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UW-Madison, Binghamton, Edina school district under federal investigation

The publication Campus Reform says it called for the investigation of the two universities for Jew-hatred, while the school district had a board meeting disrupted with antisemitic chants.

University of Wisconsin-Madison
University of Wisconsin-Madison. Credit: Jacob Boomsma/Shutterstock.

In its weekly announcement of open Title VI inquiries of alleged discrimination based on race or other shared ancestry, the U.S. Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights listed investigations of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, SUNY Binghamton University and the Edina Public Schools district in Minnesota.

Zachary Marschall, editor-in-chief of Campus Reform, wrote that he filed the complaint against UW-Madison alleging that the school failed to protect Jewish students.

“The University of Wisconsin-Madison is aware of a Title VI complaint that the university failed to respond to alleged harassment of students on the basis of national origin (shared Jewish ancestry),” a school spokesperson told Campus Reform. “The university will cooperate fully with the Department of Education’s investigation.”

Marschall and Campus Reform also took credit for the investigation of Binghamton. “Marschall wrote in the complaint that Binghamton hasn’t properly responded to ‘very clear threats’ to Jewish students,” the publication reported.

In December, protesters disrupted an Edina school-board meeting to support two students who were suspended for chanting “from the river to the sea” at an anti-Israel protest at the school.

“This is what antisemitism looks like when people get comfortable,” said an Arizona state representative, who sits on the same school board. “This is what hatred looks like when it finds a seat at the table.”
“No student in Nebraska should ever have to hide their faith, their heritage or who they are out of fear,” Jim Pillen said.
“Congregations have to consider the unthinkable and prepare for the worst,” Sen Rick Scott said, noting a nearly 900% increase in Jew-hatred nationally over the last decade.
“The secretary reaffirmed that the U.S. fully supports the government of Lebanon as it works to seize a historic opportunity to deliver peace,” said State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott.
“We have a lot of conversations, but just not on this one topic,” the New York governor said.
A letter to the New York Times Company seeks an inspection of documents meant to investigate whether the paper bypassed its corporate governance.