The College Fix

Activists accuse professor of supporting ‘genocide’ and say ‘we will remove him from his ivory tower office’

George Washington University is investigating a threatening flyer and vandalism Tuesday targeting the office of international relations Professor Joseph Pelzman, who was the mastermind behind President Donald Trump’s recent suggestion for the United States to take over and redevelop the Gaza Strip.

“The university condemns and takes very seriously any acts that deface university property or threaten any members of our community,” spokesperson Julia Garbitt told The College Fix on Wednesday.

Pelzman, an economics professor widely known for his international trade policy expertise, reported the vandalism to university police Tuesday morning.

Along with academic papers being torn down, dozens of copies of a threatening flyer were pinned on and around his door and in the hallway, the Jewish Insider first reported.

The flyer, titled “Notice of Eviction,” accuses Pelzman of “bloodthirsty Zionism” and “genocide,” and demands the Washington, D.C. university fire him.

GW Students for Justice in Palestine also posted a copy of the flyer and photos of his office door on its Instagram account.

“Pelzman’s tenure is only one pernicious symptom of the bloodthirsty Zionism permeating this campus and the students demand his immediate removal. If Pelzman wants plan the mass expulsion of the people of Gaza from their land, we will remove him from his ivory tower office,” GW SJP wrote Tuesday.

Pelzman told The Fix he believes the student organization is the responsible party.

“They posted it on instagram. They are very proud of their vandalism,” he said in an email Wednesday.

He said the threatening flyer refers to a policy paper he wrote and submitted to the Trump administration about “relocat[ing] Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.” Pelzman leads the university’s Center of Excellence for the Economic Study of the Middle East and North Africa, and is a former faculty member at several Israeli universities.

“The only response to SJP is that they didn’t read my paper. Had they taken a few hours to read it, their ‘genocide’ accusation would be debunked,” Pelzman told The Fix.

“Now it is my turn to sue all of the signatories with a defamation claim,” he said.

The GW SJP is an official student club on campus. It did not respond to The Fix’s requests for comment Wednesday via Instagram asking about the vandalism and about if it has been in contact with police or the university about the incident.

The Student Coalition for Palestine at GW account, which was tagged in the post, also did not respond to The Fix’s messages via Instagram.

Since the reported vandalism, university staff have removed the flyers and launched an investigation into the matter, spokesperson Garbitt told The Fix.

“Should the perpetrators of this act be identified, we will take all appropriate steps in accordance with all applicable local laws and university policies,” she told The Fix. “These unacceptable activities undermine meaningful and productive dialogue at GW on challenging issues.”

Garbitt also said the university is working to stop “antisemitism, Islamophobia, and discrimination and harassment in all forms” on campus.

“We are dedicated to fostering an environment where all experiences are valued, points of view are respected, and members of our community are supported,” she said.

However, Pelzman described the atmosphere on campus toward Jewish and Israeli students and faculty as “troubling.” He blamed foreign influences.

“As a former head of the Faculty Senate at GWU, I can attest to the fact that the structural change with respect to Jewish or Israeli students and faculty at GWU started once GWU accepted lots of money from Kuwait, Qatar and others in Arab MENA,” he told The Fix. “This is a testable hypothesis.”

As to Students for Justice in Palestine, the professor said these organizations “should be removed from all campuses in the US.”

“They are the equivalent to a student chapter of the KKK. No University would allow a chapter of the KKK on its campuses. Why have they allowed the SJP to exist on their campuses? The answer is — Kuwait, Qatar and others in Arab MENA money donors,” Pelzman said.

MORE: Loyola New Orleans students demand school divest from Israel and oil

IMAGES: Students for Justice in Palestine GW/Instagram, George Washington University

Like The College Fix on Facebook / Follow us on Twitter