Jewish students at American University in Washington DC have filed a federal complaint alleging “widespread and pervasive anti-Semitism” on campus after they were investigated for filming pro-Palestinian vandals tearing down Israeli hostage posters.
In a 26-page complaint, students say they have experienced all types of anti-Semitism, including threats, spitting, classroom attacks and insults such as “Zionist pig.”
The most disturbing incident was that the Jewish students sent a video to university authorities that showed Gaza “hostage” posters being removed by other people on campus.
The posters they tore down contained the names and faces of the 240 civilians kidnapped during the October 7 terrorist attacks in Israel.
But instead of prosecuting the perpetrators who tore down the posters, the university instead turned the tables and launched an investigation into the Jewish students who filmed the footage.
Students at American University in Washington DC have filed a federal complaint alleging “rampant and pervasive anti-Semitism” on campus
A poster for a Jewish student's piano recital was destroyed with yellow marker, someone crossed out the student's face and daubed it with “Death to Zionists.” “Hitler was right,” across it
The torn posters were similar to those seen here in Tel Aviv late last year
The Jewish students were charged with harassment and disorderly conduct for recording the incidents.
The office justified the other student group's actions by saying they were “removing unauthorized posts.” Still, the university's guidelines state: “No community member should remove or deface a poster.”
The students were particularly selective about removing “unauthorized” posters and were filmed removing only “hostage” posters and not other flyers in “unauthorized” locations, the complaint continues.
“This claim is a mere pretext. First, the students removed the Jewish student hostage posters in both authorized and supposedly “unauthorized” locations. Second, the students who removed the hostage posters replaced them with their own posters,” the complaint states.
The federal complaint filed by six American University students alleges the presence of “widespread and persistent anti-Semitism” on campus, with minimal response from the administration.
American University has a significant Jewish student body, with approximately 21 percent of undergraduates and 17 percent of postgraduates being Jewish.
There has been a rise in cases of anti-Semitism on college campuses across the country
American University students participate in a campus protest against the ongoing Israeli attacks on Gaza in Washington, DC, seen here in November
American University has a sizable Jewish student body, with approximately 21 percent of undergraduates and 17 percent of postgraduates of the Jewish faith. However, anti-Israel protests following the October 7 attacks continued throughout the fall
The Complaint The detailed 26-page complaint describes instances of threats, spitting incidents, attacks on classrooms and insults such as “Zionist pig.”
The complaint described the university administration's response as “harassing, discriminatory and retaliatory.”
The students had legally recorded the video in a public place “to support their claims of anti-Semitic vandalism, as their previous complaints had been summarily dismissed for lack of evidence.”
“The vandalists themselves are not being held responsible, only Jewish students are being investigated,” the file says.
The chairman of the Brandeis Center through which the complaint was filed, Kenneth Marcus, a former assistant secretary for civil rights at the Department of Education, criticized American University for neglecting its legal duty to protect Jewish students from unlawful targeting and harassment.
The chairman of the Brandeis Center, through which the student complaint was filed, Kenneth Marcus (pictured), criticized American University for neglecting its legal duty to protect Jewish students from unlawful targeting and harassment
“Shamefully, AU has repeatedly chosen to turn a blind eye to the anti-Semitism rampant on its campus,” Marcus said.
“Not only has the university failed in its legal obligation to protect Jewish students from illegal attacks and harassment, it is also attempting to harass those brave enough to speak out,” Marcus said.
“The university’s criminality is reprehensible and only signals to the AU community that there will be no consequences for those who harass, threaten, attack or shun Jewish and Israeli students, further emboldening those who are hostile to Jews.”
Marcus said that the university not only failed in its obligations, but also tried to intimidate those who spoke out against anti-Semitism – essentially creating an environment in which anyone who engages in harassment faces no consequences.
In one disturbing incident, two FBI agents had to provide security at a Jewish student's piano recital after “AU failed to ensure his safety.”
A poster for the event was destroyed with yellow marker, someone crossed out the student's face and daubed it with “Death to Zionists.” “Hitler was right,” on the other side of the front.
The student said he was called a “Zionist pig” and a “Zionist murderer.”
It then took another five days for the university to respond to his report, which only happened after he complained to professors.
Weeks after the Oct. 7 attacks, two Jewish college freshmen found their dorm doors vandalized with swastikas and a Nazi slogan found on the same floor.
American University President Sylvia Burwell quickly issued a statement declaring, “This hateful act of anti-Semitism is reprehensible.”
American University has responded, insisting that the institution is committed to supporting Jewish students and combating anti-Semitism.
“There is zero tolerance for anti-Semitism at AU,” Matthew Bennett, vice president and chief communications officer at American University, told The Washington Times.
“We take these issues and all concerns of our Jewish community seriously, review them and address them.”
Bennett said the allegations mentioned in the complaint were either misrepresented or misrepresented – some of which were previously unknown to the university.
He highlighted how the university took proactive measures to combat anti-Semitism two years ago amid a global rise in anti-Semitism.
The university says it has sought expertise from the Anti-Defamation League and conducted training for various groups within the university community.
Since the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks that killed more than 1,200 civilians, the Education Department's Office for Civil Rights has been bombarded with complaints about anti-Semitism on college campuses across the country.
Investigations have been launched at 50 universities, colleges and K-12 school districts.
Hillel International says there was a 700 percent increase in anti-Semitic incidents between October 7 and last Friday, January 18, compared to the same time last year.
Two investigations have been launched at Columbia University in New York: one on anti-Semitism; the other for Islamophobia.
Harvard President Claudine Gay at the congressional hearing on anti-Semitism on campus, where she refused to speak out against students who called for the genocide of Jews
Although free speech has been revered on college campuses for years, the Israel-Hamas war and its rhetoric appear to be widening the fault lines and pushing students to demand that campus leaders side with opposing versions of the freedom of expression.
Things came to a head in December when leaders of three elite colleges were called before Congress to testify about anti-Semitism on campus.
The then-presidents of Harvard, UPenn and MIT all attended a heated congressional hearing on anti-Semitism on campus.
The three presidents were all questioned for hours about the angry protests at their schools and their actions to protect Jewish students.
Former Harvard President Claudine Gay and her colleagues all condemned Hamas' actions and rejected anti-Semitism in general, but refused to speak out against students who called for the genocide of Jews.
Republican Elise Stefanik persistently questioned the leaders, demanding to know whether such calls violated their anti-bullying policies.
Liz Magill, the former president of UPenn, remains a tenured faculty member at Penn Carey Law
Gay responded that this decision was “context dependent” and when asked to clarify, he said: “Anti-Semitic rhetoric when it leads to behavior that amounts to bullying, harassment, intimidation – that is criminal behavior and we are taking action.” .”
All three universities acknowledged rising anti-Semitism and vowed to address it, but used their statements to say there had “also” been “increasing incidents of Islamophobia.”
The fallout ultimately contributed to Gay's resignation on January 2, who also faced mounting allegations of plagiarism after the hearing.
Her resignation followed the ouster in December of Liz Magill of the University of Pennsylvania, who changed her position on free speech on campus because of the backlash.