U.S. Department of Education Probes Cases of Antisemitism at Five Universities
WASHINGTON – Pursuant to President Trump's executive order, Additional Measures to Combat Anti-Semitism, the U.S. Department of Education today announced investigations into five institutions of higher education where widespread antisemitic harassment has been reported. The investigations are in response to the explosion of antisemitism on American campuses following the Hamas massacre of Israeli civilians on Oct. 7, 2023.
The Department’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) is opening the investigations under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act (1964), which protects students from discrimination and harassment based on national origin, including shared ancestry. The schools are:
Columbia University Northwestern University Portland State University The University of California, Berkeley The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
“Too many universities have tolerated widespread antisemitic harassment and the illegal encampments that paralyzed campus life last year, driving Jewish life and religious expression underground. The Biden Administration’s toothless resolution agreements did shamefully little to hold those institutions accountable,” said Craig Trainor, Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights. “Today, the Department is putting universities, colleges, and K-12 schools on notice: this administration will not tolerate continued institutional indifference to the wellbeing of Jewish students on American campuses, nor will it stand by idly if universities fail to combat Jew hatred and the unlawful harassment and violence it animates.”
These investigations build upon the foundational work of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce under then-Chairwoman Virginia Foxx, which found that university administrations “overwhelmingly failed” to protect or support their Jewish students, even making “astounding concessions” to illegal, anti-American encampments.
The Department of Education looks forward to working with the Department of Justice and the Department of Health and Human Services as a part of today’s announced task force to combat antisemitism.