Biden administration sends clear message on anti-Semitism

Days ago, the U.S. Education Department’s civil rights office, OCR, resolved a major anti-Semitism case at Kyrene School District #28 in Arizona. Not only did OCR call out anti-Semitism in this one school district, it used this primary school case to fire a shot across the bow of higher education administrators who have not taken sufficient action to protect their own Jewish students, suggesting important nationwide implications for a civil rights agency that has faced congressional pressure for delays in processing anti-Semitism cases.

The federal investigation concludes that the Kyrene District, which comprises K-8 schools, violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by failing to respond appropriately to harassment of a Jewish student by numerous classmates over a period of several months, both in school and on social media. Other students called the girl a “dirty Jew,” “stinky Jew,” and “filthy Jew.” They said, “I hear you are good at head because Jews are so good at gasping for air” and asked her “How do you get a Jewish girl’s number?” then “lift her sleeve,” referencing the location of tattoos which were used to identify inmates in Nazi concentration camps during the Holocaust. They created a pervasively hostile environment that too sadly resembles the situation students are facing around the country.

This case is a wakeup call. Under the new Resolution Agreement, the school district must, at a minimum, overhaul its policies and procedures. They should also hold the responsible administrators accountable. Other districts should take this as a signal to review their own policies. 

It is conspicuous and rare that OCR announces a case with a press release. Having headed the agency during two prior presidential administrations, I can say that such announcements are intended to send a nationwide signal.

Significantly, Assistant Secretary of Education Catharine E. Lhamon, used the release to identify a “distressing rise in reports of anti-Semitism on campuses across the country.” Lhamon is right to highlight the historic rise in anti-Semitism. Last year the Anti-Defamation League recorded the highest number of anti-Semitic incidents that it has ever seen in the United States. Internationally, other organizations found that worldwide anti-Semitism had also reached record levels. And the Louis D. Brandeis Center, the organization I head, found that 65 percent of strongly self-identified Jewish students surveyed have felt unsafe on campus and 50 percent have felt the need to hide their Jewish identity.

Some who read this statement might ask: Why would the Biden administration decry rising anti-Semitism “on campuses” when announcing its resolution of a primary school case, when “campus anti-Semitism” is most often used to describe the pandemic of Jew hatred at colleges and universities? It is unusual enough for the assistant secretary to make any announcement when resolving such a case. But it seems downright strange for her to use that opportunity to address the situation in higher education.

In fact, the timing is significant. When a high-level political appointee reaches down to a primary school case to make a statement about higher education, it is because she has an important statement that she wants to make as soon as possible, and any vehicle will do.

Over the last several months, OCR has quietly opened several cases involving systemic anti-Semitism in colleges, including cases brought by the Brandeis Center against Brooklyn College, the University of Illinois, and the University of Southern California. The issue was brought to a nationwide audience on Sunday night when CNN broadcasted a primetime special featuring an interview with my colleague, Alyza Lewin, and one of our college student clients.

Lhamon’s message is important, and not only to reassure the Jewish community that she gets the problem. It is especially important for its true audience, which is the higher education community. This administration had not publicly signaled its commitment to the rising campus problem, although President Biden and his team have been outspoken about anti-Semitism in other contexts. Through her new statement, Lhamon is effectively telling university leaders that they had better not ignore anti-Semitism on their campuses, because OCR will hold them accountable.

While Lhamon’s message is laudable, it must be followed by action. The Biden White House has announced that the Education Department will begin formal rulemaking later this year based on the prior administration’s executive order on anti-Semitism. It is critical that the Biden administration use this opportunity to enhance federal protections against campus anti-Semitism, just as each of the last three administration, in its own way, moved the ball forward. At a minimum, this should include reinforcing OCR’s use of the internationally agreed-upon IHRA Working Definition of Anti-Semitism, within the constitutional constraints that the prior administration adopted.

In the meantime, Lhamon’s announcement must be heard by university leaders. OCR has sent them a message: they must respond promptly and effectively to campus anti-Semitism. It is a message that they must diligently heed or face federal consequences.

Marcus is founder and chairman of the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law and author of The Definition of Anti-Semitism. He served as the 11th Assistant U.S. Secretary of Education for Civil Rights.