GU Community Protests Israel-Hamas War, University Investments

Over 50 Georgetown University students and faculty members condemned the Israel-Hamas war and U.S military action in the Middle East during a Red Square protest March 26. 

Georgetown’s chapter of Faculty and Staff for Justice in Palestine (FSJP), an organization that supports Palestinian liberation, held the rally in collaboration with various student activist groups, including Georgetown’s chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP). Affiliated community members condemned Georgetown’s alleged ties to companies that sell technology to Israel’s military, such as Alphabet and Amazon. 

Elliott Colla, a Georgetown professor of Arabic and Islamic studies who spoke at the rally, said he is disappointed that Georgetown invests in companies tied to the Israel-Hamas war.

“There’s so many things to love about Georgetown, and it’s because of that that it is shocking and alarming that Georgetown allows itself to be caught up in this illegal war on the level of financial investments, on the level of moral investments,” Colla told The Hoya. “We have faculty and staff and students who are sponsoring war criminals. We have faculty advocating illegal war crimes, and we have administrators who are punishing students for advocating for peace.”

“There’s a lot we’re not living up to, and because of that, we are now part of this war machine,” Colla added. 

In April 2025, Georgetown’s administration rejected a student referendum demanding that the university divest from companies with ties to the Israeli military, which passed with 67.9% of the vote.

According to September 2025 filings, the university has increased its direct holdings in Alphabet and Amazon — companies cited in the referendum as related to the development of Israeli military technology — following the referendum.

A student from SJP speaking at the rally said the university’s administration has failed to address the student referendum in support of divestment. 

“We went through all the proper channels, and the university disenfranchised us,” the speaker said at the rally. “The university had its mind made up all along. The university never cared about what we wanted.”

At the time, interim University President Robert M. Groves immediately declined to implement the referendum’s demands, citing academic freedom and the university’s responsibility to “deepen engagement and foster dialogue between scholars and societies.” 

Anna Broderick (SFS ’26), an SJP member who attended the rally, said students and faculty at the rally were demanding that Georgetown divest from companies with ties to military operations in Israel and Iran.

“We came out to demand that, firstly, the U.S. stops intervening and stops their imperialist aggression in Iran and in the region, but also, more specifically, that Georgetown cuts all ties to the military industrial complex and the Zionist entity and all ties to the genocide and imperialist aggression,” Broderick told The Hoya.

A university spokesperson previously told The Hoya that Georgetown’s Committee on Investments and Social Responsibility makes recommendations to the university’s board of directors on how to best implement Georgetown’s socially responsible investment policy and considers proposals from university community members.  

The Middle East has faced ongoing military and political conflict since the creation of the state of Israel in 1948, which led to the displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians. The current Israel-Hamas war escalated the conflict beginning Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas and other militant groups attacked Israel, leading to an aggressive military response and a widespread humanitarian crisis. 

A growing body of scholars and advocates have accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza, including the International Association of Genocide Scholars — made up of the world’s leading genocide scholars — and a United Nations commission. Israel has consistently denied claims of genocide, often characterizing such claims as antisemitic or anti-Israel. 

At the rally, faculty and students held signs such as, “Students say divest” and “Georgetown, where are your Jesuit values?” and led chants such as “Students united will never be defeated” and “Georgetown, Georgetown, you can’t hide — you’re committing genocide.”

At the rally, community members condemned Georgetown’s alleged ties to companies that sell technology to Israel’s military, such as Alphabet and Amazon.

Jackson Schnabel (SFS ’27), another SJP member, said faculty solidarity shows widespread support for Palestinian liberation.

“This isn’t just something that the students think,” Schnabel told The Hoya. “It’s something that everyone involved in our community is demanding. It’s not unique to just us. The faculty demands it, everyone knows that this is wrong, and everyone is willing to show out and demand for justice.”

Jo Moreau, a senior at Seattle University (SU) visiting Georgetown who attended the protest, said student involvement in the rally was inspiring. 

“I think students organizing is really important,” Moreau told The Hoya. “These aren’t my leaders, but I think leaders everywhere should hear the message of the students — their tuition money is going towards things that are funding death and violence.”

Schnabel said he was glad to see continued support from the Georgetown community.

“It really encourages me to see that Georgetown students are continuing to show out, to continue to put pressure on the university,” Schnabel said. 

Colla said the university should uphold its commitment to Jesuit values in conversations regarding the Israel-Hamas war.

“There’s a struggle over what our values are,” Colla said. “They put banners up around campus talking about Jesuit values. And I’d say most of my students, most of my colleagues, admire those slogans and the values that they espouse. The problem is we need to live by those.”

Moreau said Eduardo Peñalver — Georgetown’s incoming president and the current president of Seattle University — has not been responsive to student protests at Seattle University, and Georgetown student organizers must be prepared to put pressure on him.  

“I’m thinking about the response that we’ve had, the student organizing that we’ve had at SU, and how Peñalver has responded to that has been unwelcoming and unreceptive,” Moreau said. “So I’m wondering how he’s gonna handle this. The student organizing at Georgetown is, in my opinion, stronger, and your presence is louder. People are more involved.”

“He should be scared, he should be afraid of your presence and the voices that are here,” Moreau added.

Broderick, one of the SJP members, said the students and faculty involved in the rally ultimately want the administration to hear their demands. 

“We want a chance to sit at the table with administrators and for them to listen to what the students, the faculty, the staff, the workers, everyone wants,” Broderick said. 

“We want to stop our complicity in the genocide,” Broderick added.

Ajani Stella contributed reporting.