Columbia on Notice: Federal Investigation Concludes University Violated Jewish Students’ Civil Rights

Columbia University has violated the civil rights of Jewish students for going on two years, a federal investigation concludes.

“Columbia University violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by acting with deliberate indifference towards student-on-student harassment of Jewish students,” the Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Education (DOE) revealed in investigatory findings released last week.

The lengthy report concludes a three-month investigation into Columbia by the Task Force to Combat Antisemitism, a group of four federal agencies, including DOE and HHS, tasked with finding and prosecuting “perpetrators of unlawful antisemitic harassment and violence.”

Now, the school is on official notice. It must comply with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act or face the Department of Justice in court — and risk losing $5 billion in federal funding.

Title VI forbids federally-funded institutions from discriminating against people on the grounds of race, color or national origin, including denying them benefits conferred to others or excluding them from activities.

The federal government can revoke funding to institutions that violate Title VI, but only after proving it in court. To show Columbia violated Jewish students’ civil rights, the Department of Justice must prove:

• Jewish students at Columbia experienced “severe or pervasive” harassment due to their race, skin color or nationality.
• Columbia knew about the harassment.
• Columbia could have done something about the harassment.
• Columbia was “deliberately indifferent” to the harassment, which could include failing to respond to complaints, only responding after a “lengthy and unjustified delay,” or responding in a way that is “clearly unreasonable in light of the known circumstances.”

DOE and HHS cite evidence proving each of these points. If Columbia fails to address the violations voluntarily, the Department of Justice will take the school to court.

The report paints a picture of an institution unwilling or unable to protect Jewish students — despite lip service to the contrary.

It describes frequent, unsanctioned protests preventing Jewish students from accessing library and research facilities or making them afraid to walk to class; references passages from Columbia’s own internal antisemitism reports, which describe pro-Hamas students shouting genocidal slurs like, “Yes Hamas, we love you, we support your rockets, too”; and highlights the experiences of students like Eden Yadegar, who testified before the U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce in February 2024.

“At Columbia University, the Jewish community is alone,” Yadegar told representatives, continuing:

Though the investigation documents this evidence and more, DOE and HHS claim Columbia’s actions in April and May 2024 alone violated Title VI.

Cast your mind back to April 2024, when Columbia students set up a tent village on campus in “solidarity” with Palestine (and Hamas).

The intractable camp shut down campus, caused commencement to be cancelled and necessitated several police raids. Trespassing, violence and vandalism occurred on a massive scale.

Between April 17, 2024, when the so-called “Gaza Solidarity Encampment” formed, and May 6, 2024, when Columbia canceled commencement, DOE and HHS say Columbia’s campus environment met the legal standard for “deliberate indifference.”

Condition One: Jewish students experienced “pervasive and severe” harassment based on their nationality and race.

The Gaza Solidarity Encampment implicitly — and often explicitly — called for Israel’s destruction and the death of Israeli civilians. Jewish students not only faced verbal and physical harassment, but were deprived of academic experiences and opportunities.

HHS and DOE find:

Students attended online classes for the last twenty days of the semester. The graduating class of 2024 did not receive a commencement ceremony.

The investigative report cites U.S. legal precedent describing when harassment becomes a civil rights violation:

Condition Two: Columbia knew about the mistreatment of Jewish students.

Columbia’s administration was well aware of the disruptive encampment and protester’ ‘vile treatment of fellow students.

On April 18, 2024, Columbia’s former president, Minouche Shafik, called the NYPD to break up the tent city.

On April 21, an Orthodox Rabbi affiliated with Columbia told 300 Jewish students to flee campus until “the reality in and around campus ha[d] improved.”

In an April 29 statement asking campers to voluntarily disperse, Shafik herself wrote:

• “The encampment has created an unwelcoming environment for many of our Jewish students and faculty.”
• “External actors have contributed to creating a hostile environment in violation of Title VI, especially around our gates, that is unsafe for everyone — including our neighbors.”
• “[The encampment] represents a noisy distraction for our students studying for exams and everyone trying to complete the academic year.”

Condition Three: Columbia could have done something about the harassment.

The encampment was comprised of Columbia students trespassing on Columbia’s land and vandalizing Columbia’s property. Administrators had internal and external mechanisms to solve these problems, including suspending and expelling students that violated school policy and calling law enforcement to remove trespassers.

Condition Four: Columbia’s response to the encampment was “clearly unreasonable” and only occurred after a “lengthy and unjustified delay.”

Though the Gaza Solidarity Encampment violated Columbia’s policies regarding protests and campus conduct, school leadership publicly waffled on confronting it.

On April 18, 2024, the NYPD tore the camp down and arrested 100 rowdy protesters at Shafik’s request.

Three days later, the tents went back up but, instead of calling the police, Shafik shifted all classes online.

On April 23, the administration gave campers yet another deadline to disperse, which they ignored. No action was taken.

On April 26, Shafik stated she did not plan to call the NYPD back to campus, apparently bowing to pressure from a contingent of faculty and staff who demanded administrators stop disciplining protesters.

On April 29, Shafik again asked campers to voluntarily disperse (because that had worked so well before). Instead, protesters invaded Hamilton Hall and assaulted custodial staff. Importantly, HHS and DOE note:

On May 6, after failing to quell the encampment, Shafik cancelled graduation.

The report connects the cancellation to Columbia’s inaction:

Columbia’s treatment of Jewish students is a referendum on civil rights.

This university has publicly, persistently and brazenly refused to protect their own students from abuse since at least 2023. All the while, faculty and staff members support protesters calling for Jewish students’ deaths.

For more than a year, it seemed they would get away with it. Christian families stared down a new normal — a world in which civil rights belong only to the intellectual elite and their acolytes.

By holding Columbia accountable for its actions, the government has reaffirmed its commitment to protecting the rights of all Americans.

That’s something everyone can celebrate.

Additional Articles and Resources

Feds Yank $400 Million from Columbia University Following Continued Antisemitism

Antisemitism at Columbia Alive and Well

New York Drops Charges Against Pro-Hamas Protesters Who Stormed Hamilton Hall

INVESTIGATION: Who funds anti-Israel protests?

Jewish Students Urged to Flee Columbia University Following Antisemitic Protest