Columbia University was cited for violating federal civil rights law by allegedly “acting with deliberate indifference towards student-on-student harassment of Jewish students” since the Oct. 7, 2023 terrorist attack on Israel, the Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights said.
This is the Trump administration’s latest action taken against prominent universities. On Thursday, the Trump administration barred Harvard University from allowing international students to enroll at the university — a move the university said is not legal — because they have “turned their once-great institution into a hotbed of anti-American, anti-Semitic, pro-terrorist agitators,” White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said.
HHS alleged that Columbia violated Title VI, which prohibits those receiving federal financial assistance from discriminating in its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, or national origin — including discrimination against individuals based on their actual or perceived Israeli or Jewish identity or ancestry.
The notice, both from HHS and the Department of Education, “articulates extensive factual findings that span a period of over 19 months in which the University continually failed to protect Jewish students,” the government said in its announcement. “The findings are based on information and documents obtained during the investigation, including witness interviews; examination of written policies and procedures; reliable media reports that contemporaneously capture anti-Semitic incidents and events at Columbia University; and reports from Columbia University’s own Task Force on Antisemitism.”
“The findings carefully document the hostile environment Jewish students at Columbia University have had to endure for over 19 months, disrupting their education, safety, and well-being,” said Anthony Archeval, Acting Director of the Office for Civil Rights at HHS. “We encourage Columbia University to work with us to come to an agreement that reflects meaningful changes that will truly protect Jewish students.
A demonstrator burns her diploma as Columbia University and Barnard College students hold a graduation rally in support of Palestine in New York on May 21, 2025.
Afp Contributor#afp/AFP via Getty Images
The government said that Columbia University failed to take several actions, including failing to establish effective reporting mechanisms for antisemitism until the summer of 2024, failure to abide by its own policies and procedures when responding to Jewish students’ complaints as well as governing misconduct against Jewish students and not investigating or punishing vandalism in its classrooms.
“We understand this finding is part of our ongoing discussions with the government. Columbia is deeply committed to combatting antisemitism and all forms of harassment and discrimination on our campus,” Columbia University said in a statement of Friday morning. “We take these issues seriously and will work with the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Education to address them.”
In March, the university agreed to a list of demands from the Trump administration after it canceled $400 million worth of grants and contracts to the institution due to “continued inaction in the face of persistent harassment of Jewish students,” according to a statement from the Trump administration that month.
“Among them were exerting tighter controls over the university’s Middle East Studies department and examining campus activities since the anniversary of the Hamas attack on Israel.
In a statement from March 19, interim president Katrina Armstrong said: “Antisemitism, harassment, and discrimination of any kind are unacceptable and imperil both our sense of community as well as our very academic mission.”
