Jewish students have filed a federal civil rights complaint accusing American University of ignoring anti-Jewish discrimination and retaliating against Jewish students who have documented the harassment.
The complaint filed Wednesday by The Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law and the group Jewish on Campus alleged that AU was a “pervasive and hostile environment” for Jewish students.
It accuses the school of violating the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color and national origin, in educational institutions that receive federal funding.
The complaint was filed with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights.
Nationally, Palestinian and Jewish students have reported being taunted or harassed since the Israel-Hamas War began, but some of the incidents mentioned in the complaint against American University happened long before the Oct. 7, 2023, attack.
Including an incident in September 2022, in which a bathroom was vandalized with possible antisemitic graffiti. It happened inside a dorm, according to a letter sent to members of the campus community at the time from Vice President of Campus Life & Inclusive Excellence Fanta Aw.
During a second vandalism incident cited in the complaint, a dormitory was vandalized with swastikas and a Nazi slogan on Oct. 19, according to a letter from University President Sylvia Burwell. Jewish students lived inside the two rooms with vandalized doors.
Among the incidents included in the federal complaint, Jewish students say they have been harassed by students and faculty in dorm rooms and classrooms. In one case, an Israeli Jewish student said he’s been spit on multiple times and that someone scribbled “Hitler was right” on a poster for his piano recital. He said it took nearly a week before the university condemned what happened and no steps were taken to find who did it.
The complaint against AU also claims that the school ignored antisemitism and “harassed student whistleblowers.” It says several Jewish students who took cellphone video of other students ripping down posters of Israeli hostages said they were called in by the school’s administrations for disciplinary hearings.
It also states that AU allowed a protest in support of Palestine on campus Nov. 9, 2023, where protesters reportedly marched inside of academic buildings and chanted, some using megaphones, and disrupted class instruction.
The report makes numerous mentions to alleged incidents where students were verbally harassed by other students on campus, sometimes during class.
“Shamefully AU has repeatedly chosen to turn a blind eye to the antisemitism snowballing on its campus,” Brandeis Center founder and chairman Kenneth Marcus said in a news release. “Not only has the university failed in its legal obligation to protect Jewish students from illegal targeting and harassment, it is attempting to bully those brave enough to speak up.”
In the 26-page civil rights complaint, Jewish students say they want to be treated equally–the university should enforce the same protections as they do for other students and staff. For example, when incidents of islamophobia have happened, such as a note with anti-Palestinian messages found in a Palestinian staff member’s office, they said the university responds promptly.
The complaint calls for AU to take several actions to remedy the alleged violation, including compensating students for related damages and appointing an independent investigator to look into the impact of campus culture on Jewish and Israeli students.
In a statement emailed to WTOP, American University’s Vice President of Communications Matt Bennett wrote:
American University received a letter the Brandeis Center sent to the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights (OCR) regarding antisemitism. We have not received any complaint from OCR. We take these issues and any concerns in AU’s Jewish community seriously, and we review and address them. We will cooperate with any inquiries regarding our work to combat antisemitism.
American University supports the safety, well-being, and sense of belonging for our Jewish students, a community which has been and remains an important part of the fabric of our university. We have taken decisive action to address antisemitism, including working with the FBI on investigations, enforcing our student conduct code, incorporating antisemitism into our curriculum and inclusive excellence work, and engaging with Jewish groups including ADL and Hillel.
While we have made progress in combatting antisemitism, we know we have more work to do.
American University isn’t the only institution facing legal trouble following reports of antisemitism on campus. Last week, several Jewish students filed a lawsuit against Harvard University, accusing it of becoming “a bastion of rampant anti-Jewish hatred and harassment.”
Other subjects of lawsuits include The Art Institute of Chicago, New York University and the University of Pennsylvania.
WTOP’s Shayna Estulin and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
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