“The Department is deeply disappointed that Jewish students studying on elite US campuses continue to fear for their safety amid the relentless antisemitic eruptions that have severely disrupted campus life for more than a year.”
On Monday, the US Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) sent letters to 60 institutions of higher education, including many Ivy League schools, warning them of potential enforcement actions if they do not fulfill their obligations under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act to protect Jewish students on campus, including uninterrupted access to campus facilities and educational opportunities.
The letters were sent to all US universities that are presently under investigation for Title VI violations relating to antisemitic harassment and discrimination.
The Department’s OCR sent the letters under its authority to enforce Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits any institution that receives federal funds from discriminating on the basis of race, color, and national origin. The OCR noted that national origin includes “shared (Jewish) ancestry.”
Under Title VI and following President Donald Trump’s Executive Order, “Additional Measures to Combat Antisemitism,” the Department launched directed investigations into five universities where widespread antisemitic harassment has been reported. The 55 additional universities are under investigation or monitoring in response to complaints filed with OCR.
Last week, the Education Department, along with fellow members of the Joint Task Force to Combat Antisemitism, including the Department of Justice, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the US General Services Administration, announced the cancelation of $400 million in federal grants and contracts to Columbia University “due to the school’s continued inaction to protect Jewish students from discrimination.”
On Friday, OCR directed its enforcement staff to make resolving the backlog of complaints alleging antisemitic violence and harassment, many of which were allowed to languish unresolved under the previous administration, an immediate priority.
US Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said in a statement, “The Department is deeply disappointed that Jewish students studying on elite US campuses continue to fear for their safety amid the relentless antisemitic eruptions that have severely disrupted campus life for more than a year. University leaders must do better. US colleges and universities benefit from enormous public investments funded by US taxpayers. That support is a privilege and it is contingent on scrupulous adherence to federal anti-discrimination laws.”
In the waning days of the Biden administration, many schools on the list settled civil rights cases with no real penalties or punishmentst.
A spokesperson for the University of Washington (UW), which is on the Education Department’s list of schools under investigation for Title VI violations and settled with Biden’s Department of Education, told The Ari Hoffman Show on Talk Radio 570 KVI in a statement, “The University of Washington stands firmly against antisemitism, and agreed with the US Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights earlier this year to five actions that will strengthen the UW’s commitment to timely and effective responses to complaints filed by students, faculty, and staff.”
The statement continued, “We understand that a letter has been sent to the UW and we will review it upon receipt. We continue to engage with Jewish students, faculty, and community leaders as we implement our response to the recommendations made by the UW’s Antisemitism Task Force and work toward an even more welcoming environment for all students.”
Last year, UW received the dubious distinction of being one of the "most anti-Jewish" colleges in the US for failing to address rising antisemitism on campus that has erupted in the wake of Hamas’ brutal attack on Israel, where Palestinian terrorists raped, tortured, and executed over 1,200 people and kidnapped over 250 more.
On Monday, UW earned a “D” grade from the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) in a report card evaluating 135 US schools over the handling of antisemitism on campus.
The report noted that the US Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights opened a Title VI investigation into UW in November 2023, and in October 2024 the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law filed a Title VI complaint against the school, alleging the institution's insufficient response to antisemitic incidents.
The report called out the university for inadequately addressing antisemitic and anti-Zionist graffiti on campus, efforts to divest from Israel, and a violent Gaza encampment on the Quad. It also noted a September 2024 meeting of the UW Board of Regents which was disrupted by masked protesters interrupting Jewish speakers and a November 2024 incident during which perpetrators vandalized the university president's home and car with antisemitic and anti-Zionist graffiti. The final reports from the University’s task forces on antisemitism and Islamophobia, released in November 2024, found that the university failed to ensure all members of the community felt welcome.
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