Antisemitism investigation launched at the University of Minnesota

The University of Minnesota in the Twin Cities is under investigation by the U.S. Department of Education, which is looking into cases of reported antisemitism across the country.

As part of President Trump’s executive order to combat antisemitism, the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) announced Monday they would be investigating five universities where “widespread antisemitic harassment has been reported.”

The universities under investigation include:

• The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
• Columbia University
• Northwestern University
• Portland University
• The University of California, Berkeley

According to the DOE, the investigations are in response to antisemitism on American campuses following the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

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“Too many universities have tolerated widespread antisemitic harassment and the illegal encampments that paralyzed campus life last year, driving Jewish life and religious expression underground,” Craig Trainor, the Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights said. “The Biden Administration’s toothless resolution agreements did shamefully little to hold those institutions accountable. Today, the Department is putting universities, colleges, and K-12 schools on notice: this administration will not tolerate continued institutional indifference to the wellbeing of Jewish students on American campuses, nor will it stand by idly if universities fail to combat Jew hatred and the unlawful harassment and violence it animates.”

As reported in June of last year, windows at Minnesota Hillel the university’s Jewish student organization were vandalized. University police said no one was inside at the time of the incident.

In October, nearly a dozen pro-Palestinian protesters were arrested after vandalizing and barricading Morrill Hall, also located at the campus.

Earlier in the year, protests were held at the campus for days, causing the university’s president to meet with students.

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5 EYEWITNESS NEWS reached out to the University of Minnesota for a comment on the investigation and received the following response:

“The University received notice of this investigation from the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights on Monday afternoon and will be reviewing the details in the days ahead. We are confident in our approach to combating hate and bias on our campus and will fully cooperate with this investigation. The University continues to stand firmly against antisemitism. We have and will continue to respond promptly and fully to any reports of harassment, intimidation, or bias against Jewish students – or any other members of our University community – in accordance with our University values, our own policies, and our responsibility under the law.”

Also in June, the university announced it had paused its search for a new director of its Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies after two board members resigned following the position being offered to an applicant who had published an article six days after Hamas’ attack on Israel. The article argued that by fighting back, Israel was guilty of committing genocide against Gazans.

Members of the Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) of Minnesota and the Dakotas also sounded off on the investigation, saying they welcome it, and also appreciate the university’s pledge to cooperate. However, the group’s statement also said antisemitism at the university reflects a broader national crisis, adding that Jewish members of the U of M community have “faced unacceptable antisemitism at graduation ceremonies, in classrooms and from faculty statements.”

The DOE said they will be working with the Department of Justice and the Department of Health and Human Services to investigate.