By Julia Harte
(Reuters) – The U.S. Justice Department formed a multi-agency task force on Monday to fight antisemitism, with its first priority “rooting out” antisemitic harassment in schools and universities. The Department of Education said it was investigating five universities for allegations of antisemitic harassment.
WHY IT’S IMPORTANT
The task force follows an executive order and fact sheet from President Donald Trump last week in which he warned “resident aliens who joined in the pro-jihadist protests” that they would be deported, referring to pro-Palestinian protests on U.S. college campuses. Trump also pledged to revoke the student visas of what he called “Hamas sympathizers” and directed his cabinet to familiarize U.S. universities with immigration law against foreigners who pose security threats.
COLLEGES TARGETED
The Education Department said in a written statement that it was opening investigations of antisemitic harassment on the campuses of Columbia University, Northwestern University, Portland State University, the University of California, Berkeley; and the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. The department under the administration of former President Joe Biden had settled with some universities through resolution agreements over alleged antisemitism and Islamophobia. But those deals were labeled as toothless by the Trump administration. It was not clear how those deals would be impacted under Trump. The department did not respond to requests for comment on that, or whether it plans similar probes over allegations of anti-Muslim bias on campuses.
THE RESPONSE
If the task force “weaponizes the power of the federal government to suppress the speech of college kids who have advocated for Palestinian rights, then that is going to run into a wall called the U.S. Constitution,” warned Edward Ahmed Mitchell, deputy director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.
CONTEXT
Since Hamas’ October 2023 attacks and Israel’s subsequent assault on the Palestinian enclave, pro-Palestinian protests have roiled U.S. college campuses. The presidents of three Ivy League universities resigned due to criticism over their handling of the protests. Civil rights groups have reported a surge in hate crimes against Jews, Muslims, Arabs and other people of Middle Eastern descent.
WHAT’S NEXT
The task force, which includes representatives from the U.S. departments of Education and Health and Human Services, will coordinate its efforts through the Justice Department’s civil rights division. The Council on American Islamic Relations has stated it will monitor the actions of the task force before deciding on any potential legal challenges.
(Reporting by Julia Harte in New York; Additional reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Howard Goller and Matthew Lewis)
