Jewish Stanford graduate files federal complaint over anti-Semitism and campus hostility
StandWithUs and a Jewish Stanford graduate filed a complaint with the Department of Education accusing Stanford of allowing a hostile environment for Jewish students.
The complaint highlights the university’s failure to address harassment.
StandWithUs and a Jewish Stanford University graduate have filed a complaint with the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, accusing Stanford of fostering a hostile environment for Jewish students.
The graduate, Zahava Feldstein, claims she was forced to leave her doctoral program due to ongoing anti-Semitism and alleges that classmates used academic settings to push anti-Israel rhetoric targeting her Jewish identity.
“For example, during a discussion about early childhood development in America, students spent class time making false accusations about supposed Israeli ‘control’ over United Nations spending,” StandWithUs explained in a press release. Allegedly, when Feldstein tried to “engage in these discussions,” she was met with “outright ostracism.”
The complaint asserts that despite Feldstein’s protests, professors and administrators failed to address the harassment. Per the filing, the administration blamed Feldstein’s “expressed views” for her treatment without explaining what those “views” were.
The supplemental complaint, filed on July 22, calls on the Department of Education to investigate Stanford, require recognition of Zionism as part of Jewish identity, and enforce anti-Semitism training based on the IHRA definition of that term.
Carly Gammill, director of legal policy at StandWithUs, described the hostility toward Feldstein’s Jewish identity as “particularly egregious.”
“Stanford lost a brilliant scholar from its program by failing to comply with even the bare minimum obligations under Title VI,” Gammill contended. “We hope that OCR will require the changes that are necessary to ensure Jewish students at Stanford are able to openly express their identities in the educational setting.”
According to its website, StandWithUs is a nonprofit organization that attempts to educate students and communities worldwide about Israel and anti-Semitism.
In a statement provided to Campus Reform, a Stanford spokesperson said the school takes anti-Semitism allegations seriously and denied that there is evidence of discrimination.
“Upon learning of the student’s concerns in this case, the university conducted an investigation by an investigator from outside the student’s school,” the spokesperson stated. “It found that the claims of discrimination were not supported by the evidence, but based on the report the school implemented multiple changes.”
This is not the first allegation of anti-Jewish discrimination at Stanford. Last year, Campus Reform reported that a postdoctoral researcher also filed a lawsuit citing anti-Semitic treatment.
Last month, an Israeli researcher, Dr. Shay Laps, filed a federal lawsuit against Stanford, alleging he faced anti-Semitic discrimination and retaliation, including workplace hostility and obstruction of a research grant due to his Jewish and Israeli identity.
