Washington (AFP) - The US Department of Education is investigating several top American universities over allegations of anti-Semitism and Islamophobia on campus, as tensions run high due to the war in the Middle East.
The colleges targeted include the prestigious Columbia University, Cornell University and the University of Pennsylvania on the East Coast, known as Ivy League schools, as well as elementary, middle and high schools in the midwestern state of Kansas.
"Hate has no place in our schools, period. When students are targeted because they are or are perceived to be Jewish, Muslim, Arab, Sikh, or any other ethnicity or shared ancestry, schools must act," Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said in a statement.
The move comes after the Biden administration said it was acting to address "the alarming rise of reported anti-Semitic incidents at schools and on college campuses, since the October 7th Hamas terrorist attacks in Israel."
About 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were killed in Israel during the brutal attack by Hamas and around 240 taken hostage, according to Israeli officials. In Gaza, about 11,500 people, also mostly civilians, have been killed, officials in the Hamas-run territory have said.
The war has reverberated through US college campuses as bitter debates involving students, professors and administrators have triggered charges of anti-Semitism, Islamophobia and threats to free speech.
Earlier this month, Columbia University suspended two student groups that organized protests against Israel's bombing campaign in Gaza, saying they violated campus policies.
Cornell, in northern New York state, canceled classes on November 3 after a student was charged over making online death threats against Jewish classmates.
At the University of Pennsylvania, known as UPenn, anti-Semitic messages were projected onto campus buildings last week, according to the school.
UPenn told AFP in a statement that it looks forward to "cooperating fully with the Department."
"The University is taking clear and comprehensive action to prevent, address, and respond to anti-Semitism," it added.
Investigations conducted by the Education Department's civil rights department are based on anti-discrimination legislation adopted in the 1960s and can result in schools losing federal funding or even grow into a criminal probe.
