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Department of Education opens new investigations of antisemitism and Islamophobia at schools in the wake of Oct. 7
(JTA) – The U.S. Department of Education announced that it has opened five new investigations into the handling of antisemitism and two into the handling of Islamophobia on college and K-12 campuses.
The announcement on Thursday was a show of force from the department, which said the flood of investigations represented “part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s continued efforts to take aggressive action to address the alarming nationwide rise in reports of antisemitism, anti-Muslim, anti-Arab, and other forms of discrimination and harassment on college campuses and in K-12 schools since the October 7 Israel-Hamas conflict.”
Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza began when the terror group invaded Israel on Oct. 7. Since then, Jewish groups and law enforcement agencies have reported a spike in antisemitism, and at a meeting in late October, the White House warned of “an alarming rise of reported antisemitic events” on college campuses since Oct. 7.
The investigations announced Thursday are being handled by the department’s civil rights office under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, which forbids discrimination based on race or shared ancestry at federally funded institutions. An executive order signed by then-President Donald Trump in 2019 included some anti-Israel activity in the definition of antisemitism that falls under Title VI’s purview.
Jewish leaders at three recent House hearings on the subject called on the Education Department to use its resources to protect Jewish students, and Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona has tasked the department with moving swiftly to do so. Last week, he warned schools that they could lose their federal funding if they failed to properly investigate antisemitism on campus.
“Hate has no place in our schools, period. When students are targeted because they are—or are perceived to be—Jewish, Muslim, Arab, Sikh, or any other ethnicity or shared ancestry, schools must act to ensure safe and inclusive educational environments where everyone is free to learn,” Cardona said in a statement about the new investigations. “These investigations underscore how seriously the Biden-Harris Administration, including the U.S. Department of Education, takes our responsibility to protect students from hatred and discrimination.”
Opening an investigation does not mean the department believes the complaint’s claims are true, only that it has determined the complaint falls under its civil rights purview. Investigations look at whether the school in question took adequate measures to protect students from discrimination. Several of the schools on the list have issued responses in the wake of headline-grabbing instances of antisemitism.
The department declined to comment on the details of the investigations to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency and would not disclose which were related to antisemitism and which to Islamophobia.
But three of the colleges on the list, all in New York state, have made headlines because of antisemitic incidents since Oct. 7. At Cornell University, one student sent death threats to Jewish students on campus after a professor said at a rally that he was “exhilarated” by the Oct. 7 attack; at Columbia University an Israeli student was assaulted amid what Jewish students have said is an increasingly antisemitic environment; and at Cooper Union, Jewish students barricaded themselves in a library during a pro-Palestinian protest.
The presidents of all three schools have since issued statements condemning antisemitism, and Columbia’s president has announced the formation of an antisemitism task force. The school has also suspended its chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine, citing violations of university rules, following a call by Jewish leaders to crack down on the group.
In addition, two of the new investigations appear to line up with recent civil rights complaints brought by the Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, a pro-Israel legal group. Kenneth Marcus, founder and chair of the group, and a former Trump administration official, took credit for the “swift” opening of the two investigations in a statement to JTA, and a Brandeis Center spokesperson said the group had been informed that the investigations were in response to its complaints.
One of those complaints was about reported instances of antisemitic graffiti and a trespasser on the property of Hillel at the University of Pennsylvania in conjunction with a “Palestine Writes” festival held on campus prior to Oct. 7. The school has already pledged to review its event policies as a result of these incidents. The Brandeis Center’s Penn complaint also includes references to purported antisemitism taking place on campus since the attacks, citing chants referencing the “intifada” and “From the river to the sea” at campus rallies.
The second Brandeis Center complaint is about Wellesley College, where, the center alleges, dorm residential staff sent out an email after Oct. 7 saying that there should be “no support for Zionism within the Wellesley College community.” That complaint was brought jointly with Jewish on Campus, a student antisemitism watchdog group.
