U. of Illinois reaches agreements with U.S. Department of Education, Jewish groups

[September 06, 2024]  By Jim Talamonti | The Center Square

(The Center Square) – The University of Illinois has entered a resolution agreement with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights after a complaint alleged numerous incidents of antisemitism.

The Office of Civil Rights reviewed 139 incidents of shared ancestry discrimination reported from 2015 through December of 2023. Of the 139 incidents, 135 were found to be related to allegations of anti-Jewish discrimination.

Emily Briskman is vice president for Campus Affairs at Jewish United Fund of Chicago and executive director of the Hillels of Illinois.

“We think this resolution, both the mutual understandings between the Jewish organizations and the university in addition to the Office of Civil Rights settlement, is landmark and is going to offer the kinds of protections that Jewish students need and deserve on campuses, but not only Jewish students. This will actually ensure better protections for all students against harassment and discrimination, because they are going to do things, like in the Office of Civil Rights settlement, revamping their bias complaint system and how students deal with complaints and where those complaints go to,” Briskman told The Center Square.

A statement from the Office of Civil Rights said the university has agreed to take the steps necessary to ensure its education community can learn, teach and work without an unredressed antisemitic hostile environment.

The University of Illinois reached mutual understandings with Jewish organizations in addition to the agreement with the Office of Civil Rights, after complaints of antisemitism from 2015 through 2023.

University of Illinois - University of Illinois

Briskman explained why it took so long for the Department of Education and the university to act.

“This has been in conversation with the university. The legal process takes a long time. Universities generally move very slowly, as does the Department of Education,” Briskman said.

In terms of the need for protections for Jewish students, Briskman said the gates have opened since last Oct. 7, when Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups attacked Israel.

Briskman said resolutions with the Office of Civil Rights on the topic of antisemitism have happened at a number of universities across the country.

“This complaint, which was filed in 2020, they needed to get on top of because the issues at University of Illinois were acute. Students had been dealing with issues of antisemitism without redress and without recourse for many years,” Briskman said.

Briskman said the U of I’s resolution agreements with the Department of Education and also with the Jewish United Fund, Hillel International and Illini Hillel are landmark.

The Office of Civil Rights is investigating complaints of alleged antisemitism against several universities, including Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois.