Protecting Jewish Students on Campus | The Jewish Press – JewishPress.com | Mark Rienzi | 29 Sivan 5784 – Friday, July 5, 2024

Last week, I had the opportunity to testify before members of Congress about the recent rise in anti-Semitism on college campuses. The Subcommittee on Workforce Protections, which has initiated important investigations into this issue, asked me to speak about legal measures we can take to protect Jews on American universities.

At the beginning of my remarks, I asked members to imagine the following scenes: A demonstration erupts on the main thoroughfare of a public university. Activists carry anti-Semitic signs and chant, “Slaughter the Jews.” Police are present but stand by as activists intimidate Jewish students and faculty.

Then I asked them to imagine hundreds of agitators gathering at the law school, holding signs and chanting slogans like “Death to the Jews.” A few weeks later, the professor finds a piece of paper in front of his house titled “The Mouthful Jew” with a book cover featuring a swastika.

Eventually, activists built an unauthorized encampment on campus. They set up checkpoints, questioned students trying to cross, and denied entry to Jews. Instead of stopping it, university officials aided and abetted the encampment.

While these episodes may sound like something straight out of 1930s Germany, I have made it clear to members of Congress that they are not. They are real events that took place at UCLA over the past nine months—events that have led to a federal lawsuit against the university, where my law firm represents several students. They also describe events at other American universities where similar incidents have erupted since October 7.

So what can be done to ensure that universities that deny Jewish students, faculty, and staff equal treatment under the law are held accountable? Many existing laws offer potential solutions.

For starters, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin at institutions receiving federal funds. That means universities can be sued when they deny students and faculty full participation and benefits in their programs because they are Jewish. Similarly, Title VII prohibits employment discrimination, including creating a “hostile work environment.” Employers can sue when they allow anti-Semitism to flourish in their workplaces.

Other civil rights laws can also help. The Ku Klux Klan Act, passed during Reconstruction to protect black Americans from racial terrorism, is still in effect today and provides protection against attacks on Jews on college campuses. When universities condone anti-Semitic activity and refuse to apply their campus policies to unlawful conduct, it opens the door to a claim under the Act against the Universities.

Where public universities are involved, our federal Constitution also helps. Often, these schools deny Jewish students equal protection under the law. And often, they deny their right to freely practice their religion—by pretending to be Jews and not rejecting Israel—and their right to free speech.

The federal government can also make an important difference. During a recent congressional hearing, UCLA Chancellor Gene Block admitted that UCLA officials knew about anti-Semitic incidents on campus and did little to stop them. But his statements did something crucial: They mobilized Jewish students and faculty and let them know they were not alone and could address these problems before they got worse. Without such congressional oversight and investigations into anti-Semitism at UCLA and other universities, many would not have felt empowered to speak out.

Federal agencies can also act. For example, the Department of Education has the authority to investigate Title VI violations without having to file formal complaints. Anti-Semitism in higher education is a known problem, and the department’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has the tools to launch investigations outside of the complaint process. As OCR notes, agency-initiated cases, called “compliance reviews,” are intended to “direct resources toward compliance issues that are particularly acute, national in scope, or newly emerging.” Anti-Semitism on college campuses fits that description.

The federal government must show Americans that it takes anti-Semitism on college campuses seriously. Continued congressional oversight and strong agency action are an excellent start.

In 1790, President George Washington wrote to a small Hebrew congregation in Rhode Island, assuring them that Jews could live freely in the new nation. He wrote, “The Government of the United States… gives no sanction to bigotry, no aid to persecution.” It is time for America to keep Washington’s promise. By working together, our nation can ensure that our Constitution and our civil rights are preserved and protected for American Jews.