Columbia U Found in Violation of Civil Rights Law Over Anti-Semitic Harassment, Trump Admin Says

By: Fern Sidman

Columbia University has been found in violation of federal civil rights law for failing to adequately protect Jewish students from an escalating wave of anti-Semitic harassment and intimidation since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war in October 2023, according to findings released Thursday by the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights (OCR). The scathing report accuses the Ivy League institution of “deliberate indifference” in the face of repeated and well-documented abuses, The New York Post reported on Friday.]

“The findings carefully document the hostile environment Jewish students at Columbia University have had to endure for over 19 months, disrupting their education, safety, and well-being,” said Anthony Archeval, Acting Director of the OCR. The agency’s investigation concluded that Columbia had violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by allowing discrimination based on race, color, or national origin to persist unchecked.

According to the information provided in The New York Post report, the civil rights probe found that Columbia failed to address student-on-student harassment, which included anti-Semitic chants, exclusionary behavior in classrooms, threats, and the repeated defacement of university property with swastikas and other hate symbols. Incredibly, the university allegedly did not implement “effective reporting and remediation mechanisms for anti-Semitism” until the summer of 2024 — nearly a full academic year after the October 7 Hamas terror attacks in Israel sparked a surge of hostility toward Jewish students on campus.

One of the most damning allegations is that Columbia failed to investigate or punish the vandalism of classrooms where swastikas were drawn, allowing an atmosphere of fear and hate to fester within its academic buildings.

Archeval urged the university to engage in “meaningful changes” to protect its Jewish student population, adding, “We encourage Columbia University to work with us to come to an agreement that reflects those changes.”

While Columbia University did not immediately respond to The New York Post’s request for comment, a university spokesperson told Axios that Columbia remains “committed to combating anti-Semitism and all forms of harassment and discrimination on our campus.”

“We understand this finding is part of our ongoing discussions with the government,” the spokesperson continued. “We take these issues seriously and will work with the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Education to address them.”

Notably, the federal finding did not include new penalties or enforcement measures. However, it comes just months after the Trump administration announced the cancellation of $400 million in federal grants to Columbia over what it described as the university’s “failure to protect Jewish students from anti-Semitic harassment.” The withdrawal of those funds marked one of the most severe rebukes ever issued by the federal government to a U.S. academic institution on civil rights grounds.

The findings come on the heels of a volatile academic year at Columbia, which has become the epicenter of campus unrest tied to the Israel-Gaza conflict. As The New York Post previously reported, the university was rocked by near-daily demonstrations in the months following the Hamas-led massacre on October 7, 2023. The violence in Israel prompted a swift military response in Gaza and fueled worldwide protests — many of which took on an overtly anti-Semitic tone.

By spring 2024, protesters had erected a sprawling tent city on Columbia’s iconic South Lawn, and tensions reached a boiling point when activists seized and occupied the university’s historic Hamilton Hall building. The New York Police Department was ultimately called in to restore order and remove the occupiers. The episode left a deep scar on the campus community and drew national attention, particularly when it was revealed that some of the demonstrators had chanted anti-Semitic slogans and harassed Jewish students in dormitories, lecture halls, and common spaces.

The investigation’s findings align with the Trump administration’s broader crackdown on anti-Semitism in American universities, a policy priority that has gained momentum in recent months amid a documented surge in hate crimes targeting Jewish Americans.

In March, as The New York Post reported, the Trump administration’s Department of Education joined with the General Services Administration and HHS to form a joint task force focused on higher education anti-Semitism. Columbia was one of the first institutions targeted by the group, which issued a list of mandatory reforms the university would be required to implement in order to regain access to federal funding.

Those reforms include a ban on face coverings on campus when used “for the purpose of concealing one’s identity in the commission of violations of university policies or state, municipal or federal laws” — a response to masked protesters accused of intimidating Jewish students.

Despite these commitments, critics argue that Columbia’s efforts have been reactive rather than proactive. Jewish advocacy organizations have blasted the administration for taking too long to acknowledge the scope of the problem and for failing to support targeted students in real time.

“Columbia allowed this to go on for far too long,” said a Columbia senior who requested anonymity for fear of reprisal. “Every week it was another swastika, another professor saying something unhinged, another protest where people were chanting about intifada. Jewish students were left to fend for themselves.”

The New York Post has chronicled Columbia’s slow response to rising anti-Semitism over the past year, including its delays in disciplinary action and its reluctance to acknowledge the severity of campus harassment. Critics argue that university leadership prioritized political optics and faculty appeasement over the basic rights and safety of Jewish students.

Columbia’s reckoning now serves as a cautionary tale for elite institutions across the country. The Title VI finding signals that universities may face serious consequences — including the loss of federal funding — if they fail to act decisively against discrimination and harassment rooted in race, ethnicity, or national origin.

As The New York Post continues its investigative reporting on the rise of anti-Semitism in academia, the message from federal officials is clear: universities will be held accountable for what happens on their campuses, and civil rights law will not be selectively enforced.

Columbia, once a symbol of intellectual prestige, now faces the challenge of restoring trust among Jewish students, alumni, and faculty — a challenge made all the more urgent by its federal censure and the national spotlight it now finds itself under.