Lara Sheehi is an Associate Professor of Psychology at George Washington University (GW) in Washington D.C. who teaches a mandatory diversity course for the psychology program. Sheehi is a grotesque antisemite that has been recently named in a Department of Education Title VI Complaint alleging antisemitism by the legal arm of StandWithUs. Sheehi, who is Lebanese, is married to fellow antisemite Stephen Sheehi, who is also a problematic Professor at the College of William and Mary.
Photo: Stephen Sheehi and Lara Sheehi
On the first day of classes last fall, Sheehi asked students to share their names and identities. She went around the room "affirming" each student’s introduction, until one student said she was born in Israel. "It’s not your fault you were born in Israel," she replied, which stunned the class according to eyewitnesses.
Her outlandish and discriminatory remark set the tone for a contentious semester; Sheehi consistently harassed her Jewish students and then retaliated against them when they raised concerns with GW administration.
According to a Title VI complaint filed earlier this week, Sheehi accused the students of racism, encouraged other classmates to demean and exclude them for their Jewish identity, and took disciplinary measures against them after they confronted her. Not surprisingly, GW administrators - specifically the Department Chair and a GW Dean - did nothing, essentially condoning her discriminatory behavior against Jewish students.
In our recent report 'Antisemitism on U.S. College & University Campuses', GW was rated a 'D' with many Jewish students stating GW administrators do not take their safety seriously and often do not feel comfortable sharing their Jewish identity with others due to the climate on campus. GW also scored poorly due to antisemitic Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) resolutions passed and the University's failure to include Jews in school-wide Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives.
During the one-semester course, Sheehi subjected Jewish students to antisemitic coursework and lectures, at times suggesting their failure to acquiesce would threaten their future as clinical psychologists. In September, she invited a radical speaker to campus who has falsely claimed that Israel tests its missile systems on Palestinian children.
The event occurred between the Jewish High Holy Days of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. The speaker, Dr. Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian, used the occasion to denounce "white Israeli racism," accuse Israel of using global relief work "to camouflage" its "oppressive power," and call for violence against Jewish people. The visiting professor went on to praise a Palestinian teenager who attempted to stab two Israelis to death in 2015.
Jewish students told Sheehi they felt targeted by the talk, questioning why they had been subjected to "a two-hour diatribe against one group—namely, Jews." Sheehi continued to deny and gaslight the students, claiming they made "damaging Islamophobic anti-Palestinian" comments about the guest speaker. Behind closed doors, Sheehi slandered the students to other faculty members, claiming they were racists.
Lara Sheehi also spreads her vile bigotry on social media, tweeting antisemitic statements such as "Destroy Zionism and commit to land back, then we’ll take you seriously you f*cking genocidal f*cks. F*ck you," in response to an IDF tweet about Israel sending Lebanon aid after a massive chemical explosion in 2020.
In November, the brave Jewish students who came forward at GW were told faculty had voted to discipline them but were not made aware of their specific offenses. Instead, they were asked to describe what they believed they had done wrong, or else receive a "permanent negative mark" on their academic records.
Sheehi, on the other hand, continues to teach and promote her brand of "liberation psychoanalysis" vilifying the Jewish people and nation.
GW Jewish students deserve to feel safe on campus, free from antisemitic bigots like Lara Sheehi. How can YOU help? Email the Department of Education Office of Civil Rights and demand George Washington University and Lara Sheehi are properly investigated and reprimanded.