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US Education Department Launches Probe Into Sarah Lawrence College Over Antisemitism Complaint
Illustrative: A pro-Hamas demonstrator uses a megaphone at Columbia University, on the one-year anniversary of Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack, amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict, in New York City, US, Oct. 7, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Mike Segar
The US Department of Education has opened a civil rights investigation into Sarah Lawrence College to determine whether it failed to correct an allegedly hostile environment caused by antisemitism.
The inquiry by the department’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) was precipitated by a complaint filed by Hillels of Westchester in March 2024. Among other things, the complaint alleged that only Jews who are “openly anti-Israel” are safe on campus and that those who express pro-Israel opinions are subject to browbeating, intimidation, and discrimination throughout the campus and in the school’s diversity office.
“In the face of systemic antisemitism at Sarah Lawrence College, spanning many years, our goal has always been — and remains — a safe, equitable environment for Jewish students,” Hillels of Westchester executive director Rachel Klein said in a statement announcing the news. “We hope this investigation initiates a meaningful culture shift at SLC [Sarah Lawrence College] to improve the campus and environment. We would welcome the opportunity to partner with the SLC administration in creating a safer school for Jewish students, and all gryphons.”
The complaint also alleged that anti-Zionist students at Sarah Lawrence threatened to kill Jews or kill themselves in front of them; that diversity officers assigned as advisers to the Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) club are in charge of processing complaints of antisemitism; and that those same diversity officers promote anti-Zionist events which undermine Israel’s existence.
The school’s alleged disregard for the welfare of Jewish students was revealed in the days and weeks after the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas’s massacre across southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, the complaint says. No sooner had the tragedy occurred than a diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) official at the college called on students to ignore Jewish suffering by attending on Oct. 9 “Hour of Solidarity with Palestine,” an event co-sponsored by SJP. While promoting the event, the official invited Jewish students and Hillel members via email to attend it — a gesture, the complaint says, that the SLC Jewish community found “offensive and dehumanizing.” They soon discovered that in addition to being a DEI administrator, the official was SJP’s adviser, in which capacity she functioned acting its advocate and liaison.
The official also allegedly refused to investigate anti-Zionist students accused of antisemitic harassment. When Sammy Tweedy, a Jewish student who had been in Israel on Oct. 7, reported to the official that an anti-Zionist student threatened to beat him up and said he had “the blood of Gaza on your hands” and should have been murdered by Hamas, the official would only agree to filing a no-contact order against the student.
“The hostile environment experienced by Jewish students at Sarah Lawrence College has been among the worst we’ve seen,” Hillel International chief executive officer Adam Lehman said in a statement. “Antisemitism on the SLC campus has been exacerbated by the administration’s continued refusal to take more aggressive steps to promote the safety and inclusion of its Jewish and Israeli students, faculty, and staff. We hope this investigation serves as a much needed wakeup call for the college’s leadership to take immediate action to honor the basic civil rights of its Jewish and Israeli students.”
A representative for the college told JTA that it was reviewing the Education Department’s requests for information and committed to fostering an inclusive environment.
“We are in the process of reviewing OCR’s request for data in connection with its investigation, and the college remains committed to fostering an inclusive and respectful campus community,” the school official said, adding that they considered Hillels of Westchester to be “an outside organization not affiliated with the college.”
OCR’s investigation of Sarah Lawrence College comes on the heels of many settlements it has negotiated with other higher education institutions since Hamas’s Oct. 7 invasion of Israel.
Rutgers University recently agreed to one to start off the new year after the agency developed “compliance concerns” with school officials’ handling of several antisemitic incidents, including someone’s calling for violence against an Israeli students, the graffitiing of a Jewish student’s door with a swastika, and a series of threats made against the predominantly Jewish Alpha Epsilon Pi (AEPi) fraternity.
Temple University in Philadelphia also settled a civil rights complaint with OCR in December, agreeing to address what OCR described as several reports of discrimination and harassment, including “incidents of antisemitic, anti-Muslim, and anti-Palestinian conduct.”
