Palestinian students’ complaint against Columbia sparks DOE civil rights investigation [Video]

The U.S. Education Department is opening a civil rights investigation into Columbia University after Palestinian students and their allies filed a complaint last month alleging discrimination in violation of federal law.

Palestine Legal, a Chicago-based advocacy group representing four students and the Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine, received notice Thursday from the agency’s Office for Civil Rights that an investigation would commence based on whether the university is adhering to Title VI regulations that prohibit discrimination based on race, color or national origin and retaliated against students based on those factors.

The students initially complained about being targeted by school administrators with “extreme anti-Palestinian, anti-Arab, and Islamophobic harassment” after speaking out and protesting against Israel’s war in Gaza that began in October. The students say they have received death threats, subjected to doxxing or harassed for wearing hijabs or keffiyehs, while “high-ranking administrators,” including university President Minouche Shafik, have failed to respond promptly and end intimidation on campus.

“Instead, Columbia has reinforced the hostile …