Yale boosts security amid Title VI complaint over anti-Semitism on campus

Yale University has defended its response to allegations of rampant anti-Semitism on its campus by reaffirming its commitment to free speech and increasing campus security.

The university’s response comes after Jewish and Israeli students filed a complaint against the institution on April 12, 2024 with the Department of Education—alleging they experienced “disparate treatment” on campus.

Students allege Yale violated Title VI by failing to prevent discrimination and harassment of Jewish students during an uptick in anti-Semitism

Yet, a Yale University spokesperson disagreed, arguing that the university already took specific actions to protect Jewish students. 

[RELATED: House report details how elite institutions ‘refused to crack down on antisemitism’]

“These include adding security and support for Jewish students on campus, establishing a committee to expand previous efforts supporting Jewish student life, providing additional training on discrimination and harassment, including antisemitism, and enhancing policies on free expression and the use of outdoor spaces,” the spokesperson told Inside Investigator. 

“These actions reinforce the university’s longstanding commitment to addressing antisemitism, including through its program for the study of antisemitism, which until recently was one of only two such programs in the country,” the spokesperson added. 

Yale University’s Office of the Secretary and Vice President for University Life issued guidance for students on free expression on the university’s website. 

The guidance reads, “[P]rohibitions against discrimination and harassment that are consistent with federal and state law. Prohibited behaviors under these policies include speech that meets the definition of harassment or discrimination, including threats of violence or, under certain circumstances, threats that constitute intimidation or coercion.”

[RELATED: Jewish student says she and friends were locked out of pro-Hamas event, forced to listen through the door]

Anti-Semitic actions have intensified at Yale since Hamas’ brutal terrorist attacks on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. 

For example, a Yale student newspaper was forced to retract anti-Semitic statements penned in an Oct. 12 article. Additionally, pro-Hamas students protested against Israel in a Yale library during the fall 2024 semester finals week. 

In response to these concerns, Hillel International’s Campus Climate Initiative formed the Yale Antisemitism Campus Climate Group, while the university formed an Advisory Committee on Arab and Muslim Student Life and Advisory Committee on Jewish Student Life.

Yale justified the two committees as “actions [that] help foster an environment in which community members with diverse beliefs, perspectives, and cultures have a voice and in which all students, faculty, and staff feel welcome and respected.”

Campus Reform has contacted Yale University for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.