A “conservative watchdog” with no ties to the campus sparked an investigation into protests against massacres in Gaza.
On January 29, the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights began an investigation into allegations that students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison faced discrimination based on “common ancestry.” The DOE does not comment on pending investigations, but John Lucas, assistant vice chancellor for university communications at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said in a statement that the investigation specifically related to allegations of anti-Semitism and He explained that this was caused by a complaint filed by.
That same day, daily cardinal Hundreds of University of Wisconsin-Madison faculty, staff, and students have written an open letter condemning the conflation of anti-Semitism with anti-Zionism, or opposition to Jewish nationalism, especially in light of Israel's ongoing genocide in Gaza. Reported that it was signed. Despite their appeals, these campus critics of Israel are now under surveillance by the Department of Energy, which could have a chilling effect on dissent.
“The charges filed serve two primary purposes,” student organizers with the Wisconsin Coalition for Justice in Palestine (WCJP) wrote in a statement. tone madison“to suppress Palestinian activities on university campuses and foster an atmosphere of fear.”
(For fear of retaliation, WCJP organizers and Students for Justice in Palestine at UW-Madison declined to be named.) tone madison. )
Since Oct. 7, the DOE has opened at least 54 investigations into alleged “discrimination involving common ancestry,” also known as Title VI investigations. The ministry said in a press release that these investigations target both anti-Semitic and Islamophobic incidents, with the former outnumbering the latter by more than two to one. It suggests.
The Department of Energy's investigation into the University of Washington-Madison was sparked by a complaint filed by magazine editor Zachary Marshall. campus reform, calls itself the “conservative watchdog” of higher education. Marshall admits he is not affiliated with UW-Madison, but he claims he is defending Jewish students who are “too scared to speak up.” Marshall's complaints also appear to have triggered DOE investigations at Arizona State University, Binghamton University, Brown University, Indiana University, Johns Hopkins University, Northwestern University and Temple University.
“I filed 21 Title VI complaints against the university with the Office for Civil Rights,” Marshall said. “Because I feel a moral obligation to do whatever I can to combat anti-Semitism.”
Despite Marshall's claims of anti-Semitism; campus reform explains that the charges against UW-Madison are related to an expression of solidarity with the Palestinians, not an attack on Jewish students. campus reform Nor does it mention the neo-Nazi group that marched in Madison in November, including a stop at the state Capitol. Historic synagogue along the way. University of Wisconsin-Madison Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin condemned the march, as did several other state and local officials.
The Madison Police Department and the Madison, Wisconsin, Police Department both said they were monitoring the Nazi march, but essentially claimed they could do nothing about it. MPD spokeswoman Stephanie Fryer called it a lawful exercise of First Amendment rights, but later cited it as justification for a new hate crimes task force.
Regardless of the origin of the charges against the DOE, the department's investigation could have an impact on campus protests against Israel's massacres in Gaza.
“The university will fully cooperate with the Department of Education's investigation,” Lucas said in the statement.
(contact address tone madison, Lucas declined further comment. )
Although the investigation is just an investigation and no wrongdoing has yet been identified, the DOE has already affected campuses across the country. In the wake of the department's lawsuit, university authorities have responded with everything from attempts to control criticism of Israel to silencing it entirely. In particular, chapters of the Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and campus chapters of Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) have been subject to censure and suspensions, and Columbia University, in particular, is currently being sued by the New York Civil Liberties Union. has been done. The union is calling for the campus branches of both organizations to cease their activities.
“Since the charges were filed, there has been increased scrutiny of the activities of organizations representing Palestine,” said an organizer at SJP UW-Madison, which is affiliated with WCJP. “There is a blanket assumption that SJP was anti-Semitic, even though there is no evidence that it was.”
“But at the other end of the spectrum, we also see events where soldiers who took part in genocide justify the deaths of thousands of people,” they continued, referring to a recent off-campus lecture featuring members of the Israeli military. Mentioned. The only response from the university is defensive. ”
The DOE investigation could have significant implications beyond the free speech implications for students, faculty, and staff. Inspired by the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement, which advocates nonviolent opposition to the ongoing Israeli occupation of Palestine, students are the first to point out how their respective universities are fomenting war. There are many things to do.
“Universities are always hot spots for activity, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison is no exception,” WCJP wrote. “At the University of Wisconsin, we have seen time and again student denunciations of the university's complicity in colonialism and the dedicated work aimed at ending the university's complicity. In 1967, The Dow Chemical Riots occurred when students protested the presence of napalm manufacturers. In the 1970s, student groups pushed for divestment from South Africa and ultimately won. Today we fight the same fight. The understanding of university involvement, as well as university complicity, has not changed.
The University of Wisconsin System's endowment is valued at about $3.5 billion in a recently released financial report, according to the Palestinian rights group Al-Awda, and the University of Wisconsin System's endowment is valued at about $3.5 billion, according to Palestinian rights group Al-Awda. They say they have been demanding the university divest its endowment from Israel since at least 2004. Return Coalition. Recently, daily cardinal According to the anti-war nonprofit American Friends Service Committee, activists reportedly disrupted an on-campus job fair featuring BAE Systems, Caterpillar, and General Dynamics, all of which are in progress in Gaza. It is said that they are profiting from the atrocities committed by Israel. UWPD officers attending the event reportedly attacked at least two activists, one of whom was in the process of being arrested. daily cardinal.
According to WCJP, anti-Zionist organizing on campus will continue despite UWPD crackdowns and DOE investigations.
“While universities have attempted to slow organizing and create hurdles for Palestinian voices to speak, we have seen a stronger movement continue to build on campus.” writes WCJP.
