UMass Amherst faces Department of Education investigation for 'violent antisemitic assault'

UMass Amherst is the latest local school that’s being targeted by the feds for alleged antisemitism.

The Department of Education has opened an investigation into the UMass flagship campus following a “violent antisemitism assault” in the wake of the Oct. 7 Hamas terror attack.

The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights recently launched an investigation into UMass Amherst for alleged discrimination involving shared ancestry — which is under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The feds also opened probes against Yale University, American University and Scripps College.

These complaints were filed by The Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, alongside the Anti-Defamation League, National Jewish Advocacy Center, and Jewish on Campus.

The UMass Amherst complaint was filed to the feds last April 30.

“The complaint alleged that the University discriminated against your client (Student) on the basis of his national origin (Jewish ancestry) when it failed to respond appropriately to harassment of the Student during the 2023-2024 school year,” a Department of Education official wrote in a letter this week.

“OCR will investigate the following issue: Whether the University failed to respond to alleged harassment of the Student on the basis of national origin (Jewish ancestry) in a manner consistent with the requirements of Title VI,” the DOE letter reads. “Please note that opening an investigation does not mean that OCR has made a final determination with regard to the merits.”

According to the complaint, a UMass Amherst senior attending a “Bring Them Home” solidarity event after the Oct. 7 terror attack was repeatedly punched and kicked by a student. A small Israeli flag was reportedly ripped from his hand, stabbed and thrown in a trash can. He was also called a “Zionist (expletive).”

While the university condemned the attack, the groups said UMass Amherst did little beyond that.

“Even after a violent antisemitic assault on campus, UMass has done nothing to make Jewish students feel safe and, infuriatingly, this assault is the tip of the iceberg – part of a persistent pattern of enabling hate against Jews,” ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said last year when the complaint was filed.

“This is a textbook example of an administration that is deliberately indifferent and negligent – the U.S. Department of Education must intervene immediately,” he added.

Following the incident, the alleged assailant was arrested by the UMass Police Department, was barred from campus, and is no longer enrolled at UMass Amherst.

“The university has no control over the court’s adjudication of this case,” UMass Amherst said in a statement on Thursday.

“The University of Massachusetts Amherst does not tolerate discrimination based on national origin,” the university added. “Additionally, the university has condemned hatred in all forms, including antisemitism. The University of Massachusetts Amherst will cooperate fully with the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights.”

Any individual or organization is free to file a complaint with the Office of Civil Rights regarding allegations of discrimination, and OCR is obligated to evaluate every complaint it receives, the university said in its statement.

“We welcome the Department of Education’s move to open investigations into ADL and the Brandeis Center’s joint filings at UMASS Amherst; Yale University; and Scripps College,” said ADL VP of National Litigation, James Pasch.

“The experiences of the Jewish students at these institutions have been emblematic of what we have seen across the country, and that must change, and it must change now,” he added. “Jewish students being threatened, harassed, and in some instances assaulted, have no place on our campuses, and we hope these investigations will yield positive changes that reverberates on campuses coast-to-coast.”

The Yale University complaint alleges that Jewish and Israeli students have been pushed, obstructed and threatened trying to move about campus.

The American University complaint alleges that AU was aware of the pervasive and hostile environment for Jewish students, and the university chose to retaliate against Jewish whistleblowers by subjecting them to disciplinary proceedings.

The Scripps College complaint alleges the school repeatedly abandoned Jewish and Israeli students targeted by antisemitic harassment.

“There has been some concern around what changes to the Department of Education would mean for fighting campus and K-12 antisemitism,” said Kenneth Marcus, chairman of the Brandeis Center and the former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Education. “We are pleased to see the Department continuing to move forward rapidly on Title VI complaints, and in some cases, they are well exceeding historical norms for prompt action.”

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