As part of the resolution of the case, Temple University agreed, for example, to enact “remedial” policies for past, inadequately managed investigations of discrimination and to apprise OCR of every discrimination complaint it receives until the conclusion of the 2025-2026 academic year. The university will also conduct a “climate” survey to measure students’ opinions on the severity of discrimination on campus, the results of which will be used to “create an action plan” which OCR did not define but insisted on its being “subject to OCR approval.”
Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.
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Ousted US Reps. Jamaal Bowman, Cori Bush to Star in New Show on Anti-Israel Zeteo Network
US Reps. Cori Bush (left), Jamaal Bowman (right), and Rashida Tlaib (center). Photo: Reuters
Former US Democratic Reps. Jamaal Bowman and Cori Bush are set to launch a new show on the controversial anti-Israel Zeteo network.
On Thursday, Zeteo founder Mehdi Hasan, a prominent anti-Israel journalist, announced that Bowman and Bush have agreed to star in a new monthly show on his network.
Let’s go baby! https://t.co/dgoMhBVYRW
— Jamaal Bowman Ed.D. (@JamaalBowmanNY) February 20, 2025
In the trailer, the former lawmakers say that their show “Bowman & Bush” will expose the shady inner-workings and backroom dealings of the federal government.
“We’ll be breaking down what’s really happening in Washington, DC,” Bowman says.
Bush, one of the most strident opponents against Israel during her term in office, laments in the trailer that “outside groups, including AIPAC, spent millions and millions of dollars to unseat me, to try to silence me.”
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), the most prominent pro-Israel lobbying group in the US, spent millions of dollars last year in the Democratic primary races of Bush and Bowman, both progressive firebrands, successfully unseating them.
Bush explains in the trailer that her show will deliver an unvarnished look into the
the corruption, the lobbying, the big money” that influences federal politics, “and how it could all be working better for you.”
Following Hamas’s invasion of and massacre across southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, both Bush and Bowman issued intense criticism of the Jewish state’s defensive military efforts in Gaza.
The progressive former lawmakers called for a “ceasefire” between Israel and the Hamas terrorist group less than a month removed from the Oct. 7 massacre. They each falsely accused Israel of engaging in an array of war crimes in Gaza, including “genocide,” “ethnic cleansing,” and imposing a “famine.” The duo also dismissed Israel’s counterterrorism initiatives in the West Bank as “apartheid.”
Bowman specifically, declared the mass rapes of Israeli women on Oct. 7 a “hoax,” before walking back his comments following widespread backlash. He has accused Israel of advancing “white nationalism” and “settler colonialism” and also suggested he may no longer support Israel’s unequivocal right to exist or defend itself.
Bush ultimately lost her reelection campaign to St. Louis attorney Wesley Bell in August while making her opposition to Israel a key talking point of the race. Bowman came up short against Westchester County executive George Latimer.
Zeteo, the network on which “Bowman & Bush” is set to air, has positioned itself as a major source of anti-Israel content creation. Hasan, the network’s founder and main host, has declared the ongoing war in Gaza a “genocide” and repeatedly pressured US lawmakers to implement an arms embargo against the Jewish state.
Moreover, Zeteo’s high production value and elaborate sets have raised questions surrounding its funding sources, with critics alleging it has received money from Qatar. In response, Hasan has denied receiving “any money from foreign governments or foreign citizens,” adding that “every investor in Z is an American citizen [who] has nothing to do with Qatar.”
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EU and Israel Resume Dialogue With Focus on Gaza’s Future
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar speaks next to High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission Kaja Kallas, and EU commissioner for the Mediterranean Dubravka Suica as they hold a press conference on the day of an EU-Israel Association Council with European Union foreign ministers in Brussels, Belgium, Feb. 24, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Yves Herman
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar called for a constructive dialogue but braced for criticism from some European countries as he arrived for talks on Monday in Brussels.
The Israeli minister is meeting senior European officials, reviving a dialogue with the European Union as the bloc considers a role in the reconstruction of Gaza following last month’s fragile ceasefire deal.
“I’m looking for a constructive dialogue, an open and honest one, and I believe that this is what it will be,” Saar told reporters on arrival.
“We know how to face criticism,” he said, adding “it’s okay as long as criticism is not connected to delegitimization, demonization, or double standards … but we are ready to discuss everything with an open mind.”
