The U.S. Department of Education is currently investigating dozens of universities over allegations of antisemitism on their campuses.
Several high-profile institutions of higher education have come under fire for their handling of such incidents in the aftermath of Hamas’ terrorist attack on Israel in October. Ranging from anti-Israel student protests to insensitive remarks made by faculty, complaints of antisemitism were lodged against the schools under Title IV of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which prohibits “discrimination involving shared ancestry.”
Speaking about the uptick in such incidents back in early November, Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said that university officials have a responsibility to investigate and address instances of discrimination and that failure to do so could lead to them losing federal taxpayer dollars.
“Ultimately, if we have to withhold dollars from a campus refusing to comply, we would,” he told CNN. Not long after, the Department of Education (DOE) rolled out several taxpayer-funded resources to help curb “antisemitism, Islamophobia, and anti-Arab hate” on college campuses.
As of January 16, DOE investigations into potential Title IV violations have been opened up at over 30 universities since October 2023. This includes several prestigious institutions, such as Columbia University, Cornell University, Wellesley College, Tulane University, the University of California at Los Angeles, Rutgers University, Stanford University, Brown University, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Harvard University, which is also under federal investigation, is facing a lawsuit over what the plaintiffs refer to as the leadership’s inaction against “severe and pervasive” antisemitism on campus, which has allegedly left Jewish students “unsafe against their abusers,” according to Fox News. Represented by the New York City law firm Kasowitz Benson Torres, the group of plaintiffs includes graduate student Shabbos Kestenbaum.
“What that means is, Harvard unfortunately has a pattern of engaging and even promoting antisemitism on campus. What that looks like is allowing students to say in front of a thousand students, faculty, and Harvard affiliates, just a week after October 7, that resistance is justified, that they don’t see Hamas as terrorists,” Kestenbaum told Fox & Friends First. “That included having swastikas drawn all over campus and not having any type of condemnation, or follow-up or adequate protections for Jewish students.”
Other institutions, such as Northwestern University, have been scrutinized by advocacy groups. Alums for Campus Fairness (ACF) recently called for transparency with regard to the school’s investigations into several incidents, including the alleged distribution of fake copies of the student newspaper “filled with antisemitic commentary.”
“We call upon you to protect your Jewish and Israeli students from the pervasively hostile climate that prevails at Northwestern by enforcing your own rules and principles against discrimination and by exercising your own right to free speech to condemn unequivocally those who sully Northwestern’s reputation with antisemitic bigotry,” ACF said in a letter, according to Fox News.
Allegations of not responding adequately to antisemitism on campus have already led to key figures losing their appointments at some universities. As previously covered by The Dallas Express, both the president of Harvard, Claudine Gay, and the president of the University of Pennsylvania, Liz Magill, recently vacated their respective positions amid controversy over their testimonies at a House Committee hearing on antisemitism at universities.