The other two schools with new investigations are Lafayette College in Pennsylvania and Maize Unified School District in Kansas, a suburb of Wichita. Maize Unified School District said in a statement Friday that the Department of Education did not provide it with a copy of the complaint, so the district couldn’t respond to it.
It was not immediately clear what may have prompted these final two investigations, but an Oct. 25 statement from the president of Lafayette College references a student holding up “a poster bearing words with antisemitic meaning” during a pro-Palestinian walkout, and notes that the incident would be addressed “through our bias accountability process.” An account from pro-Palestinian students in the campus paper said that the student in question had held a poster reading “From the river to the sea,” which the writers did not believe was antisemitic. In addition, administrators at the college this spring rejected a request to form a chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine, with the dean of students suggesting the group could target Jewish students.
Previous antisemitism-related investigations in the department have resulted in schools including the University of Vermont and the University of Illinois pledging to put new resources in place for Jewish students, including new campus facilities and antisemitism awareness training for staff.
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The post Department of Education opens new investigations of antisemitism and Islamophobia at schools in the wake of Oct. 7 appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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Iran Says It Has Replaced Air Defenses Damaged in Israel War
The S-300 missile system is seen during the National Army Day parade ceremony in Tehran, Iran, April 17, 2024. Photo: Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
Iran has replaced air defenses damaged during last month’s conflict with Israel, Iran’s Defah Press news agency reported on Sunday quoting Mahmoud Mousavi, the regular army’s deputy for operations.
During the conflict in June, Israel’s air force dominated Iran’s airspace and dealt a heavy blow to the country’s air defenses while Iranian armed forces launched successive barrages of missiles and drones on Israeli territory.
“Some of our air defenses were damaged, this is not something we can hide, but our colleagues have used domestic resources and replaced them with pre-arranged systems that were stored in suitable locations in order to keep the airspace secure,” Mousavi said.
Prior to the war, Iran had its own domestically-made long-range air defense system Bavar-373 in addition to the Russian-made S-300 system. The report by Defah Press did not mention any import of foreign-made air defense systems to Iran in past weeks.
Following limited Israeli strikes against Iranian missile factories last October, Iran later displayed Russian-made air defenses in a military exercise to show it recovered from the attack.
The post Iran Says It Has Replaced Air Defenses Damaged in Israel War first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Calm Reported in Syria’s Sweida, Damascus Says Truce Holding
Members of Internal Security Forces stand guard at an Internal Security Forces’ checkpoint working to prevent Bedouin fighters from advancing towards Sweida, following renewed fighting between Bedouin fighters and Druze gunmen, despite an announced truce, in Walgha, Sweida province, Syria, July 20, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Karam al-Masri
Residents reported calm in Syria’s Sweida on Sunday after the Islamist-led government announced that Bedouin fighters had withdrawn from the predominantly Druze city and a US envoy signaled that a deal to end days of fighting was being implemented.
With hundreds reported killed, the Sweida bloodshed is a major test for interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, prompting Israel to launch airstrikes against government forces last week as it declared support for the Druze. Fighting continued on Saturday despite a ceasefire call.
Interior Minister Anas Khattab said on Sunday that internal security forces had managed to calm the situation and enforce the ceasefire, “paving the way for a prisoner exchange and the gradual return of stability throughout the governorate.”
Reuters images showed interior ministry forces near the city, blocking the road in front of members of tribes congregated there. The Interior Ministry said late on Saturday that Bedouin fighters had left the city.
US envoy Tom Barrack said the sides had “navigated to a pause and cessation of hostilities”. “The next foundation stone on a path to inclusion, and lasting de-escalation, is a complete exchange of hostages and detainees, the logistics of which are in process,” he wrote on X.
Kenan Azzam, a dentist, said there was an uneasy calm but the city’s residents were struggling with a lack of water and electricity. “The hospitals are a disaster and out of service, and there are still so many dead and wounded,” he said by phone.
