The University of Columbia was summoned by violating the Federal Civil Rights Law to allegedly “acting with a deliberate indifference towards the harassment of student students to students of Jewish students” from the terrorist attack of October 7, 2023 against Israel, said the civil rights office of the Department of Health and Human Services.
This is the last action of the Trump administration taken against prominent universities. On Thursday, the Trump administration prohibited Harvard University to allow international students to register at the university, a measure that the university said it is not legal, because “they have turned their institution once great into a seedbed of anti -American, anti -Semitic and pro -prosecutors,” said the White House spokesman, Abigail Jackson.
The HHS claimed that Columbia violated title VI, which prohibits those who receive federal financial assistance to discriminate against their programs and activities based on the breed, color or national origin, including discrimination against people based on their Israeli or Royal or Jewish identity or ancestry.
The notice, both of the HHS and the Department of Education, “articulates wide objective findings that cover a period of more than 19 months in which the university could not continuously protect Jewish students,” said the government in their announcement. “The findings are based on information and documents obtained during the investigation, including witness interviews; examination of written policies and procedures; reliable media reports that contemporarily capture incidents and anti -Semitic events at the University of Columbia; and report the work force of the University of Columbia about anti -Semitism.”
“The findings carefully document the hostile environment that Jewish students from Columbia have had to endure for more than 19 months, interrupting their education, security and well -being,” said Anthony Archeval, interim director of the Office of Civil Rights in HHS. “We encourage Columbia University to work with us to reach an agreement that reflects significant changes that will really protect Jewish students.
A protester burns its diploma as the students of Columbia University and Barnard College celebrate a graduation concentration in Palestine support in New York on May 21, 2025.
AFP Contributor#AFP/AFP through Getty Images
The Government said that Columbia University did not take several measures, including not establishing effective reports for anti -Semitism until the summer of 2024, not to fulfill their own policies and procedures by responding to the complaints of Jewish students and govern misconduct against Jewish students and not investigate or punish vandalism in their classes.
“We understand that this finding is part of our ongoing discussions with the Government. Columbia is deeply committed to fighting anti -Semitism and all forms of harassment and discrimination on our campus,” said Columbia University in a Friday morning statement. “We take these problems seriously and we will work with the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Education to address them.”
In March, the University agreed to a list of Trump administration demands after he canceled $ 400 million in subsidies and contracts to the institution due to “continuous inaction before the persistent harassment of Jewish students,” according to a statement from the Trump administration that month.
“Among them, more strict controls were being exercised on the Department of Medio East Studies of the University and examine the activities of the campus from the anniversary of Hamas’s attack to Israel.
In a statement of March 19, the interim president Katrina Armstrong said: “Anti -Semitism, harassment and discrimination of any kind are unacceptable and imbalance both our sense of community and our very academic mission.”
