Department of Education investigation into Jewish harassment at Temple resolved, no wrongdoing found

After an 11 month investigation, the United States Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights found that Temple showed no evidence of noncompliance or wrongdoing in the university’s address of discrimination or harassment of Jewish students, President John Fry wrote in a statement to the university community Monday afternoon. 

Campus Reform, a non-profit think tank that “exposes liberal bias and abuse on the nation’s college campuses,” filed the Title VI complaint after multiple protests involving Temple’s recently suspended Students for Justice in Palestine. Pro-Palestinian students recently protested on campus, The Temple News reported.

“This resolution allows us to focus on our essential work in addressing all complaints of discrimination and harassment, including antisemitic, anti-Arab, anti-Palestinian, anti-Muslim and all unlawful discriminatory incidents that create a hostile environment for members of our community,” Fry wrote in the statement.

Temple is required to follow all DOED guidelines in compliance with Title VI or else face legal consequences. They will continue to conduct internal reviews of incident responses and annually report to the Office of Civil Rights for the next two academic years, Fry wrote.

Temple has been in communication with the Blue Ribbon Commission on Antisemitism and University Responses established by former Temple President Jason Wingard in 2022 as well as the American Jewish Committee since students reported harassment based on Jewish ancestry. Their guidance led to the creation of the Interfaith Inclusion Center, which has an interfaith council to engage with diverse faith traditions across multiple religions and faiths.

The American Jewish Committee also praised Temple’s response to a recent protest on campus. Fry did not specify which actions earned the university a positive response from the AJC. 

The university updated its demonstration guidelines in August following an increase in on-campus protests, The Temple News reported. The Institutional Diversity, Equity, Advocacy and Leadership office also hosted a teach-in on antisemitism, anti-zionism and free expression, taught by religious and Jewish studies professors. The university has also agreed to additional training for community members, a climate survey and two annual reports to the OCR. 

These responses were pertinent in the DOED’s ruling, Fry wrote. 

“Temple took each of those reports seriously and responded accordingly,” Fry wrote in the statement. “While the OCR has raised concerns about some of these incidents, and while those concerns do not rise to the level of findings, Temple is committed to reviewing and addressing those incidents thoroughly.”