Two Southern California colleges have become the latest institutions to face allegations for “caving to the anti-Semitic mob and letting them bully, harass, and intimidate Jewish students,” amid student calls for divestment from Israel.
The Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law and the Anti-Defamation League announced on Thursday, May 9, that they have filed civil right complaints against Pomona College and Occidental College. Arnold & Porter, a prominent law firm headquartered in Washington D.C., has also joined in the complaint against Pomona.
In their complaints, filed with the the U.S. Department of Education’s Office, the groups accused the colleges of “permitting severe discrimination and harassment of Jewish students in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.”
According to the organizations, antisemitic incidents at both colleges have escalated significantly since the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks on Israel. Jewish and Israeli students have reportedly experienced harassment, name-calling, threats, and even physical assaults.
Amid pro-Palestinian protests decrying Isreal’s military actions in Gaza since Oct. 7, long simmering tensions over anti-semitism have grown louder across the country. All the while, administrators have had to grapple with where to draw the line between free speech and hate speech. And across Southern California and the nation, they face charges that they’ve let the protests devolve into security threats against Jewish students.
“Jewish students on these campuses are hiding in their dorms and avoiding their own campus rather than risk verbal and physical attacks,” Kenneth L. Marcus, founder and chairman of the Brandeis Center, said in a statement.
Marcus, who previously served as the U.S. Assistant Secretary of Education for Civil Rights, also criticized the school leaders for ignoring or taking little action to address students safety.
“Pomona and Occidental know full well this is happening. But instead of enforcing the law and their own policies, they are caving to the anti-Semitic mob and letting them bully, harass, and intimidate Jewish students,” he said. “Anti-Semitism left unaddressed will not go away. It will only snowball and escalate until the problem is faced head on as the law requires.”
In response to the complaints, Occidental College said that it “condemns antisemitism in any form” and will cooperate with any investigation.
“Occidental received today a redacted version of the complaint made by ADL and the Brandeis Center,” Rachael Warecki, a spokesperson for the college, said in a statement. “The college does not tolerate discrimination and condemns antisemitism in any form, and it will of course cooperate with the Office for Civil Rights in any subsequent investigation.”
The school’s Board of Trustees this week agreed to enter negotiation with the protesters and vote on divesting from Israel, according to reports.
A Gaza Solidarity Encampment by the Occidental College Students for Justice in Palestine on the campus of Occidental College in Eagle Rock on Monday, April 29, 2024. According to a press release by organizers of the event, “this network reflects a steadfast solidarity in our communal struggle against settler colonialism, Zionism, and US imperialism.” (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
At Pomona College — where on Thursday new signs and barricades have appeared around the pro-Palestinian encampment occupying the college’s commencement stage, just days before the ceremony — administrators echoed Occidental.
“Pomona College is committed to confronting antisemitism in a sustained and comprehensive manner,” officials said in a statement. “We will continue to enforce our policies, promote safety and actively challenge this destructive form of hate.”
In the complaint against Occidental College, the group listed several incidents to back their claim of the school’s “disparate treatment” against Jewish students, including the occupation of the school’s central administrative building by the Occidental Students for Justice in Palestine.
Similarly, the group criticized Pomona for allowing incidents of harassment, such as permitting a shrine created by students honoring “the Hamas terrorists” to remain in place for four calendar days before removing it. While Pomona President G. Gabrielle Starr’s took “laudable” actions to address the anti-semiticism behaviors, these efforts were “belated” as the opposition on campus had already grown too strong, the group said.
The latest action followed a similar complaint taken by the Jewish organizations in February against Berkeley K-12 public schools for “severe and persistent” antisemitism bullying. The group also lodged a similar complaint against UMass Amherst earlier this month.
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