Surge in antisemitism investigations at US universities after October 7 attacks, data shows

"The data, compiled by the Middle East Studies Association and the American Association of University Professors and relying on publicly available records, offers a detailed account of how landmark civil rights legislation and particularly Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act has become a primary tool to restrict speech on campus. The provision, intended to prevent discrimination in educational institutions, was used by the Biden administration to target pro-Palestinian activism and later became the preferred weapon of the Trump administration to threaten universities with billions in funding cuts and impose its ideological priorities on issues that go well beyond antisemitism."

"In effect, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is no longer being used to address racial discrimination in higher education, said Asl Bali, president of the Middle East Studies Association. Instead, Title VI has been repurposed as part of the administration's broader effort to remake higher education in line with its rightwing political and cultural agenda."

"The report finds that investigations kept rising after 2023, with at least 39 new inquiries launched in 2024. They are on track to increase further this year, with at least 38 launched as of the end of September. As the number of antisemitism investigations rose, they eclipsed other discrimination cases: in the last year of the Biden administration, officials opened nearly twice as many inquiries over antisemitism allegations than over all other types of racial discrimination. Under Trump, the latter type appear to have ended altogether."

US government investigations into universities over antisemitism allegations surged after the 7 October 2023 attacks and Israel's subsequent war in Gaza. More investigations opened in the last two months of 2023 than in the previous two decades. Data compiled by the Middle East Studies Association and the American Association of University Professors from public records shows Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act has become a primary tool to restrict campus speech. The provision was used to target pro-Palestinian activism and to threaten universities with funding cuts while advancing ideological priorities beyond antisemitism. Investigations continued into 2024 and through September, eclipsing other racial discrimination inquiries.

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