US federal authorities investigate anti-Semitism allegations at SUNY New Paltz

NEW YORK — U.S. federal authorities have opened an investigation into allegations of anti-Semitism at a public university in New York state, attorneys for the plaintiffs said Thursday, as battles over Jewish identity and discrimination loom rage in American universities.

The US Department of Education’s Civil Rights Office said it has opened a formal investigation into allegations about the State University of New York at New Paltz, better known as SUNY New Paltz.

The allegations relate to the fact that two Jewish students, one of whom is Israeli, were expelled from a sexual assault awareness group and were subjected to harassment and anti-Semitic threats because of their identity.

The lawsuit against the university, filed in August, alleged that the university administration knew about the discrimination but allowed the anti-Semitic environment to fester.

According to the complaint, the school’s alleged discrimination and negligence caused the two students – Jewish and Israeli – both victims of sexual assault, to feel unsafe on campus and ostracized.

The complaint filed with the U.S. Department of Education’s Civil Rights Office claims the university violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

The law prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color or origin in federally funded programs. Anti-Semitic discrimination was recognized as a violation of Title VI in 2019 through an order by former US President Donald Trump, opening up a new legal battleground for anyone who bemoans an upsurge in anti-Semitism on campuses.

According to the complaint, Zionism and the connection to Israel are integral to the faith and identity of many Jewish students, so the harassment and demonization of Zionism constitutes discrimination. Much of the debate on campus centers on the limits of free speech and when anti-Zionism morphs into anti-Semitism.

The Department of Education’s Civil Rights Office only investigates complaints it deems worthy of further investigation. It has opened several investigations in response to similar complaints.

“We unequivocally condemn any attack on Jewish students at SUNY and will not tolerate anti-Semitic harassment and intimidation on campus. We do not comment on ongoing investigations,” SUNY New Paltz replied.

READ: Jewish sexual assault victims rejected by aid group in New York

Two advocacy groups, the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law and Jewish on Campus, filed suit on behalf of the students. The federal office informed the Brandeis Center of the opening of the investigation earlier this week.

The Brandeis Center linked the federal investigation to the Biden administration’s new initiative to combat anti-Semitism.

“The Department of Education’s initiation of this investigation, the first ever since President Biden announced his national anti-Semitism strategy, sends a clear and unequivocal signal to SUNY New Paltz as well as to to universities across the country: they take anti-Zionist discrimination and harassment seriously and expect universities to take it just as seriously,” said Denise Katz-Prober, director of legal initiatives at the Brandeis Center.

SUNY New Paltz is a highly regarded public higher education institution located north of New York City with approximately 7,500 students.

The Brandeis Center has filed several other similar complaints against US universities, which have resulted in federal investigations, including at Brooklyn College in New York, which is part of the City University of New York (CUNY) public university system and which has been embroiled in allegations of anti-Semitism by students and faculty, as well as allegations of inaction by its administration.

SUNY New Paltz is also a New York public institution, but it is part of the State University of New York (SUNY) system, which is separate from the New York City CUNY system. .

Allegations of anti-Semitism have repeatedly been made at CUNY universities, but much less so at SUNY universities, the largest network of public universities in the United States.

The issue of anti-Semitism in the CUNY system came to light last month after a graduate of the city’s law school gave a graduation speech that demonized the Jewish state.

This speech caused a national outcry, and American lawmakers called in particular to deprive CUNY universities of all public funding.

Advocates of the Jewish cause have also called for a response at the national level.

Rabbi Abraham Cooper, director of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, said Thursday that “the administration must act,” along with the Department of Education.

He said that the administration and the Ministry of Education should fully support the definition Antisemitism from the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), which covers some forms of anti-Israel rhetoric. This definition is contested by progressive groups, who believe it stifles legitimate criticism of the Jewish state.

“The first task of CUNY is to adopt [la définition de] the IHRA,” Cooper said.

Both the White House’s anti-Semitism plan, released last month, and the CUNY university system have balked at adopting the IHRA definition.

“The larger problem is, and it’s not just about the CUNY system, that there are efforts everywhere to purge Jewish students from positions of responsibility,” said Cooper, who was named this week to chair the Administration’s Committee on International Religious Freedom and who discussed the CUNY controversy with city lawmakers.

“To be able to be accountable, you have to be able to define anti-Semitism,” he told the Times of Israel. “This is the first step in being able to understand the problem and hold people accountable. »