Columbia University violated rights of Jewish students, fed probe finds
Columbia University has been violating the civil rights of Jewish students from the day Hamas attacked Israel in October 2023 through to the present, according to the findings of a federal investigation. The Department of Health and Human Services Office of Civil Rights (OCR) determined that the university acted with “deliberate indifference” toward student-on-student harassment of Jewish students for 19 months.
What is the university accused of doing?
OCR accused the university of failing to:
- Investigate or punish vandalism in its classrooms, which includes swastikas and other universally recognized hate images
- Follow its policies when responding to misconduct against Jewish students and Jewish students’ complaints
- Enforce its time, place and manner restrictions for campus protests
What constitutes a Title VI violation?
The HHS Civil Rights Office is in charge of enforcing Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits any institution that receives federal funding from discriminating on the basis of race, color or national origin. In this case, it applies to discrimination against “actual or perceived Israeli or Jewish identity or ancestry.”
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Columbia, accused of violating the rights of Jewish students, serves an undergraduate student body made of 22.8% Jewish students, and 16% of its graduate students are Jewish.
“The findings carefully document the hostile environment Jewish students at Columbia University have had to endure for over 19 months, disrupting their education, safety and well-being,” Anthony Archeval, the acting director of the Office for Civil Rights, said in a statement. “We encourage Columbia University to work with us to come to an agreement that reflects meaningful changes that will truly protect Jewish students.”
OCR said the investigation included witness interviews, examination of policies and procedures, media reports that captured antisemitic incidents live during university events and reports from the university’s own Task Force on Antisemitism.
What’s the university’s response?
The university said in a statement to The Washington Post that it is “deeply committed to combating antisemitism and all forms of harassment and discrimination on our campus.” It added that it will work with the Departments of Health and Human Services and Education.
Latest on the campus protests
In May, acting university president Claire Shipman asked the NYPD to help clear protestors who occupied part of the school library. The protestors were expressing their support for Mahmoud Khalil, a graduate student who was detained by ICE for leading pro-Palestinian protests.
Shipman said the incident caused “substantial chaos” as students prepared for exams. She said she witnessed a safety officer get wheeled out of the building on a gurney and saw “disturbing slogans” in the “defaced” library.
“These actions not only represented a violation of university policies, but they also posed a serious risk to our students and campus safety,” Shipman said in a video statement. “Violence and vandalism, hijacking a library, none of that has any place on our campus.”
“Columbia unequivocally rejects antisemitism and all other forms of harassment and discrimination,” Shipman added.
In April 2024, pro-Palestinian protestors formed a tent encampment outside the school’s library. Protestors also occupied Hamilton Hall, which prompted the university to ask the NYPD to clear the building and remain on campus until after the school’s commencement.
This investigation comes as the Trump administration continues to crack down on alleged antisemitism at Harvard. The university sued after the administration said it can no longer accept international students. Earlier in the year, the administration froze $3 billion in grants, which the university is also fighting in court.
Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
