EXCLUSIVE: Dept of Ed opens investigation into treatment of Jewish students at Brown University
The Department of Education is opening an investigation into Brown University over allegations of discrimination of Jewish students.
The Department of Education Office for Civil Rights is opening an investigation into alleged discrimination of Jewish students, according to a notice obtained by Campus Reform.
The complaint, which was filed by Campus Reform Editor-in-Chief Dr. Zachary Marschall, alleges that “pro-Israel students are targeted and threatened on campus.”
Brown University’s chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine released a statement on Oct. 10, writing that “the Israeli regime and its allies unequivocally responsible for all suffering and loss of life, Palestinian or Israeli. While all loss of life deserves to be mourned, we cannot stand by as the root cause of this violence is not only ignored but strengthened: Israel’s settler-colonial regime of apartheid and military occupation and its brutal 16-year blockade of Gaza.”
“We stand in solidarity with Palestinian resistance against Israeli occupation,” the SJP statement continued.
The SJP chapter also criticized Brown University President Christina Paxson, accusing her of having “unequivocally privileged Israeli interests and initiatives” and demanded that the university “end Brown’s complicity in the Israeli apartheid regime.”
Additionally, during a campus vigil hosted by SJP, a pro-Palestinian student cried “glory to our martyrs.”
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“Palestinians will die for justice and will die to return to our land,” the student said. “Glory to our martyrs from the river to the sea ... Palestine is the hope of the world.”
The letter obtained by Campus Reform states that “OCR will investigate whether the University failed to respond to alleged harassment of students based on national origin (shared Jewish ancestry) in a manner consistent with the requirements of Title VI.”
