Rep. Dan Goldman has introduced legislation aimed at enhancing the federal government’s ability to investigate potential cases of antisemitism and discrimination on college campuses.
His bill would allocate an additional $280 million to the Office for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Education, which Goldman, a Jewish Democrat representing lower Manhattan and part of Brooklyn, says currently “does not have sufficient funding to conduct the number of investigations that are now necessary with the rise of antisemitism on campus.”
According to data provided by Goldman’s office, between fiscal years 2012 and 2022, the office has seen a 140% increase in complaints, while its full-time staff size has only grown by 6%.
Schools found to be violating a federal statute could face, among other things, financial penalties.
“This is a substantive way of fighting antisemitism,” Goldman said.
Goldman told Spectrum News NY1 he believes that Columbia University, which has been at the center of the pro-Palestinian protests in recent weeks, has violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
“Columbia first tacitly admitted they violated it by going hybrid because they could not keep Jewish students safe,” Goldman said.
NY1 has reached out to Columbia for comment.
In recent weeks, House Republican leaders, including Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik, have sought to lay the protests at colleges across the country at the feet of the president.
“Instead of protecting Jewish students, Joe Biden has pandered to the pro-Hamas wing of the Democratic Party, and campus leadership has shamefully followed suit in negotiating with these pro-Hamas terrorists and submitting to their demands,” Stefanik said Tuesday.
In the aftermath of Hamas’ deadly Oct. 7 attack on Israel, the Republican-led U.S. House has held a handful of hearings on antisemitism on college campuses, prompting calls for college administrators at Harvard, Penn, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Columbia to resign. Two have.
Then, last week, the House passed legislation to update the definition of antisemitism that the Department of Education uses to enforce discrimination laws. The bill’s sponsor, Republican Rep. Mike Lawler, argued his legislation gives the department “teeth” to enforce Title VI.
But Goldman argues that “neither of those things will have a material impact on actual Jewish students suffering from antisemitism on campus.”
He argues his bill will.
“Republicans view this as a political opportunity to curry favor without actually caring about the students who are suffering from the hate and discrimination,” Goldman said.
The legislation’s cosponsors include Reps. Grace Meng and Jerrold Nadler from New York.