Dept. of Education investigating University of Wisconsin over anti-Semitism complaint: EXCLUSIVE
The University of Wisconsin-Madison is under investigation by the Department of Education Office for Civil Rights over its alleged failure to respond to harassment of Jewish students, Campus Reform has learned.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison is under investigation by the Department of Education Office for Civil Rights over its alleged failure to respond to harassment of Jewish students, Campus Reform has learned.
The complaint, filed by Campus Reform Editor-in-Chief Dr. Zachary Marschall, alleges that the University of Wisconsin-Madison has taken “no action to protect” Jewish students following the terrorist attack on Oct. 7 by Hamas. The Department of Education Office for Civil Rights opened its investigation on Monday.
Just days after the terrorist attack, on Oct. 10, chants of “glory to the martyrs” could be heard during a protest at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, according to a video on X.
According to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, protesters at the Madison, Wisconsin, university could be heard chanting calls to “liberate the land by any means necessary.”
”’Martyrs’ in this context are terrorists who were killed attempting to murder Jews and it is obvious that ‘by any means necessary’ includes brutality such as the murder, torture, and rape that occurred on October 7,” Marschall wrote in the complaint.
On Oct. 16, the university’s Students for Justice in Palestine chapter released a statement reaffirming the right to “resist occupation and to pursue liberation.”
The Department of Education Office for Civil Rights said it will investigate “Whether the University failed to respond to alleged harassment of students on the basis of national origin (shared Jewish ancestry) in a manner consistent with the requirements of Title VI,” according to its letter announcing it has opened an investigation.
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The statement was co-signed by the Arab Student Association, Alpha Lambda Rho, Mecha De UW-Madison, Art for Change and the North African Student Organization.
A spokesperson for the University of Wisconsin-Madison told Campus Reform it will cooperate with the investigation.
”The University of Wisconsin-Madison is aware of a Title VI complaint that the university failed to respond to alleged harassment of students on the basis of national origin (shared Jewish ancestry). The university will cooperate fully with the Department of Education’s investigation,” the spokesperson said. “The complaint against UW–Madison was not filed by a member of our community but instead by an outside organization that has filed complaints against several other institutions of higher education.”
”UW–Madison condemns antisemitism in all its forms and strives to promote a welcoming campus environment for all members of the campus community, free from discrimination, including harassment based upon race, religion, national origin or other protected categories. The university will continue to uphold those values, support the values of free speech and expression, and support our students and employees,” the spokesperson added.
