New York University settles anti-Semitism case with Education Department
In what’s believed to be the first case that’s come up since President Donald Trump’s executive order last year aimed at addressing anti-Semitism on campuses, the Education Department and New York University have settled a complaint that alleged NYU hasn’t done enough to prevent “ a hostile environment” for Jews on the campus.
The settlement, in which NYU acknowledged no wrongdoing, and the Education Department’s decision to take on the case was praised by some for recognizing what some believe to be a contemporary form of anti-Semitism, in which criticism of Israel goes beyond opposing its policies to opposing its very existence.
A lawyer representing a Jewish Mexican NYU graduate who brought the complaint said the settlement could have wide-ranging implications affecting how universities handle campus debates over Middle East policy, to the point of disciplinary students. The settlement also raised concerns from some advocates of campus free speech that it could stifle criticism of Israel on campus.
Under the agreement to settle the department’s investigation of the complaint, the university, among other things, agrees to add discrimination based on shared ancestry and ethnic characteristics, including anti-Semitism, to its nondiscrimination and antiharassment policy; address and ameliorate such discrimination on campus,
