The US government threatened Wednesday to strip New York’s Columbia University of its accreditation for allegedly ignoring harassment of Jewish students, putting all of its federal funding and prestige at risk.
With the move, the administration of President Donald Trump appeared to be doubling down on its efforts to bring several prestigious universities to heel over claims they tolerated campus anti-Semitism during protests against Israel’s war in Gaza.
Several top institutions, including Columbia University, have already bowed to far-reaching demands from the Trump administration, which claims that the educational elite is too left-wing.
“Columbia University looked the other way as Jewish students faced harassment,” US Education Secretary Linda McMahon said on X.
She accused the reputable Ivy League school of “breaking Title VI protections,” referring to a national law that prohibits recipients of federal funding from discriminating on the basis of race, color, or national origin.
“After Hamas’ October 7, 2023, terror attack on Israel, Columbia University’s leadership acted with deliberate indifference towards the harassment of Jewish students on its campus,” McMahon said in a statement.
‘Immoral’
“This is not only immoral, but also unlawful.”
In the statement, the US Education Department said its civil rights office had contacted Columbia’s accreditor about the alleged violation.
It said it had notified the Middle States Commission on Higher Education that “its member institution, Columbia University, is in violation of federal antidiscrimination laws and therefore fails to meet the standards for accreditation set by the Commission.”
Withdrawing Columbia’s accreditation would see it lose access to all federal funds.
Students attending the university would also not be able to receive federal grants and loans towards tuition.
Critics accuse the Trump administration of using allegations of anti-Semitism to target educational elites and bring universities to their knees.
The Trump administration has already put $400 million of Columbia’s funding under review, prompting the university in March to announce a package of concessions to the government around defining anti-Semitism, policing protests and conducting oversight for specific academic departments.
Following Wednesday’s announcement, a Columbia spokesperson said the university “aware of the concerns” raised by the government with its accreditor.
“We have addressed those concerns directly with Middle States,” the spokesperson said, adding that “Columbia is deeply committed to combating anti-Semitism on our campus.”
“We take this issue seriously and are continuing to work with the federal government to address it.”
Columbia found itself at the center of a firestorm last year over claims of anti-Semitism triggered by campus protests against the war in Gaza.
Some Jewish students claimed they were intimidated and that authorities did not act to protect them.
The protests that roiled Columbia and other US schools culminated in members of Trump’s Republican party grilling higher education leaders before Congress about anti-Semitism accusations.
Columbia’s former president Minouche Shafik resigned last August just weeks before the start of the new school year, citing scrutiny she faced over her handling of the demonstrations.
