On Monday, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) of the US Department of Education sent letters to 60 American universities warning them that if they do not fulfill their obligations under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act to protect Jewish students on campus, they will face penalties. This letter was addressed to all American universities under investigation for anti-Semitism.
Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits any institution receiving federal funding from discriminating based on race, color, or national origin, which includes Jewish heritage.
Education Secretary Linda McMahon stated, “Over the past year, ongoing anti-Semitic activities have severely disrupted campus life, and Jewish students attending prestigious universities in the US still fear for their safety. The Department of Education is deeply disappointed by this. University leaders must do better.” She emphasized, “American colleges benefit from significant public investments funded by American taxpayers. This support is an honor, but it comes with the condition that federal anti-discrimination laws must be strictly followed.”
The letter also mentioned that on January 29, President Trump signed an executive order to “combat anti-Semitism,” directing national universities to expel foreign individuals engaged in anti-Semitic activities. On February 3, Trump announced the establishment of an interdepartmental task force to enforce this executive order. Universities that continue to tolerate anti-Semitism risk losing federal subsidy funds.
According to reports, the Department of Education has initiated targeted investigations into five universities with widespread anti-Semitism. Additionally, 55 other universities are also under investigation or monitoring.
Last week, the Department of Education and other members of the Task Force on Combating Anti-Semitism (including the Department of Justice, Department of Health and Human Services, and General Services Administration) announced the immediate cancellation of $400 million in federal funding and contracts to Columbia University for their failure to take action to protect Jewish students from discrimination.
Last Friday, the Office for Civil Rights instructed enforcement officers to prioritize complaints of violence and harassment against Jews. Many of these backlogged cases were inherited from the previous administration.
The letter warned that if these universities do not fulfill their obligations under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act to protect Jewish students on campus, enforcement actions will be taken.
The 60 universities that received the OCR letters include Harvard University, Northwestern University, Yale University, Boston University, Cornell University, Princeton University, Stanford University, University of California, Berkeley, University of Wisconsin, Madison, and University of Michigan, among others.