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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.

The post US Education Department Launches Probe Into Sarah Lawrence College Over Antisemitism Complaint first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Germany’s Scholz Rebukes Vance, Defends Europe’s Stance on Hate Speech and Far Right

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz speaks to the media after he met former prisoners following the largest prisoner exchange between Russia and the West in decades, at the military area of Cologne Bonn Airport in Cologne, Germany, August 1, 2024. Photo: Christoph Reichwein/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz delivered a strong rebuke on Saturday to US Vice President JD Vance’s attack on Europe’s stance toward hate speech and the far right, saying it was not right for others to tell Germany and Europe what to do.

Vance lambasted European leaders on Friday, the first day of the Munich Security Conference, accusing them of censoring free speech and criticizing German mainstream parties’ “firewall” against the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD).

“That is not appropriate, especially not among friends and allies. We firmly reject that,” Scholz told the conference on Saturday, adding there were “good reasons” not to work with the AfD.

The anti-immigration party, currently polling at around 20% ahead of Germany’s February 23 national election, has pariah status among other major German parties in a country with a taboo about ultranationalist politics because of its Nazi past.

“Never again fascism, never again racism, never again aggressive war. That is why an overwhelming majority in our country opposes anyone who glorifies or justifies criminal National Socialism,” Scholz said, referring to the ideology of Adolf Hitler’s 1933-45 Nazi regime.

Vance met on Friday with the leader of AfD, after endorsing the party as a political partner — a stance Berlin dismissed as unwelcome election interference.

Referring more broadly to Vance’s criticism of Europe’s curtailing of hate speech, which he has likened to censorship, Scholz said: “Today’s democracies in Germany and Europe are founded on the historic awareness and realization that democracies can be destroyed by radical anti-democrats.

“And this is why we’ve created institutions that ensure that our democracies can defend themselves against their enemies, and rules that do not restrict or limit our freedom but protect it.”

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot added his voice to the defense of Europe’s stance on hate speech.

“No one is required to adopt our model but no one can impose theirs on us,” Barrot said on X from Munich. “Freedom of speech is guaranteed in Europe.”

UKRAINE

The prospect of talks to end the Ukraine-Russia war had been expected to dominate the annual Munich conference after a phone call between US President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin this week, but Vance barely mentioned Russia or Ukraine in his speech to the gathering on Friday.

Instead, he said the threat to Europe that worried him most was not Russia or China but what he called a retreat from fundamental values of protecting free speech – as well as immigration, which he said was “out of control” in Europe.

Many conference delegates watched Vance’s speech in stunned silence. There was little applause as he delivered his remarks.

Asked by the panel moderator if he thought there was anything in Vance’s speech worth reflecting on, Scholz drew laughter and applause in the crowd when he responded, in a deadpan manner: “You mean all these very relevant discussions about Ukraine and security in Europe?”

The post Germany’s Scholz Rebukes Vance, Defends Europe’s Stance on Hate Speech and Far Right first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Trump Team to Start Russia-Ukraine Peace Talks in Saudi Arabia in Coming Days, Politico Reports

US Rep. Mike Waltz (R-FL) speaks on Day 1 of the Republican National Convention (RNC) at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, US, July 15, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Mike Segar

Senior officials from US President Donald Trump’s administration will start peace talks with Russian and Ukrainian negotiators in Saudi Arabia in the coming days, Politico reported on Saturday, citing sources familiar with the plan.

US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff will travel to Saudi Arabia, the report said. Special envoy for Ukraine-Russia talks, Keith Kellogg, will not be in attendance, according to the report.

The post Trump Team to Start Russia-Ukraine Peace Talks in Saudi Arabia in Coming Days, Politico Reports first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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UN Peacekeeping Mission Deputy Commander Injured After Convoy Attacked in Beirut

FILE PHOTO: A UN peacekeepers (UNIFIL) vehicle is seen next to piled up debris at Beirut’s port, Lebanon October 23, 2020. Photo: REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir/File Photo

The outgoing deputy force commander of the United Nations Interim Force (UNIFIL) in Lebanon was injured on Friday after a convoy taking peacekeepers to Beirut airport was “violently attacked,” UNIFIL said.

The mission demanded a full and immediate investigation by Lebanese authorities and for all perpetrators to be brought to justice, it said in a statement.

Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun condemned the attack on Saturday, saying that security forces would not tolerate anyone who tries to destabilize the country, according to a statement from his office.

The French government also condemned the attack.

“France calls on the Lebanese security forces to guarantee the security of blue-helmet peacekeeping forces, and calls on Lebanon’s judicial authorities to shed all light on this unacceptable attack and to go after those responsible,” the French foreign ministry said in a statement on Saturday.

Lebanon’s Interior Minister Ahmad al-Hajjar called for an emergency meeting before noon on Saturday to discuss the security situation, Lebanese state news agency NNA reported.

“He affirmed the Lebanese government’s rejection of this assault that is considered a crime against UNIFIL forces,” NNA reported, citing the minister.

He also gave instructions to work on identifying the perpetrators and referring them to the relevant judicial authorities.

The minister told reporters on Saturday that more than 25 people had been detained for investigation over the attack.

The United States earlier condemned the attack. A State Department statement said the attack was carried out “reportedly by a group of Hezbollah supporters”, referring to the Iran-backed militant group in Lebanon.

The post UN Peacekeeping Mission Deputy Commander Injured After Convoy Attacked in Beirut first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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