As tensions over the Israel-Hamas war remain intense, the environment on college campuses has become even more inflamed. The situation has become so pronounced that the Education Department has stepped in and is investigating several schools for discrimination.
Six more schools are under investigation by the U.S. Department of Education for reports of discrimination on their campuses, according to the agency.
Tulane University in Louisiana, Union College in New York, Cobb County School District in Georgia, University of Cincinnati in Ohio, Santa Monica College in California, and Montana State University in Montana have been added to the newly released list.
The DOE's Office for Civil Rights released the list as part of the Biden administrations efforts to take action amid the "alarming nationwide rise in reports of antisemitism, anti-Muslim, anti-Arab and other forms of discrimination" on both college and K-12 school campuses since the start of the Israel-Hamas war on Oct. 7, a statement said.
The Department of Education would not release what type of alleged discrimination the schools are being investigated for. However, at least three schools have released statements detailing the incidents.
The Education Department is already investigating nine other schools under Title IV, a law that bans discrimination based on race, ethnicity, national origin, and other characteristics.
While the DOE has not given much in the way of details, a district spokesperson from Cobb County said that they were being investigated for a complaint related to an “anti-Muslim incident.”
A Tulane University spokesperson said that an incident that occurred on campus “took place at a rally organized by a group that is not recognized by Tulane.”
"The rally was deliberately staged on public property contiguous to our campus but over which we have no control," the university said. "As a result of assaults against Tulane students and a Tulane police officer at the rally, three individuals unaffiliated with the university were arrested on a variety of charges, including hate crimes."
Since the war in Gaza began on October 7, incidents involving antisemitism have skyrocketed.
The advocacy group Anti-Defamation League has rose by about 400% in the first two weeks since the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, compared with the same period the previous year.
About 190 of the 312 antisemitic incidents tallied by the group were linked to the war between Israel and Hamas. Of those 190, more than half consisted of rallies where the group found "explicit or strong implicit support for Hamas and/or violence against Jews in Israel."
This development raises a serious question: What is the Department of Education going to do after it investigates incidents that occurred at these universities? In too many cases, the leadership of these institutions has given in to the pro-Hamas elements on campus, allowing them to spew their threats and anti-Jewish comments while also threatening Jewish students. Even further, they have allowed these people to disrupt campus life and call for the genocide of Jews. In light of this, it stands to reason that even after the investigations are concluded, the problem will still remain.