Tulane one of 60 universities under Education Department probes for alleged Jew-hatred

By VITA FELIG

(JNS.org) – Tulane University was one of 60 universities sent notices on Monday by the Education Department warning they could face consequences if they fail to meet their obligations, under Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, to protect Jewish college students from harassment.

Linda McMahon, the U.S. education secretary, stated that university leaders must do more to combat Jew-hatred on campus.

Tulane University may have allowed Pro-Palestinian protestors to intimidate Jewish students on campus and during protests like this encampment in April of 2024. (Photo by Alan Smason)

“The department is deeply disappointed that Jewish students studying on elite U.S. campuses continue to fear for their safety amid the relentless antisemitic eruptions that have severely disrupted campus life for more than a year,” she said. “U.S. colleges and universities benefit from enormous public investments funded by U.S. taxpayers.

“That support is a privilege and it is contingent on scrupulous adherence to federal anti-discrimination laws,” she added.

The 60 schools that received letters are under active investigation for alleged antisemitic harassment under the act, which prohibits institutions that receive federal funds from discriminating on the basis of race, color, and national origin. The latter has been interpreted to include Jewish ancestry.

The Education Department announced last week that it is committed to addressing a backlog of complaints about alleged Jew-hatred that went unaddressed during the Biden administration.

Six of the eight Ivy League universities—Brown, Cornell, Harvard, Princeton, Yale and Columbia—were among those notified. (The Trump administration recently announced that it was cutting about $400 million in federal funding to Columbia for its lack of response to Jew-hatred.)

Some 15 of the 60 schools were private schools in the Northeast. “New England well represented,” wrote the conservative radio host Howie Carr.

Among the other 54 schools are Boston University, Johns Hopkins University, Rutgers University, the State University of New York, The Ohio State University, the University of California (including Berkeley) and Arizona State University.

Tulane is the most prominent private institution in the South being warned. Other regional schools include George Mason University, the University of Virginia, the University of North Carolina, the University of South Carolina, the University of Tennessee, the University of Tampa and the University of South Florida.

Additional coverage was added to this story by Alan Smason.