Columbia University has violated federal civil rights law by turning a blind eye to pro-Hamas students’ treatment of Jewish Americans on its campus, according to the Education Department. Now, the agency is moving to strip the university of its accreditation.
This outcome is anything other than shocking — especially to those who have been following this issue since October 7, 2023. Now, it appears the university will face some serious consequences for bowing down to the pro-Hamas crowd.
This comes after the Trump administration pulled about $400 million in federal funding from the university in March.
In a press release, the Education Department notified the Middle States Commission on Higher Education that Columbia violated antidiscrimination laws, and “therefore fails to meet the standards for accreditation.
BREAKING: The Department of Education has determined that Columbia University fails to meet accreditation standards.
— Steve McGuire (@sfmcguire79) June 4, 2025
“The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) today notified Middle States Commission on Higher Education (the Commission) that its member… pic.twitter.com/PoPaW0YQ20
Education Secretary Linda McMahon excoriated the school for allowing the rise of antisemitism on its campus while refusing to do what is necessary to protect Jewish students.
After Hamas’ October 7, 2023, terror attack on Israel, Columbia University’s leadership acted with deliberate indifference towards the harassment of Jewish students on its campus. This is not only immoral, but also unlawful. Accreditors have an enormous public responsibility as gatekeepers of federal student aid. They determine which institutions are eligible for federal student loans and Pell Grants. Just as the Department of Education has an obligation to uphold federal antidiscrimination law, university accreditors have an obligation to ensure member institutions abide by their standards.
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This move represents a significant escalation of the conflict between the White House and prominent universities. Columbia, for its part, previously agreed to make the requested changes to prevent its funding from being canceled. This included overhauling its policies regarding protests, safety, and security.
Threatening the university’s accreditation appears to be another form of pressure the Trump administration is putting on Columbia. It could also be a message to other learning institutions whose leadership has chosen to allow pro-Hamas agitators to harass and threaten Jewish students.
If the Trump administration manages to push these universities to stop siding with pro-Hamas thugs, it will seriously damage the movement that cropped up after the terrorist group Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel in 2023, launching the current war in Gaza. Since then, anti-Jewish bigots have come out of the woodwork, ramping up their rhetoric and violent actions against Jews in America.
On Sunday, a terrorist firebombed a gathering of Israel supporters in Boulder, Colorado. He left at least 12 people injured — including a Holocaust survivor. This is the type of violence that ensues when bad actors use bigotry to stir people up. Perhaps in the coming months, we will see at least a modicum of sanity return to college campuses.
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