Department of Education investigates anti-Semitism and Islamophobia in several schools. | Digg India News
The Department of Education on Thursday launched an investigation into seven American schools and universities that have reported incidents of anti-Semitism and Islamophobia. CNN first reported.
The United States has seen a recent rise in anti-Semitic and Islamophobic incidents since war between Israel and Hamas broke out on October 7, including at schools and college campuses across the country.
Department of Education investigates anti-Semitism and Islamophobia in several schools. | Digg India News
On Thursday, the department released a list of schools and universities that will be under investigation, including a K-12 school in Kansas and universities in New York, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts.
Department of Education investigates anti-Semitism and Islamophobia in several schools. | Digg India News
The investigations, involving five cases of anti-Semitism and two cases of Islamophobia, were launched under a section of the Civil Rights Act that requires schools and universities to create discrimination-free environments for students.
“Hate has no place in our schools, period. “When students are targeted because they are (or are perceived to be) Jewish, Muslim, Arab, Sikh, or any other shared ethnicity or ancestry, schools must act to ensure safe and inclusive educational environments where everyone is free to learn,” he said. the Secretary of the United States. of Education Miguel Cardona said in a statement.
This is the first such investigation by the department since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas on October 7, CNN reported.
Students have reported experiencing threats of violence and discrimination in the wake of the ongoing war. According to the Anti-Defamation LeagueA total of 312 anti-Semitic incidents related to the war between Israel and Hamas were reported in the first two weeks since the October 7 attack, more than four times the number of incidents reported at the same time last year.
Last month, a Cornell University student was arrested for threatening violence against Jewish students, and at Drexel University, a Jewish student’s residence hall was burned down. NPR reported. Columbia University students also reported anti-Semitic threats of violence they faced. CBS News reported.
At American University, the police and the FBI investigated a death threat sent to a Palestinian employee last month. Members of a Harvard University student organization were also deceived after signing a pro-Palestinian letter.
Columbia and Cornell are on the Department of Education’s list of schools to investigate.
“The increase in reports of hate incidents on our college campuses in the wake of the conflict between Israel and Hamas is deeply traumatic for students and should be alarming for all Americans,” Cardona said in a statement. statement last week. “Anti-Semitism, Islamophobia and all other forms of hate go against everything we stand for as a nation.”
president joe biden warned American schools and universities must take immediate steps to address the “alarming rise” of anti-Semitism and Islamophobia. On Tuesday, the administration Announced actions and resources to combat incidents, including webinars and listening sessions for school and university leaders.
The Department for Education said it will provide recommendations for schools at the end of its inquiry into schools and colleges. Schools could risk losing government funding if they do not comply with the recommendations, an official told CNN.
