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Department of Education opens new antisemitism investigations into Harvard, Columbia, U of Tampa
(JTA) — Harvard University, Columbia University and the University of Tampa have joined an expanding list of schools under federal investigation for alleged failure to respond to antisemitism on campus.
Meanwhile, Harvard’s president has been summoned to address Congress about campus hostilities connected to the Israel-Hamas war, and the University of California, Berkeley, faces a new lawsuit over antisemitism that students there charge is “unchecked.”
The U.S. Department of Education’s civil rights office added the universities to its list of active investigations over the last week, just days after announcing seven other new investigations related to antisemitism or Islamophobia. The new investigation means that Columbia is now on the list twice. While the department does not share details of its investigations, independent reports say all three involve allegations of antisemitism.
The federal investigation at Harvard was opened Tuesday. According to a Fox News report quoting an anonymous Harvard graduate and a letter from the education department’s civil rights office, it concerns a incident in October when pro-Palestinian students allegedly assaulted an Israeli student at the Harvard Business School.
The student was accosted while he tried to film a “die-in” protest on campus, according to the Harvard Crimson student newspaper; the Crimson also identified one person who laid hands on the alleged victim as a Harvard Law Review member.
Harvard was one of the first schools to come under national scrutiny after several student groups signed an open letter on Oct. 7 that blamed Israel entirely for Hamas’ attack that day. Harvard President Claudine Gay took several days to issue a series of statements condemning Hamas, prompting further criticism. Some major pro-Israel boosters of the school, including the Wexner Foundation, cut ties in response.
Gay will appear Dec. 5 in a Congressional hearing on campus antisemitism — at least the fourth such hearing the House has conducted since Oct. 7 — alongside the presidents of the University of Pennsylvania and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Both schools have also been caught up in their own controversies related to the war. MIT drew criticism over its decision to partially suspend students who held a pro-Palestinian sit-in, while Penn is the subject of its own federal investigation partially related to a Palestinian literature festival it held prior to Oct. 7.
The Columbia and University of Tampa cases, both opened Nov. 20, also both reportedly concern incidents that predate the Oct. 7 attacks. According to Bloomberg, the Columbia probe dates back to a 2019 complaint by Jonathan Karten, an undergraduate represented by the pro-Israel legal group Lawfare Project. At the time, Karten alleged that a professor ridiculed him and claimed he “is Mossad,” the Israeli intelligence agency. Karten, a former sergeant in the Israel Defense Forces, also said members of Students for Justice in Palestine called him a “Zionist pig.”
While the university did investigate Karten’s claim at the time, it took no formal action. The Lawfare Project decided to re-up his claim in the wake of Oct. 7, telling Bloomberg it “mirrors and even foreshadows events currently occurring at Columbia,” where anti-Israel campus activity has turned increasingly militant and where the university has banned its Jewish Voice for Peace and SJP chapters for the remainder of the semester.
The University of Tampa case, meanwhile, concerns an incident that the university says took place in September. A Tampa Bay Times report quotes from a letter sent by the parent of a Jewish student to the university president, detailing a Sept. 23 incident in which the student was accosted with antisemitic slurs while walking to his friend’s dorm.
The students broke out in a fight, and the Jewish student was put in a chokehold and punched, according to the report. He filed a police report; the student who attacked him later apologized on Instagram, and the university conducted a hearing into the matter.
But the father, Stuart Messiner, told the local newspaper that the university’s response was “absurd.” Its conduct board, he said, had determined that allegations of antisemitism were “uncorroborated” because the students didn’t know each other; it further disciplined the Jewish student along with his attackers and ordered him to write a letter of apology, which his father has refused to let him do.
Messiner went on to accuse the university of being “guilty of antisemitism too” because of its “flagrant refusal to consider this case for what it is — the case of a young man defending himself and his cherished heritage against bigots and bullies.”
“The university is fully cooperating with the request for information but cannot comment further due to student privacy laws,” a spokesperson for the university told local reporters.
The Department of Education has opened seven other probes that it said are directly tied either to antisemitism or Islamophobia since Oct. 7. (The civil rights office has opened additional investigations into a handful of K-12 school districts, but no information was available on them at press time.) Opening an investigation does not mean the Department of Education believes it has merit, only that it has determined the allegations fall under its purview.
In other campus news, a lawsuit filed against UC Berkeley by the pro-Israel legal group Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law accuses the university of not more forcefully punishing anti-Zionist law student groups in 2022, saying their bans of outside speakers who support Zionism effectively “exclude Jews.” That case is also under active investigation by the Department of Education.
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US Reportedly Shares Intelligence with New Syrian Leadership to Counter ISIS Threats
Syria’s de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, also known as Abu Mohammed al-Golani, waits to welcome the senior Ukrainian delegation led by Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, after the ousting of Syria’s Bashar al-Assad, in Damascus, Syria, Dec. 30, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi
i24 News – The United States has begun sharing classified intelligence with Syria’s new leadership, led by Hayʼat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), an Islamist group formerly designated as a terrorist organization, reports the Washington Post.
This unexpected collaboration comes in the wake of HTS overthrowing the Assad regime last month and reflects heightened US concerns about a potential resurgence of the Islamic State (ISIS).
