The Biden-Harris administration has reached a settlement with the Department of Education regarding antisemitism that arose after the October 7, 2023, Hamas terror attack in Israel. The settlement, however, has been criticized for its minimal impact, only requiring the involved universities to self-report.
According to a report from the San Francisco Chronicle, the Department of Education found that five University of California campuses—UCLA, UC Santa Barbara, UC San Diego, UC Davis, and UC Santa Cruz—did not respond quickly or effectively to allegations of national origin discrimination, including harassment, directed at students and employees.
As part of the agreement, the universities have committed to reviewing complaints from the current and previous academic years to decide if further action is needed, and will report the outcomes of these reviews. Additionally, they are required to get approval from the Department of Education for any changes to their discrimination policies, provide training to employees and public safety officers, and assess the extent of discrimination on campus to determine next steps.
In a separate matter, a complaint against UC Berkeley, related to the cancellation of a pro-Israel speaker, was dismissed, as reported by the Chronicle.
This settlement was reached before President-elect Donald Trump could intervene. During his campaign, Trump threatened to revoke the accreditation and federal funding of universities where antisemitism was allowed to flourish.
In contrast to the Democrat-controlled Senate, which held only one hearing on the issue, House Republicans conducted extensive investigations into antisemitism on college campuses, leading to the resignation of several university officials and the release of a detailed report in October. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) was found to have advised universities to ignore the issue.
{Matzav.com}