Federal probe finds Columbia University showed ‘indifference' toward harassment of Jewish students

Yahoo

23-05-2025

NEW YORK — A federal probe found Columbia University violated the rights of Jewish students since campus protests took hold following the Oct. 7 Hamas-led terror attack on Israel, the government announced this week.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said Thursday that Columbia had shown 'deliberate indifference towards student-on-student harassment,' and renewed calls for an agreement between the Trump administration and the university.
'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,' Anthony Archeval, acting director of the Office for Civil Rights at U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, said in a statement.
'We encourage Columbia University to work with us to come to an agreement that reflects meaningful changes that will truly protect Jewish students.'
The joint notice, which was not made public, was issued alongside the U.S. Department of Education, which did not return a request for comment on Thursday night.
'We understand this finding is part of our ongoing discussions with the government,' the university said in a statement. 'Columbia is deeply committed to combating antisemitism and all forms of harassment and discrimination on our campus. We take these issues seriously and will work with the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Education to address them.'
The investigation concluded that Columbia failed to create effective ways of reporting antisemitism until last summer, or abide by the university's own policies and procedures when responding to Jewish students' complaints.
Its announcement also said Columbia did not investigate or take disciplinary action against vandalism, including multiple swastikas on university property, or enforce content-neutral restrictions on campus protests.
The findings come as Columbia officials are negotiating with the Trump administration over $400 million in federal grants and contracts that were canceled last semester over allegations of antisemitism. Those cuts have resulted in the lay-offs of at least 180 researchers whose medical advancements and other projects were funded by the government.
It was not clear on Thursday what the notice would mean for those negotiations, including if further cancellations were to be expected. Stand Columbia Society, a group of faculty and alumni, estimated more than $2 billion in federal funding is at risk across research grants, Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements, and student aid, as well as secondary effects such as cutting off international student enrollment.
'We are unequivocally and unapologetically for academic freedom, free expression, and institutional autonomy. But we are also for the continued partnership between the United States government and its leading universities,' the group wrote in a statement late Thursday.
A source involved in discussions between the university and administration suggested the finding would be a necessary step the government would have to take before the parties could come to a resolution, though insisted no deal had been reached yet.
Acting President Claire Shipman has previously stated Columbia would 'reject heavy-handed orchestration from the government,' especially if it relates to what gets taught at the university or who they hire.
Federal health officials said their findings were based on witness interviews, Columbia's own policies, media reports, and reports from a university-wide task force on antisemitism.
Columbia became the epicenter of campus protests against Israel's military campaign in Gaza when students pitched an encampment last spring calling on their administrators to divest from the war. The demonstration came to a head when a smaller group of protesters occupied Hamilton Hall, prompting the university to call in the NYPD and make mass arrests.
More recently, dozens of students took over Butler Library to protest the detention of Mahmoud Khalil, a recent Columbia graduate student, and what they see as Columbia's role in his arrest by federal immigration authorities in early March.
Pro-Palestinian students and their allies have accused Columbia and the Trump administration of conflating criticism of Israel with antisemitism.