ZIONIST ORGANIZATION OF AMERICA
NEWS RELEASE
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ZOA to Civil Rights Office:
Make Fighting Antisemitism a Priority and Stop Ignoring Cases Affecting Jewish Students
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The Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) sent a letter on November 4, 2021, to the recently confirmed Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, Catherine E. Lhamon, urging the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) to prioritize fighting campus antisemitism and finally decide antisemitism cases filed under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act that have been languishing at the agency. One case, against Rutgers University, has been sitting at OCR for more than 10 years.
In addition to the Rutgers case, the ZOA’s letter identified two other Title VI cases filed by the ZOA that have been sitting for well over a year at OCR without any action taken. One, against Duke University, was filed while Duke was already supposed to be complying with a resolution agreement it entered into with OCR the year before, triggered by a previous antisemitism complaint filed by the ZOA. The current complaint has been pending at OCR for over a year and a half, and the agency still has not even decided whether to open an investigation into the ZOA’s claims. OCR has also taken no action in a third case filed by the ZOA over a year ago against the City University of New York School of Law. OCR’s response to the ZOA’s repeated inquiries about the status of this case is that it is under review and that OCR cannot provide a date by which the review will be completed.
The ZOA furnished Assistant Secretary Lhamon with a timeline for each of the three cases which “unfortunately shows that OCR has not made combating antisemitism the priority this serious and growing problem requires,” the letter states. The ZOA urged “OCR to finally treat these Title VI antisemitism cases with the vigilance and seriousness they deserve, and give them the prompt, full and fair attention that is long overdue.”
Calling on OCR to enforce Title VI to fight campus antisemtism with the force and rigor that OCR itself recognized was required in its last annual report to the Secretary of Education, the President and the Congress, ZOA National President Morton A. Klein stated: “With antisemitism rising at alarming rates in the U.S. and around the world, including on our college campuses, it is beyond irresponsible for the federal agency mandated to address discrimination in education to respond to these cases – which document in horrifying detail how Jewish students are being threatened and harassed – with radio silence. Jewish students have the right to depend on their government to do its job and protect them from a hostile learning environment. The ZOA’s letter to the new Assistant Security for Civil Rights should be a wake-up call to OCR, to be vigilant in protecting the civil rights of Jewish students.”
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ZIONIST ORGANIZATION OF AMERICA
2021 VIRTUAL SUPERSTAR GALA
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2021
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Founded in 1897, ZOA played a key role in the Jewish State's re-establishment. Today, ZOA is the leading major American Jewish organization courageously defending Israel and the Jewish people; fighting against all forms of antisemitism, including anti-Jewish boycotts; and promoting the Jewish people's lawful right to live in and settle historic Jewish lands. ZOA exposes that a Palestinian state would endanger Israel's existence; presents the facts about the Arab/Islamic war against Israel; and combats the anti-Israel lie that Israel is an "occupier" of her own land. ZOA spearheaded long battles to move the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, and apply civil rights protections to Jewish students. ZOA provides free legal assistance and programs to pro-Israel students at numerous college campuses. ZOA's bold, unapologetic voice has a significant impact on public discourse and policy. |
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Copyright © Zionist Organization of America 2021, All rights reserved. |
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