Washington

George Washington University accused of ‘colluding’ with rightwing pro-Israel group

Published

2 years ago

February 12, 2023

George Washington University accused of ‘colluding’ with rightwing pro-Israel group

An Arab professor and lecturer in variety has accused George Washington College of “colluding” with a rightwing pro-Israel group over a federal criticism accusing her of antisemitism.

The group, StandWithUs (SWU), filed a criticism with the US training division’s civil rights workplace claiming that Lara Sheehi, an assistant professor of scientific psychology, discriminated in opposition to Jewish college students by refusing to simply accept their definitions of antisemitism.

The criticism, filed final month, additionally accused Sheehi of hate speech about Israel and Zionism, and alleged that the college did not correctly examine a historical past of complaints in opposition to the professor.

Sheehi, who was born in Lebanon, stated she has been focused by SWU for her activism on behalf of Palestinians exterior of the classroom in an try to silence and intimidate educational opponents of Israeli insurance policies by conflating criticism with antisemitism.

“One solely want have a look at its acknowledged mission to see that it’s a shameless fringe political activist group prosecuting a right-wing pro-Israel agenda,” she wrote in a prolonged protection in Counterpunch.

SWU, based in California 2001, has labored intently with the Israeli overseas ministry, together with to oppose pro-Palestinian boycotts amongst college students. It maintains a workforce of dozens of legal professionals “to battle antisemitism” and criticism of Israel, principally at universities and excessive colleges. The SWU trains college students to report lectures to doc alleged anti-Israel bias.

Though the SWU’s American founder, Roz Rothstein, claims the organisation is nonpartisan, she has expressed assist for the development of unlawful Israeli settlements on Palestinian land and denounced Israeli troopers who criticise the occupation despite the fact that she has not served within the Israeli navy.

A 2015 report by Jewish Voice for Peace recognized SWU as amongst various teams that “intervene on campuses in efforts to muzzle political criticisms of Israeli insurance policies”.

The SWU criticism to the US training division describes a fractious relationship between Sheehi and a few Jewish college students, and claims that in lectures on variety she rejected their definitions of antisemitism whereas accepting how Black and different minority college students outlined racism.

“In a category designed to coach future therapists about completely different identities and sensitise the scholars to bias skilled by these identities, Dr Sheehi singled out the Jewish college students and disadvantaged solely them of a possibility she afforded all different college students – defining their very own id and what it means to expertise discrimination primarily based on that id,” the criticism stated.

The SWU additionally claimed that Sheehi took offence at a pupil’s use of the time period “terrorist assault”, and alleged that she invited a speaker who “demonised Israel” and stated that “acceptable resistance contains throwing stones”. The criticism stated one Jewish pupil was left “crying” and feeling “deeply unsettled and unsafe” by the speak.

Sheehi has accused the SWU of deliberately conflating criticisms of Israel and Zionism with antisemitism. She has additionally accused Jewish and Israeli college students cited within the criticism of utilizing “racist language in opposition to black individuals and Arabs”.

The professor, who’s coauthor of the ebook Psychoanalysis Underneath Occupation: Training Resistance in Palestine, stated she had been “focused particularly as a result of I’m an Arab girl” who advocates for Palestinians. She referred to as on SWU to launch a bootleg recording she believes the group has of her class, saying “the transcript would reveal that I completely and categorically agree that antisemitism is undeniably actual”.

The criticism additionally cites Sheehi’s actions exterior of the classroom together with tweets from her now deleted account that stated “destroy Zionism”, calling the Israeli navy “genocidal fucks” and saying “Israelis can and will probably be merciless”.

Sheehi has defended the tweets as a mirrored image of her anger at Israeli navy actions in Lebanon when she was rising up and her therapy by the hands of the Israeli military whereas conducting analysis within the occupied Palestinian territories.

