Conflicts
Anti-Semitism and Islamophobia: Investigations against US universities
“Hate has no place in our schools, period”: A swastika and a crossed-out Star of David (symbolic image). photo
© Daniel Reinhardt/dpa
Graffiti, anger, even physical violence: Because the conflict in the Middle East is increasingly playing a role in schoolyards and university campuses, the US Department of Education is now getting involved.
After increasing reports of anti-Semitic and Islamophobic incidents at US educational institutions, the responsible authority is opening investigations against seven universities – including the elite universities of Columbia and Cornell. With the announcement, the US reactsMinistry of Education on an “alarming nationwide increase” in such reports since the Islamist Hamas attack on Israel on October 7.
Recently, the dispute over the conflict in the Middle East also erupted at universities and schools. US media reported incidents of physical violence or threats thereof. Anti-Semitic and racist graffiti appeared on school grounds. Videos circulating online showed young people tearing down posters with photos of the Hamas hostages.
“Hate has no place in our schools, period,” said US Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona. If students are targeted “because they are Jews, Muslims, Arabs, Sikhs or any other ethnicity or descent,” the responsible institutions must act “to ensure a safe and inclusive education.”
Educational institutions in the United States have a legal obligation to protect students from discrimination under the umbrella of the Civil Rights Act. The law, passed in 1964 in the wake of the civil rights movement, continues to influence many facets of American coexistence today. It stipulates that people in the USA must not be discriminated against on the basis of skin color, religion, origin or gender.
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