American Jewish Committee Welcomes Agreement to Require University of Illinois to Adequately Address Antisemitic Acts

American Jewish Committee Chicago Director Sarah van Loon and AJC's Center for Education Advocacy issued this statement on an agreement reached between the U.S. Department of Education and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign on properly addressing complaints about antisemitism on campus:

This agreement between the U.S. Department of Education and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign affirms what Jewish students have long known, that the University has fallen woefully short in addressing antisemitism on campus. In responding to a March 2020 complaint, the Department found that there were 135 complaints tied to antisemitic activity over 15 years. Not a single complaint was properly investigated. Assistant Education Secretary for Civil Rights Catherine E. Lhamon described an "unredressed antisemitic hostile environment." This is outrageous and completely unacceptable.

As we have seen, antisemitism will only fester and worsen if it is not dealt with. Universities must know that they will be held to account for hostile environments that they knew of or should have known about. They cannot claim ignorance when they are responsible for the safety and wellbeing of students. The University of Illinois must see this agreement as a turning point and implement immediate and lasting change. Jewish students deserve no less.

American Jewish Committee (AJC) is the global advocacy organization for the Jewish people. With headquarters in New York, 25 regional offices across the United States, 15 overseas posts, as well as partnerships with 38 Jewish community organizations worldwide, AJC's mission is to enhance the well-being of the Jewish people and Israel and to advance human rights and democratic values in the United States and around the world. For more, please visit www.ajc.org.