Anti-Israel agitators at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. are urging administrators not to call police to clear their encampment, which has remained on the campus for 13 days. Protesters in GWU’s U-Yard have erected tents and displayed Palestinian flags at their encampment. They also defaced a statue of the campus's namesake, former President George Washington, with Palestinian iconography, which includes slamming 'Free Palestine' stickers onto the statue.
The raucous crowd are demanding that the university divest itself of all companies that trade with Israel, as well as reveal all the university's investment information to students — and now, they do not want the university to call D.C.'s Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) to clear the encampment. Student organizer Reem Lababdi stated, 'We are very disciplined and organized. We’ve instructed all of our participants not to engage with agitators. Not to engage with police. We have a peaceful study. We have political education. We have religious services. There is absolutely no reason for MPD to get involved.'
