Published by Politico on 11/20/23; Story by Bianca Quilantan. WHAT IS THE DEPARTMENT INVESTIGATING? — The Education Department last week announced seven new investigations into incidents of antisemitism and Islamophobia at schools. However, the department does not comment on ongoing investigations and officials cautioned that just because a school is under investigation does not mean it has broken the law. So, little to no details are available of the specific incidents they are investigating, but the department said it would update its list of investigations weekly. — But here is what we do know: Five of the complaints filed with the Office for Civil Rights allege antisemitic harassment and two allege anti-Muslim harassment. At least two of the investigations — against the University of Pennsylvania and Wellesley College — were spurred by complaints filed by the Brandeis Center on behalf of Jewish students. — “This might be a sign that OCR just gets it,” said Kenneth Marcus, founder of the Brandeis Center and former assistant secretary for civil rights in the Trump and George W. Bush administrations. “They’re moving so quickly that it seems like they’re actually trying to send a message, whether to the Jewish community or to higher education, or to both. OCR seldom moves this quickly and to open this many cases as a batch really does send a signal.” Kenneth Marcus, founder of the Brandeis Center. | Susan Walsh/AP Photo — “In the one-month period between Oct. 7 and Nov. 7, ADL documented at least 124 antisemitic incidents on college campuses, a dramatic and shocking increase from only 12 incidents during the same period a year ago,” said Jonathan Greenblatt, national director of the Anti-Defamation League, who lauded the Education Department’s investigations. ADL and other Jewish organizations launched the “Campus Antisemitism Legal Line,” a helpline for legal protection for students who have faced antisemitism. — Both of the complaints we know about were filed in response to campus demonstrations and rhetoric in response to the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks on Israel. The complaint against Penn alleges that the school has created a “hostile environment for its Jewish students.” The complaint cited the school’s participation in a “Palestine Writes Festival” in September, which the Brandeis Center said featured speakers who featured “antisemitic rhetoric” and spurred antisemitic graffiti and a Penn student’s “violent attack on Penn’s Hillel.” — About two weeks later — after the Oct. 7 attacks — students held rallies in support of Hamas’ actions. According to the complaint, the rallies chanted statements such as “There is only one solution: intifada resolution” and “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.” Some staff also reported getting antisemitic emails threatening violence. — Penn has responded to security threats, the group said, but President Liz Magill has not “condemned the rallies or professors’ antisemitic statements.” The Brandeis Center called Magill’s statements “inadequate” and urged the Education Department to investigate whether the school is violating civil rights law and “nurturing a hostile environment toward Jewish students.” — University officials have said they will cooperate with the investigation. Magill has also announced the formation of a task force on antisemitism to counter and combat the form of discrimination. MORE ON THE INVESTIGATIONS — At Wellesley College, a complaint from the Brandeis Center and Jewish on Campus alleges that a residential adviser sent an email saying “that there should be no space, no consideration, and no support for Zionism within the Wellesley College community.” A second email was sent with an apology, but the RA posted on social media that the apology email was sent with a “gun to my head.” — Wellesley President Paula Johnson did not call out the email, but encouraged students to attend a panel that faculty were hosting about the conflict. Jewish students, however, felt marginalized by the event that they said “minimized the atrocities committed by Hamas.” The Brandeis Center and Jewish on Campus are urging the Education Department to investigate the school and to require staff to undergo training about antisemitism. — “Wellesley responded quickly and decisively to the incident involving student leaders in a residence hall detailed in the Brandeis Center complaint and has shared its response in multiple communications to our community, while making clear antisemitism has no place at Wellesley,” the college said in a statement to the Boston Herald. — More investigations are still expected to be launched, according to Education Secretary Miguel Cardona, and several advocacy groups have confirmed to your host that more complaints are in the works. Some schools, including Columbia University, say they have received their investigation notifications and will cooperate. Cornell University, however, declined to comment on the investigation announcement. — Cardona on Friday said he is willing to withhold federal funds from schools that are not willing to protect students from discrimination. “It’s our responsibility to protect them and we’re doing everything in our power to enforce that,” Cardona said. “And if we see that there are places that are not doing it, we’re gonna open up an investigation. We’re gonna provide support, but we’re gonna open up an investigation to make sure that we’re doing our job as educators.”