03-11-2025
The Joint Task Force to Combat Antisemitism announced the “immediate cancellation” of about $400 million in federal grants and contracts given to Columbia University. These cancellations are due to the institution’s “continued inaction in the face of persistent harassment of Jewish students.” The Task Force said it was merely the first round, and it plans to cancel more. Columbia holds more than $5 billion in federal grant commitments. The Task Force asserted that Jewish students have faced violence, intimidation, and antisemitic harassment on Columbia’s campus.
The multi-agency task force was formed in early February and plans to investigate higher education institutions across the country. President Trump posted on social media that “all federal funding will STOP” for schools and universities that allow “illegal protests.” He also said, “Agitators will be imprisoned/or permanently sent back to the country from which they came.” The executive order underlying the task force indicated that it would “quell pro-Hamas vandalism and intimidation, and investigate and punish anti-Jewish racism in leftist, anti-American colleges and universities.” The task force is also investigating the University of California system to look for a pattern or practice of antisemitic discrimination.
The EEOC is partnering with the DOJ as these issues pertain to Title VII in campus workplaces. EEOC Acting Chair Andrea Lucas “promised” to hold colleges and universities accountable. She said, “Under the guise of promoting free speech, many universities have actually become a haven for antisemitic conduct” following Hamas’ terror attacks in Israel.