EXCLUSIVE: Dept of Education investigating Northwestern University over anti-Semitism complaint
The Department of Education Office for Civil Rights has opened an investigation into Northwestern University over its handling of anti-Semitic incidents, Campus Reform has learned.
The Department of Education Office for Civil Rights has opened an investigation into Northwestern University over its handling of anti-Semitic incidents, Campus Reform has learned.
The complaint, filed by Campus Reform Editor-in-Chief Dr. Zachary Marschall, states that Jewish students at Northwestern University “have felt increasingly unwelcome” since the October 7, 2023, Hamas terrorist attack.
An investigation by the Office for Civil Rights was opened into the Evanston, Illinois university on Tuesday.
The complaint states that over 100 students attended a vigil by the Deering Library, where the colors of the Palestinian flag were projected onto the building, according to the Daily Northwestern.
[RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: Dept of Ed investigates ASU over anti-Semitism complaint]
The complaint also cites an Instagram post from the Northwestern University Asian American Studies Program, which said that Hamas is a “political group” and also objected to the phrase “Hamas is ISIS,” calling it Islamophobic.
As of Tuesday, the post remains on its Instagram account and is pinned at the top of the page.
On October 25, 2023, more than 150 students held a walkout and demanded that the university divest from organizations supporting Israel, according to the Daily Northwestern. Protesters chanted “Palestine will never die” and “Northwestern, you can’t hide — you’re paying for genocide.”
Asian American Studies and Black Studies Prof. Nitasha Tamar Sharma, the director of the Asian American Studies Program, told the student newspaper that the walkout was a “source of comfort” for her.
Earlier Tuesday, the Department of Education Office for Civil Rights opened an investigation into Arizona State University.
Campus Reform reached out to Northwestern for comment.