Another resident, Raed Khazaal, said aid was urgently needed. “Houses are destroyed … The smell of corpses is spread throughout the national hospital,” he said in a voice message to Reuters from Sweida.
The Syrian state news agency said an aid convoy sent to the city by the government was refused entry while aid organized by the Syrian Red Crescent was let in. A source familiar with the situation said local factions in Sweida had turned back the government convoy.
Israeli public broadcaster Kan reported on Sunday that Israel sent urgent medical aid to the Druze in Sweida and the step was coordinated with Washington and Syria. Spokespeople for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the Foreign Ministry and the military did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The Druze are a small but influential minority in Syria, Israel and Lebanon who follow a religion that is an offshoot of a branch of Shi’ite Islam. Some hardline Sunnis deem their beliefs heretical.
The fighting began a week ago with clashes between Bedouin and Druze fighters. Damascus sent troops to quell the fighting, but they were drawn into the violence and accused of widespread violations against the Druze.
Residents of the predominantly Druze city said friends and neighbours were shot at close range in their homes or in the streets by Syrian troops, identified by their fatigues and insignia.
Sharaa on Thursday promised to protect the rights of Druze and to hold to account those who committed violations against “our Druze people.”
He has blamed the violence on “outlaw groups.”
While Sharaa has won US backing since meeting President Donald Trump in May, the violence has underscored the challenge he faces stitching back together a country shattered by 14 years of conflict, and added to pressures on its mosaic of sectarian and ethnic groups.
COASTAL VIOLENCE
After Israel bombed Syrian government forces in Sweida and hit the defense ministry in Damascus last week, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel had established a policy demanding the demilitarization of territory near the border, stretching from the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights to the Druze Mountain, east of Sweida.
He also said Israel would protect the Druze.
The United States however said it did not support the Israeli strikes. On Friday, an Israeli official said Israel agreed to allow Syrian forces limited access to the Sweida area for two days.
A Syrian security source told Reuters that internal security forces had taken up positions near Sweida, establishing checkpoints in western and eastern parts of the province where retreating tribal fighters had gathered.
On Sunday, Sharaa received the report of an inquiry into violence in Syria’s coastal region in March, where Reuters reported in June that Syrian forces killed 1,500 members of the Alawite minority following attacks on security forces.
The presidency said it would review the inquiry’s conclusions and ensure steps to “bring about justice” and prevent the recurrence of “such violations.” It called on the inquiry to hold a news conference on its findings – if appropriate – as soon as possible.
The Syrian Network for Human Rights said on July 18 it had documented the deaths of at least 321 people in Sweida province since July 13. The preliminary toll included civilians, women, children, Bedouin fighters, members of local groups and members of the security forces, it said, and the dead included people killed in field executions by both sides.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, another monitoring group, has reported a death toll of at least 940 people.
Reuters could not independently verify the tolls.
The post Calm Reported in Syria’s Sweida, Damascus Says Truce Holding first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Pope Leo Calls for End to ‘Barbarity of War’ After Strike on Gaza Church
Pope Leo XIV leads the Angelus prayer in Castel Gandolfo, Italy, July 20, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Yara Nardi TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
Pope Leo called for an end to the “barbarity of war” on Sunday as he spoke of his profound pain over an Israeli strike on the sole Catholic church in Gaza.
Three people died and several were injured, including the parish priest, in the strike on the Holy Family Church compound in Gaza City on Thursday. Photos show its roof has been hit close to the main cross, scorching the stone facade, and shattering windows.
Speaking after his Angelus prayer, Leo read out the names of those killed in the incident.
“I appeal to the international community to observe humanitarian law and respect the obligation to protect civilians as well as the prohibition of collective punishment, of indiscriminate use of force and forced displacement of the population,” he said.
The post Pope Leo Calls for End to ‘Barbarity of War’ After Strike on Gaza Church first appeared on Algemeiner.com.