A George Mason student found in possession of weapons, “Death to Jews” signs, and terrorist flags previously urged the university to condemn Israel for waging “genocide” in Gaza, previously unreleased footage obtained by The Daily Wire shows.
Jena Chanaa, a graduate student who led George Mason’s now-suspended Students for Justice in Palestine chapter at the school last year, slammed the school for its “neutrality” at an April Board of Visitors meeting.
“Our students are facing great losses every single day, forced to live through this nightmare and forced to live with the knowledge that their own university is not doing anything to position themselves against the genocide that is actively causing this tragedy,” Chanaa said, in reference to the war in Gaza.
She went on to demand that the school endorse a ceasefire and acknowledge the “genocide.”
“As someone who has personally been involved in this campus-wide movement, it has been extremely disappointing to see the university position itself on the side of neutrality,” Chanaa said. “I implore you to place George Mason on the correct side of history. Do your part to support all students and community members affected by this genocide and call for a ceasefire now.”
Jena and her sister Noor Chanaa — who is the current co-leader of the SJP chapter — are suspected of being part of a group that defaced George Mason’s student center in August, the Washington Free Beacon reported.
After being granted a warrant to search the Chanaa family home, police discovered Hamas and Hezbollah flags, anti-American and anti-Semitic signs, and firearms and ammunition belonging to the Chanaas’ brother, Mohammad.
Mohammad’s weapons were seized under Virginia’s red flag law, due to him being “linked to destruction of property in connection with a large group of people with like-minded rhetoric” and being a danger to others due to his possession of “terroristic” materials, the Free Beacon reported. Mohammad, who reportedly recently graduated from George Mason, later had his weapons returned by a Fairfax County circuit court judge, documents show.
As punishment for their activity, the sisters have been barred from campus for four years, according to The Intercept.
Under Jana and Noor Chanaa’s leadership, George Mason’s SJP chapter celebrated Hamas’ October 7 massacre of Israeli civilians just days after the attack, describing it as the “right to resist for Palestinians living under the Zionist occupation.”
“On October 7th, 2023, Palestinian resistance fighters began mobilizing from Gaza into surrounding occupied areas, reclaiming land and seizing settlements considered illegal and a violation of international laws,” the statement reads.
The October 9 statement went on to criticize Israel for defending itself in the immediate aftermath.
“The [IDF’s] bombing of Gaza in response to the resistance is unceasing and barbaric, carrying out several massacres, leveling homes on residents’ heads, and leaving entire families martyred in a pathetic attempt to restore its broken ‘prestige’ due to historic resistance advances,” it stated.
Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin condemned the Chanaas in a statement, saying he has “grave concerns about the role of organizations like Students for Justice in Palestine on our campuses,” reported Jewish Insider.
“These blatant and dangerous antisemitic acts pose a clear and present threat to Jewish students and the Jewish community in Virginia,” Youngkin said.
CAIR denounced the search of the Chanaa home, calling it an intimidation tactic against “those who seek to end the Israeli genocide in Gaza and the Biden administration’s complicity with that genocide.”
“Finally, such a raid for allegedly spray-painting property raises reasonable questions about what is happening,” CAIR Research and Advocacy Director Corey Saylor said. “Unless George Mason administration has decided anti-genocide viewpoints require treatment outside normal due process, these measures should be rescinded.”
A faculty group released a statement expressing its “deep concern about the apparent targeting of two George Mason students for their advocacy for Palestinian human rights,” the Free Beacon reported.
The Chanaa family attorney, Abdel-Rahman Hamed, provided a statement to The Washington Post, calling the situation “yet another example of the police state targeting American Muslims without cause.” A section of Hamed’s LinkedIn page states, “I deny, defy, and defeat Zionists, antisemites, and White Supremacists,” the Free Beacon found.
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