HHS civil rights office says Columbia has acted 'with deliberate indifference' toward anti-Semitic harassment
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services blasted the university in a Thursday press release, saying that it has allowed anti-Semitism to go unchecked.
Columbia University has been a hotspot for anti-Israel demonstrations since Hamas' brutal terrorist attack on Israel in October 2023.
Columbia University has been found to be in direct violation of longstanding civil rights law, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
The HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR) put the spotlight on Columbia in a Thursday press release, stating that the university’s apathetic attitude towards rampant anti-Semitism from October 2023 to the present day constitutes a violation of Title VI the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
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”Columbia is deeply committed to combatting antisemitism and all forms of harassment and discrimination on our campus,” the university said in a statement provided to Campus Reform. “We take these issues seriously and will work with the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Education to address them.”
OCR said in its press release that the institution acted “with deliberate indifference” toward harassment against Jewish students ever since the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas terrorist attacks against Israel.
“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,” said OCR Acting Director Anthony Archeval.
Archeval added that, “We encourage Columbia University to work with us to come to an agreement that reflects meaningful changes that will truly protect Jewish students.”
According to OCR’s press release, the school also directly violated the law by failing to put a myriad of structures in place to protect Jewish students—including not establishing a strategy to report acts of anti-Semitism until June 2024.
The university has also been accused of not following its own procedures regarding harmful actions against Jewish students. Additionally, the university allegedly abstained from punishing blatant classroom vandalism such as the drawing of swastikas on the walls.
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Since Hamas’ brutal terrorist attacks, Columbia has been a hotbed for anti-Semitic allegations.
On May 7, a group of pro-Palestine activists forcibly entered the university’s Butler Library—spurring New York police officers to arrest dozens of demonstrators. The incident resulted in various injuries and vandalism.
In April, the National Institutes of Health halted all additional grants to Columbia University amid an anti-Semitism investigation.
