The US Education Department announced on Monday that the University of Michigan and the City University of New York had failed to adequately respond to recent incidents of anti-Arab, anti-Semitic, and anti-Palestinian sentiments.
The department also reached resolutions with both universities over incidents of this nature. According to a statement from the Education Department, the institutions agreed to take specific actions, including reopening some previous complaints, reporting their findings to the government, educating staff members on how to handle allegations of discrimination, and conducting additional surveys to gauge such discriminatory experiences.
These resolutions were the first to be concluded, among several others, that the department launched on October 7 after the Hamas attacked Israel, and Israel also began its military attack on Gaza, which the Hamas led. A few investigations occurred before the war started.
According to the Education Department, universities fail to comply with the requirements to remedy a hostile environment.
The incidents that were considered included threats from Jewish students on social media and pro-Palestinian students reporting that they were being called “terrorists.” The universities affirmed the resolution agreement and declared they would oppose all forms of harassment and discrimination.
Advocacy groups claim that during the war, incidents of bias and hate for Jews, Muslims, Palestinians, and Arabs have increased in the United States and Israel’s key ally.
The deadly stabbing of a 6-year-old Palestinian American child in Illinois in October, the November shooting of three students of Palestinian descent in Vermont, and the stabbing of a Palestinian American man in Texas in February are among the few alarming US incidents.
In April, a former Cornell University student pleaded guilty to posting threats online, including violence and death threats against Jewish students on campus. There have also been allegations of alarming rhetoric in recent college campus protests.