“My anger, in these tweets, and in what fuels my liberatory fireplace, is justified,” she wrote. “My anger in opposition to an occupying military and occupying state that has stolen a lot from me, my individuals and my Palestinian siblings isn’t contextless, capricious or religiously primarily based. It’s a political anger.”

Sheehi has accused George Washington College of failing to defend her.

“GW has now colluded with StandWithUs’s misrepresentation of my classroom by being silent about various key problems with which they’re effectively conscious and about which they’ve supporting documentation that might have been used to publicly dispel these allegations,” she stated.

The professor is legally represented by the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, which accused the college of a “prejudicial response” to a criticism it stated is a part of “a bigger marketing campaign that’s politically and ethnically motivated in opposition to Dr Sheehi due to her scholarship and political activism exterior the classroom”.

The college stated in an announcement that it’s “dedicated to conducting such a radical examination by an investigation by a 3rd social gathering” and that it was due to this fact “not prudent” to touch upon the allegations.

It stated the college “strongly condemns antisemitism and hatred, discrimination, and bias in all varieties” however “additionally recognises and helps educational freedom, and the precise of all members of our neighborhood to talk out on problems with public concern, understanding that they aren’t talking on behalf of the college”.

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Washington

Crews fighting fire at scrap yard in Washington County

Published

7 hours ago

January 17, 2025

Press Room

Crews fighting fire at scrap yard in Washington County

WASHINGTON COUNTY, Ohio (WTAP) – First responders are on the scene of a fire at a scrap yard in Washington County.

Not much information is known at this time, but what we do know is the fire is at Guernsey Scrap Recycling.

According to the Reno Volunteer Fire Department Fire Chief Jon Bradford, departments from Reno, Williamstown, Devola, Salem, Little Muskingum, and Marietta are on the scene. All of those departments are shuttling water to the scene.

Scrap yard fire(none)

The fire is contained in one area of the facility. Reno VFD is using the MOV Drone Works drone to help fight the fire. The owner of the scrap yard is in a crane helping to move items to assist firefighters.

It is not known what started the fire. And Chief Bradford says nobody was injured, and nobody is at risk.

WTAP has a reporter on the scene and will have more information as it becomes available.

See an error in our reporting? Send us an email by clicking here!

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Washington

Jayden Daniels Will Keep Commanders Competitive vs. Lions

Published

15 hours ago

January 17, 2025

Press Room

Jayden Daniels Will Keep Commanders Competitive vs. Lions

The Washington Commanders have made many changes to go from a four-win team to three wins away from winning the Super Bowl, but none have been more impactful than drafting quarterback Jayden Daniels with the No. 2 overall pick.

Daniels may be a rookie, but he plays like an established veteran. That’s why Bleacher Report writer Maurice Moton believes that the Commanders will be competitive this weekend against the 15-2 Detroit Lions in the Divisional Round.

“The Commanders slowed down the Buccaneers’ third-ranked offense in a road victory last week, and Daniels helped position them to kick the game-winning field,” Moton writes.

“Head coach Dan Quinn and coordinator Joe Whitt have molded the team’s defense into a respectable unit throughout the season. In clutch moments, Daniels is far beyond his years.

“Washington won’t shut down the Lions offense, but along with Daniels, it can do enough to keep the score margin in the single digits.”

The Commanders are still underdogs since the Lions have arguably been the best team in the NFL this season, but Daniels won’t allow Washington to fold. He hasn’t done so yet, so there’s no reason why it would happen now.

Kickoff between the Commanders and Lions is scheduled for tomorrow at 8 p.m. ET.

Stick with CommanderGameday and the Locked On Commanders podcast for more FREE coverage of the Washington Commanders throughout the 2024 season.

