The US government threatened on Wednesday, June 4, to strip New York's Columbia University of its accreditation for allegedly ignoring harassment of Jewish students, putting all of its federal funding and prestige at risk.
With the move, the administration of President Donald Trump appeared to be doubling down on its efforts to bring several prestigious universities to heel over claims they tolerated campus antisemitism during protests against Israel's war in Gaza. Several top institutions, including Columbia University, have already bowed to far-reaching demands from the Trump administration, which claims that the educational elite is too left-wing.
"Columbia University looked the other way as Jewish students faced harassment," US Education Secretary Linda McMahon said on X. She accused the reputable Ivy League school of "breaking Title VI protections," referring to a federal law that prohibits recipients of federal funding from discriminating on the basis of race, color or national origin.
"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," she said in a statement. "This is not only immoral, but also unlawful."
In the statement, the US Education Department said its civil rights office had notified Columbia's accreditor of the alleged violation. It said it had notified the Middle States Commission on Higher Education that "its member institution, Columbia University, is in violation of federal antidiscrimination laws and therefore fails to meet the standards for accreditation set by the Commission."
Withdrawing Columbia's accreditation would see it lose access to all federal funds. Students attending the university, which has already seen the Trump administration strip it of $400 million in federal funds, would also lose access to federal grants and loans towards tuition.