The Lawfare Project Alerts Department of Justice to Georgetown Terrorists

The Lawfare Project recently notified Georgetown University Law Center (GULC) and officials with the Department of Justice (DOJ) of a known terrorist - Ribhi Karajah - who was set to speak at an event on campus. While the event, organized by GULC’s chapter of Law Students for Justice in Palestine, was postponed due to “weather,” The Lawfare Project made clear in their correspondence that federal law 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 (PFLP), a U.S.-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO). Karajah’s affiliation with the PFLP is well-documented, and his participation in an event hosted at GULC raises serious concerns regarding potential violations of federal law, particularly 18 U.S.C. § 2339B, which prohibits knowingly providing material support or resources to an FTO.

“It is incredibly irresponsible for any organization to even entertain the idea of hosting a known terrorist on an American campus,” said Brooke Goldstein, Founder and Executive Director of The Lawfare Project. “As shared in our communications with Dean Treanor and Vice Dean Faulhaber of Georgetown, we are demanding immediate action to cancel any plans to reschedule this event, disclose whether any administrators were aware of Karajah’s affiliation and ensure that clear policies are in place to prevent this from happening again.”

The Lawfare Project was made aware of the event by GULC students who contacted members of the #EndJewHatred civil rights movement. Photos of flyers promoting the event that included antisemitic language were also displayed on campus.

“Members of the #EndJewHatred movement informed The Lawfare Project that a known member of a terrorist organization had been invited to speak at Georgetown Law,” said Benjamin Ryberg, attorney and Chief Operating Officer of The Lawfare Project. “This event should never have been approved by university officials. We take our responsibility to alert all relevant parties—both at Georgetown and within the Department of Justice—extremely seriously, and we stand ready to work with law enforcement to ensure a proper investigation. We have also offered The Lawfare Project's expertise and resources to the recently formed Joint Task Force October 7."

In a separate but related incident, The Lawfare Project also learned that Georgetown University had enrolled a student, Mapheze Saleh, who acknowledged working with the FTO Hamas. The Lawfare Project urged the DOJ to investigate and deport her, because federal law makes her an inadmissible alien subject to removal because of her longstanding ties with Hamas. 

The Lawfare Project has not yet received any response from Georgetown University Law Center.

Copies of the correspondence sent by The Lawfare Project can be found here.