Department of Education Investigating Anti-Semitism at 5 Colleges, Including Columbia

Demonstrators supporting Palestinians in Gaza at Columbia University's Hamilton Hall in New York on April 30, 2024. Alex Kent/Getty Images

The U.S. Department of Education said in a Feb. 3 statement that it is investigating allegations of anti-Semitism at five colleges, including Columbia University and the University of California–Berkeley.

The department’s Office for Civil Rights is launching the investigations in response to what it described as an explosion of anti-Semitism on American university campuses following the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led terrorist attack against Israel.

Officials are probing Northwestern University, Portland State University, and the University of Minnesota Twin Cities, in addition to Columbia and Berkeley.

“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,” Craig Trainor, acting assistant secretary for civil rights, said in a statement.

“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.”

A U.S. House of Representatives committee concluded in a 2024 report that administrators at universities made concessions to organizers of illegal encampments, which were often full of people protesting against Israel, and withheld support from Jewish students.

At some schools, such as Columbia, faculty members “worked to prevent disciplinary action from being taken against students who violated official policies and even the law,” the panel found.

Minouche Shafik, who was Columbia’s president at the time, stepped down in 2024.

Columbia’s interim president and her team have taken action since then to address anti-Semitism, including strengthening the school’s disciplinary process, Columbia said in a statement on Monday

Columbia said that school officials are reviewing communication it received from the Department of Education.

“Columbia strongly condemns antisemitism and all forms of discrimination, and we are resolute that calling for, promoting, or glorifying violence or terror has no place at our University,” the school said, adding that it looks forward to working with the Trump administration “to combat antisemitism and ensure the safety and wellbeing of our students, faculty, and staff.”

A Northwestern spokesperson told The Epoch Times that the school plans to comply with the investigation.

“There is no place for antisemitism or any form of identity-based discrimination or hate at Northwestern University. Free expression and academic freedom are among our core values, but we have made clear that these values provide no excuse for behavior that threatens the well-being of others,” the spokesperson said. “We are confident in the actions we have taken to address antisemitism on our campus, including updating our Student Code of Conduct, our disciplinary procedures and making investments in public safety. We continue to work tirelessly to make our university a safe and non-discriminatory educational institution.”

A University of Minnesota spokesperson said that it has received a notice from the department and will be reviewing the details.

“We are confident in our approach to combating hate and bias on our campus and will fully cooperate with this investigation,” the spokesperson said. “The University continues to stand firmly against antisemitism. We have and will continue to respond promptly and fully to any reports of harassment, intimidation, or bias against Jewish students—or any other members of our University community—in accordance with our University values, our own policies, and our responsibility under the law.”

Early morning inquiries sent to the other universities were not returned.

Federal officials announced the probes the same day the U.S. Department of Justice said it was forming a task force to “root out anti-Semitic harassment in schools and on college campuses.”

Representatives from the Department of Education and other agencies are on the task force.

Both the probes and the task force were established under President Donald Trump’s Jan. 29 executive order that calls for administration officials to take new steps to combat anti-Semitism.