• Commanders Preparing for Lions OC Ben Johnson Who Will ‘Test Your Discipline’

• Dan Quinn Details Commanders Rookie’s Performance in Playoff Game, He Was Impressed

• What Lions’ Amon-Ra St. Brown Said About Commanders WR, It’s Come Full Circle

• Analyst Predicts Commanders Upset vs. Lions

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Washington

George Washington stays unbeaten with 68-41 victory at Capital – WV MetroNews

Published

23 hours ago

January 17, 2025

Press Room

George Washington stays unbeaten with 68-41 victory at Capital – WV MetroNews

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A Capital team short on experience and playing for the first time since New Year’s Eve faced quite a challenge Thursday night as it welcomed one of the state’s most polished teams in nearby rival George Washington.

The Patriots showed no sign of letting a nearby rival hang around and continued their stellar start to the season by never trailing in a resounding 68-41 victory.

“Shooting takes pressure off how we have to defend, but our defense has been the key to everything we’ve done to this point,” veteran GW head coach Rick Greene said.

The result prolongs GW’s unbeaten start to the season through at least its first eight games.

This one was never in doubt as the Patriots’ combination of efficient offense and lockdown defense left the Cougars playing catch-up throughout.

GW’s Chuck Kelley accounted for the game’s first two field goals and scored his team’s first six points, before Gale Lamb got in on the action and went on a personal 7-0 run that upped the Patriot lead to 14-4.

David Robinson, who led Capital with 17 points, scored five in the opening frame to keep his team within striking distance as it faced a 14-7 deficit entering the second.

After Capital’s Grant Barclay provided a bucket to start the second quarter, it was all GW the remainder of the opening half.

Lamb hit a pair of three-pointers around a Kelley transition layup, forcing the Cougars to call timeout 5:05 before halftime as they trailed 22-9.

At that point, Lamb was 5 for 5 with 14 points.

“He didn’t take a shot he couldn’t hit,” Greene said. “He is a really good shooter and he’s shooting with a lot of confidence. The kids want him to shoot the ball, so if you’re a shooter and you know your teammates want you to shoot it, it gives you that little bit of freedom and relaxation.”

Out of the break in the action, GW’s Noah Lewis scored inside twice, with teammate Sai’Vyon Brown knocking down a three in between. It was 29-9 at that point, and Kelley accounted for the final points of the half on a follow-up basket to send the visitors to the locker room with a commanding 33-11 advantage.

While Lamb and Kelley were both 5 for 5 with 24 combined points through two quarters, the Cougars were shooting 5 for 16 and being out-rebounded, 15-5.

“The guys coming off the bench are trying to match the defensive intensity of the first five, and that’s making us really good,” Greene said.

Kelley picked up where he left off to start the second half, scoring five points over the first 1:03.

Capital (2-4) upped the pace itself and Trevaun Tyson was the main beneficiary, scoring all nine of his points in the third quarter.

The Cougars doubled the first-half field goal total in the third period alone, making 10-of-15 shots to keep pace with the Patriots for that 8-minute stretch.

“It was a nice conversation at halftime,” Capital head coach Cookie Miller said. “We got them going a little bit and we have to come out like that at the beginning. It was a rough 18 days, but that’s not excuse. We had great practices for us to give that showing, but at the end of the day, hats off to them for knowing their plays and getting into things. They’ve been together for a long time.”

Unfortunately for Miller’s team, Lamb maintained his efficient play and scored nine points in the frame to spark GW’s 22-point quarter.

That allowed the Patriots to lead 55-32 entering the fourth, and they cruised from there.

GW made 25-of-44 shots to shoot better than 56 percent. Lamb led all players with 24 points and made 7-of-8 shots. Kelley was also 7 for 8 and scored 15.

Noah Lewis chipped in with seven points and a game-high 10 rebounds, while Jeff Harris added five points and eight boards. That duo was instrumental in allowing GW to finish with a convincing 36-16 rebounding edge.

Tyson had half of his team’s boards.

The Cougars made 18-of-45 shots, but only one three-pointer to the Patriots’ five.

“Those guys have been together for a long time. Kudos to them,” Miller said. “Greene has them moving and doing what they’re supposed to doing. We’re trying to get on their level and soon we will be on their level.”

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