Saar will co-chair a meeting of the EU–Israel Association Council with EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas in the first such session since 2022. Talks are set to focus on the humanitarian situation in Gaza, Israeli-Palestinian relations, and changing regional dynamics.
The Israeli foreign minister said that within the EU “there are very friendly countries, there are less friendly countries,” but that Monday’s meeting showed a willingness to renew normal relations.
The Hamas attacks on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and Israel‘s response, exposed sharp divisions within the EU. While all members condemned the Hamas attacks, some staunchly defended Israel‘s war in Gaza as others condemned Israel‘s military campaign and its toll on civilians.
COMPROMISE
In February 2024, the leaders of Spain and Ireland sent a letter to the European Commission asking for a review of whether Israel was complying with its human rights obligations under the 2000 EU–Israel Association Agreement, which provides the basis for political and economic cooperation between the two sides.
But ahead of Monday’s meeting, the bloc’s 27 member countries negotiated a compromise position that praises areas of cooperation with Israel while also raising concerns.
At the meeting, the EU will emphasize both Europe’s commitment to Israel‘s security and its view that “displaced Gazans should be ensured a safe and dignified return to their homes in Gaza,” according to a draft document seen by Reuters.
Earlier this month, US President Donald Trump shocked Arab nations and Western allies by proposing the United States “take over” Gaza, displacing its Palestinian inhabitants and creating the “Riviera of the Middle East.”
The war started when Hamas-led terrorists launched a cross-border attack on Israeli communities that killed 1,200 people and took 251 hostages.
Israel responded with a military campaign aimed at freeing the hostages and dismantling Hamas’s military and governing capabilities in neighboring Gaza.
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Merz Says He Will Find Way for Netanyahu to Visit Germany Without Being Arrested
Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party leader Friedrich Merz speaks at the party headquarters, after the exit poll results are announced for the 2025 general election, in Berlin, Germany, Feb. 23, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Angelika Warmuth
Germany’s likely next chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Monday he had invited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to visit and would find a way for him to do so without being arrested under a warrant by the International Criminal Court.
“I think it is a completely absurd idea that an Israeli prime minister cannot visit the Federal Republic of Germany,” Merz said at a press conference, a day after his conservatives won the largest share of the vote in a national election.
Merz said he had told Netanyahu by phone “that we would find ways and means for him to visit Germany and leave again without being arrested.”
Netanyahu’s office said the Israeli leader had congratulated Merz. It also said Merz had told Netanyahu he would invite him to Germany “in defiance of the scandalous International Criminal Court decision to label the prime minister a war criminal.”
The Hague-based ICC has issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his former defense minister as well as Hamas officials for alleged war crimes committed in Gaza.
All 27 EU countries including Germany are signatories of the founding treaty of the court, the only permanent international tribunal for war crimes and crimes against humanity, which requires members to arrest its suspects on their territory.
The ICC said that states have a legal obligation to enforce its decisions, and any concerns they may have should be addressed with the court in a timely and efficient manner.
“It is not for states to unilaterally determine the soundness of the court’s legal decisions,” said the ICC.
Israel rejects the jurisdiction of the court and denies war crimes, noting its military forces in Gaza have been targeting Hamas terrorists, who hide their weapons, operations centers, and other military infrastructure within and underneath civilian sites.
Germans feel a special responsibility towards Israel due to the legacy of the Holocaust, and Merz has made clear he is a strong ally. But Germany also has a strong tradition of support for international justice for war crimes.
The Left party called Merz’s invitation a “disaster” and accused him of “double standards.”
Germany has always insisted that international arrest warrants must be implemented, said Left co-leader Jan van Aken.
“If Vladimir Putin comes to Germany, then this arrest warrant must be implemented. The same applies to Netanyahu,” said Aken, referring to an ICC arrest warrant issued for the Russian leader over the deportation of children from Ukraine.
The war in Gaza started when Hamas-led terrorists launched a cross-border attack on Israeli communities, killing 1,200 people and capturing more than 250 hostages.
Israel responded with a military campaign aimed at freeing the hostages and dismantling Hamas’s military and governing capabilities in neighboring Gaza.
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