According to sources, US intelligence recently helped thwart a planned ISIS attack on a prominent Shiite shrine near Damascus.
Despite this cooperation, US officials stress that the intelligence-sharing arrangement does not signify full support for HTS, which has a controversial history of extremism.
HTS leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, previously known by his militant alias Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, has made efforts to project a more moderate image, pledging to protect Syria’s religious minorities and stabilize the country.
However, skepticism remains about HTS’s ability to govern effectively and sustain efforts against ISIS.
The Biden administration, before leaving office, maintained HTS’s terrorist designation while easing sanctions on Syria to facilitate humanitarian aid. As the new US administration under President Donald Trump takes shape, questions loom about the future of American involvement in Syria and the ongoing military presence aimed at preventing an ISIS comeback.
The post US Reportedly Shares Intelligence with New Syrian Leadership to Counter ISIS Threats first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Hostages Missing from Hamas’ Release List
A birthday cake for Kfir Bibas, who is a hostage in Hamas captivity. Thursday, January 18, 2024. (Photo: Debbie Weiss)
i24 News – The second phase of hostage releases between Israel and Hamas has sparked deep frustration and grief among the families of those still held captive.
Two hostages—Arbel Yahud and Agam Berger—were notably excluded from the list of those to be freed on Saturday, despite earlier agreements prioritizing the return of civilians.
Arbel Yahud, 29, and Agam Berger, 20, both captives since the October 7 attack, were not included in the list of four hostages expected to be released.
Yahud, from Kibbutz Nir Oz, was taken along with her partner, Ariel Cunio, whose family was freed in November. Yahud’s brother, Dolev, was later found dead in June after he was killed while trying to aid the wounded. Agam Berger, from Holon, was captured while stationed at Nahal Oz. Her family identified her in a video released by Hamas, showing her in pajamas being taken away in a vehicle after she called her father to alert him of the gunfire.
The omission of these two hostages has led to heightened concerns and calls for action from Israeli authorities, who are now exerting pressure on Hamas and mediators to honor the terms of the release agreement. Israeli officials reaffirmed their commitment to continue with the broader agreement, but warned that the failure to meet the agreed terms could harm future releases.
Adding to the grief, the Bibas family expressed their devastation when they learned that Shiri Bibas and her children, who were abducted from their Nir Oz home on October 7, were also absent from the second release list. In a heartfelt message shared on Saturday, the Bibas family shared their anguish: “Even though we were prepared for it, we were hoping to see Shiri and the children on the list that was supposed to be the civilian list.” The family voiced concerns over their loved one’s safety and questioned why, despite grave fears for their lives, their relatives were not included among the civilians due to be returned.
The Bibas family’s message emphasized their belief that the public must continue to demand answers, adding, “Thank you, dear supporters, for not giving up, for continuing to pray, to hope and to demand answers.
The post Hostages Missing from Hamas’ Release List first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Liri Albag, Karina Ariev, Naama Levi, and Daniela Gilboa Return to Israel After 477 Days of Captivity
A combination picture shows Israeli hostages Karina Ariev, Naama Levy, Liri Albag, and Daniela Gilboa, soldiers who were seized from their army base in southern Israel during the deadly Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Hamas, in these undated handout pictures. Photo: Courtesy of Bring Them Home Now/Handout via REUTERS
i24 News – After 477 harrowing days in captivity, four young Israeli women—Liri Albag, Karina Ariev, Naama Levi, and Daniela Gilboa—have finally returned home.
The release took place Saturday morning in Gaza’s Palestine Square, under a carefully staged scene orchestrated by Hamas.
The four women, who served in a military observation unit in Nahal Oz, were handed over to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). Before their release, they were made to wear uniforms provided by Hamas and were paraded on a platform in front of a crowd of activists. Forced to smile and wave, the women endured the ordeal under the watchful eyes of Hamas fighters.
Once the formalities concluded, the women walked to waiting ICRC vehicles, accompanied by representatives of the organization. Upon reaching Israeli forces, IDF medical teams immediately conducted examinations. At the meeting point, the first female officers who greeted them informed the women that their families were watching live. Overcome with emotion, the former hostages smiled at the cameras, sending heartfelt gestures to their loved ones.
Footage later released by the IDF captured a poignant moment: the four women removing the uniforms given to them by Hamas and embracing Israeli officers. These emotional scenes underscored the end of a long and grueling chapter in their lives.
The women were transported to the Reim reception center, where their families eagerly awaited them. After 477 days of separation, the reunions were deeply moving, marking a moment of relief and joy.
However, the release was not without complications. A fifth military observer, Agam Berger, remains in captivity, and Hamas failed to uphold its agreement to release civilian hostage Arbel Yahud, who was originally included in the liberation group. The breach of terms has drawn widespread condemnation, intensifying efforts to secure the release of those who remain captive.
This momentous event brings a mix of celebration and determination, as Israel continues to work tirelessly for the freedom of all hostages still held in Gaza.
The post Liri Albag, Karina Ariev, Naama Levi, and Daniela Gilboa Return to Israel After 477 Days of Captivity first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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