or humanitarian pause in violence in Gaza. 

Student organizations such as Georgetown Israel Alliance and Georgetown Law Zionists have also hosted events, such as a February 27 event in which three IDF soldiers shared their perspectives on their service in the ongoing Israeli military operation in Gaza. 

Georgetown Law Zionists also hosted a March 21 event where Rudy Rochman, an Israeli Defense Forces sniper who had recently returned from service in the ongoing Israeli military operation in Gaza, discussed his perspective on Israel’s ongoing military responses to Hezbollah and Hamas. 

Both events drew large protests from Georgetown University’s Students for Justice in Palestine, Georgetown Law Students for Justice in Palestine, Jewish Voice for Peace and Georgetown Jewish Students for Justice. Opponents of these events claim the IDF is committing war crimes and crimes against humanity and thus it is inappropriate for them to be given a platform to speak at Georgetown.

Despite student protests and outcry, Georgetown has held true to principles of free speech and expression, allowing events and speakers from all viewpoints to happen. 

As Hashemi put it, “My own personal teaching philosophy is based on a firm belief that the goal of a college education is to challenge your unexamined assumptions about the world. I hope students will attend lectures on topics they disagree with ideologically and politically. Listen to the lecture, ask a pointed and tough question, and then reflect on the experience.” 

While students have certainly objected to events and speakers at Georgetown, no situation has arisen in which objection to an event has been marred by physical disruption or violence. This stands in contrast to other colleges across the U.S., which are continuing to grapple with free speech issues and questions over what makes a protest antisemitic. 

Combating antisemitism and Islamophobia in the United States is important, especially given the sociopolitical tensions that surround the Gaza conflict. However, these efforts should not come at the expense of the primary mission of a university: to provide a safe and civil space for freedom of speech and expression while promoting learning and dialogue. Georgetown offers a model of intellectual integrity and respect to tackle this challenge, at a time when both seem lacking at universities across the country.