Wake George Washington University psychology professor faces anti-Semitism probe

George Washington University officials have launched an investigation into allegations that a psychology professor made anti-Semitic remarks about Jewish and Israeli students.

The investigation into Professor Lara Sheehi’s alleged actions was sparked after Israeli advocacy group Stand With Us filed a public complaint with the US Department of Education.

The complaint was based on reports from Jewish and Israeli students in the Professional Psychology Program who alleged that Sheehi had made derogatory comments towards Jewish people in a mandatory “diversity” class.

“It’s not your fault you were born in Israel,” Sheehi reportedly said to a student, before explaining that the presence of Jewish students was “violent.”

George Washington University officials have launched an investigation into allegations that psychology professor Lara Sheeh made anti-Semitic remarks about Jewish students

In addition, GW University is also accused of mistreating the students who have complained about anti-Semitism by acknowledging their alleged wrongdoing or being faced with a permanent disciplinary mark on their academic records. Pictured, GWU campus in DC

The professor allegedly invited a guest speaker who targeted and “demonized” Israelis and Jews.

Sheehi is also accused of claiming that all Zionists suffer from “settler psychosis” and that “anti-Zionism is not anti-Semitism” because “Zionism in and of itself suggests that Jewish people are different.”

In addition, the students accused Sheehi of spreading rumors that the Jewish students called the speaker a “terrorist” and claimed they were Islamophobic before verbally attacking them directly.

Stand With Us also claimed that the university and the professor retaliated against the students who filed complaints.

The Arab-American Anti-Discrimination Committee has announced that it will represent Sheehi, claiming that she is “unfairly targeted.” [a] far-right Israeli group.”

Sheehi “would not otherwise have provoked such an exaggerated and biased response” if she “were not an Arab and her scholarship and activism were not centered on Palestine,” the group claims.

The professor “teaches decolonial, liberating, and anti-oppressive theories and approaches to clinical treatment, case conception, and community counseling,” according to her biography.

Since then, however, several students have reported antisemitism in the program, claiming to have felt unsafe.

The students have also accused Sheehi of spreading rumors that the Jewish students were calling the speaker a “terrorist” and verbally attacking them directly

In addition, the university is also accused of mistreating the students who have complained about anti-Semitism, either by admitting their alleged wrongdoing or by being confronted with a permanent disciplinary mark on their academic records.

The GWU has not yet commented on the allegations and the status of the suing students.

The university issued a statement pledging to conduct a thorough investigation through a third-party investigation and that they “strongly condemn anti-Semitism and hatred, discrimination and bias in all forms.”

The Arab-American Anti-Discrimination Committee argues that the allegations against Sheehi are rooted in anti-Arab and anti-Palestinian racism and are intended to silence dissenting voices.

The GWU has not yet commented on the allegations and the status of the suing students

Source: | This article originally belongs to Dailymail.co.uk