Federal anti-Semitism task force to investigate colleges

The Department of Justice on Monday rolled out a task force combating anti-Semitism with a specific focus on harassment of Jews on college campuses. The same day as the DOJ’s announcement, the Department of Education publicized investigations into several universities where anti-Semitic harassment had been reported.

The team announced Monday will include representatives from the Department of Education and the Department of Health and Human Services. Task force head Leo Terrell serves as senior counsel to the assistant attorney general for civil rights. The DOJ established the task force in response to an executive order from President Donald Trump last week.

What schools are being investigated? The DOE launched probes into Columbia University, Northwestern University, Portland State University, the University of California at Berkeley, and the University of Minnesota at Twin Cities. A Monday release described an explosion of anti-Semitism on U.S. college campuses after Hama’s Oct. 7 attack on Israeli civilians.

The DOE investigations will pick up work begun by the House Committee on Education and the Workforce. The committee found that university administrators failed to protect Jewish students and even conceded to illegal protest encampments. The department is putting universities, colleges, and K-12 schools on notice that institutionalized anti-Semitism will not be tolerated, Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Craig Trainor said in a released statement.

Dig deeper: Read my report on pro-Palestinian protests turning violent last spring.