The law school may be in violation of federal law barring institutions from providing material support to terrorism, the Lawfare Project warns.
The Lawfare Project, a Jewish legal advocacy group, is urging Georgetown University Law Center to cancel an anti-Israel student group’s plans to host a campus event headlined by a Palestinian terrorist convicted of murdering an Israeli woman, National Review has learned.
Georgetown Law’s chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine tapped Ribhi Karajah as a guest speaker before postponing the Tuesday night event. The group cited inbound snowy weather in Washington, D.C., as the reason for the event’s postponement, but a Georgetown spokesperson said the university is conducting an investigation into “serious safety and security concerns” related to the event.
The Lawfare Project raised similar concerns in a Wednesday email sent to Georgetown Law’s Dean William Treanor and Vice Dean Lilian Faulhaber, citing a federal law that prohibits institutions from knowingly providing “material support or resources” to a foreign terrorist organization or attempting to do so.
Karajah is a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a U.S.-designated FTO since 1997.
Under the law, “material support” includes expert advice or assistance, training, and personnel. Even seemingly benign support, like providing a platform to a foreign terrorist, can be considered a violation of federal law because such support bolsters terrorist activities, the Supreme Court ruled in 2010.
“By permitting Karajah to speak on its campus, GULC risks providing material support to a known terrorist operative in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2339B. The fact that this event was organized by a recognized student group does not absolve the university of liability,” Brooke Goldstein, the Lawfare Project’s founder and executive director, wrote in a copy of the email obtained by National Review.
“Flyers promoting the event featured GULC’s official logo and stated that the event was approved by the Office of Student Life. By permitting the use of its logo and granting formal approval, GULC is not merely passively allowing the event but is actively ratifying it, signaling institutional endorsement.”
Prior to its apparent rescheduling, the event drew condemnation from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who visited D.C. last week, and Representative Ritchie Torres (D., N.Y.), a strong ally of Israel.
“Additionally, GULC provision of a venue, logistical support, security, and any fees paid to Karajah could be viewed as unlawful facilitation of a terrorist organization’s activities, particularly if Karajah uses the event to solicit funds or for recruitment purposes,” Goldstein said.
Karajah, a U.S. citizen, was arrested in Israel for his role in an August 2019 roadside bombing in the West Bank where a 17-year-old Israeli girl named Rina Shnerb was killed while hiking with her father and brother, according to Jewish Insider. He served three and a half years in Israeli prison, alongside two other PFLP members.
Karaja admitted in a plea agreement with an Israeli court that he knew about the planned attack in advance but did nothing to stop it.
The Lawfare Project is asking Georgetown Law leaders to publicly confirm that Karajah will be barred from speaking on campus or through any video call organized by the law school or its affiliates, per the email.
The Jewish legal group also demands that Georgetown Law disclose whether administrators knew of Karajah’s affiliation with a designated foreign terrorist organization before greenlighting the event, and ensure that the law school has clear policies in place to prevent itself from providing material support to terrorism.
“We trust that GULC, as one of the nation’s leading legal institutions, understands the serious legal ramifications of providing a platform to individuals affiliated with terrorist organizations,” the email states.
Like Georgetown Law, San Francisco State University received a similar request from the Lawfare Project in 2020 after the school tried hosting a virtual call with PFLP terrorist Leila Khaled. Zoom cancelled the webinar and YouTube cut off the livestream after 23 minutes due to the legal and ethical implications of platforming such a speaker.
The episode prompted the Department of Education to investigate whether San Francisco State violated federal law by trying to host the event. Khaled, 80, was best known for hijacking airplanes as a Palestinian revolutionary during the 1960s.
Moreover, the Lawfare Project offered to provide its legal expertise and resources to the Department of Justice’s newly formed antisemitism task force in a separate email to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi. The organization boasts five full-time attorneys and connections to more than 900 private practice lawyers, top law firms, legal scholars, and civil rights experts.
The Lawfare Project also has a proven track record of success in cases, including several lawsuits filed against American universities to combat rampant antisemitism on campus following Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
“We strongly believe that a comprehensive and collaborative approach—one that integrates the expertise of both governmental agencies and seasoned legal advocates—is essential to effectively combating antisemitism,” Goldstein wrote to Bondi. “LP is eager to contribute its legal acumen and extensive experience to this effort, ensuring that the task force is equipped to address the complex and evolving threats facing Jewish Americans today.”
As of Thursday morning, the Jewish legal group has not received responses from Georgetown Law or the DOJ.