Temple warned by Department of Education amid ongoing antisemitism investigation

Updated March 11 at 2:45 p.m. EST.

Temple is one of 60 colleges across the country that has received a letter from the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights threatening sanctions as it investigates the university for antisemitic discrimination and harassment, according to a news release Monday. 

The investigation accuses Temple of failing to protect Jewish students on campus in violation of the Civil Rights Act’s Title VI, which prohibits institutions that receive federal funding from discriminating on the basis of race, color and national origin. 

“OCR emphasized that universities have an obligation to take sufficient measures to address antisemitic discrimination and harassment on campus,” President John Fry wrote in a statement Tuesday afternoon to the Temple community. “Here at Temple, we are committed to meeting that expectation.”

The Office of Civil Rights investigated Temple last year, concluding in December that the university showed no evidence of noncompliance or wrongdoing in how they handled harassment of Jewish students at Temple, The Temple News reported.

The previous investigation was based on chants of “Intifada revolution” and “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” during pro-Palestine student protests on campus. 

“The Department is deeply disappointed that Jewish students studying on elite U.S. campuses continue to fear for their safety amid the relentless antisemitic eruptions that have severely disrupted campus life for more than a year,” wrote Secretary of Education Linda McMahon in the release. “University leaders must do better.”

The university has taken steps to train Title VI investigators, expand antisemitism training for the Temple community and internally review the handling and response to incidents, Fry wrote. They have also worked with Temple’s Interfaith Inclusion Center in the Institutional Diversity, Equity, Advocacy and Leadership office and continue to work with Temple’s Hillel Center and Chabad at Temple. 

The Trump administration announced Friday that it would pull $400 million in grants and contracts from Columbia University due to the institution’s failure to comply with anti discrimination policies following pro-Palestine protests on their campus, the Associated Press reported.

Temple’s campus has been the host of a variety of protests, including a Students for Justice in Palestine rally in August that ended at the Hillel Center for Jewish Life on Temple’s Main Campus.

“Let me be clear: Antisemitism is abhorrent,” Fry wrote. “It has no place at Temple and acts of hatred and discrimination against any person are not tolerated.”