Johns Hopkins Under Federal Probe For Anti-Semitism As Bill Ackman, Mark Zuckerberg Engage In Harvard Reform Initiatives

The Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas and the resulting was with Israel are having an unexpected but sweeping set of consequences for U.S. academia.

The most recent development is the launch of a Federal probe into Johns Hopkins University. The Department of Education is looking into two open letters, one by students and another by faculty, which called for a ceasefire in Gaza.  

The investigation was triggered by a Title VI complaint from the Editor of Campus Reform at The Leadership Institute, Zachary Marschall, who stated that Johns Hopkins fostered an "unwelcome and unsafe" environment for Jewish students, according to The Forward.

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The complaint echoes comments from former U.S. Secretary of State and former Harvard President Larry Summers, who said last month that he has “lost confidence” in the institution’s leadership “to maintain Harvard as a place where Jews and Israelis can flourish.” 

Several top colleges in the country were shaken after members of student bodies and faculties released communications in support of Palestine, some of which were read as antisemitic by members of the Jewish community.

Earlier this month, Harvard lost one of its top donors, Citadel CEO Kenneth C. Griffin, citing a lack of grip on the situation by the school's authorities. 

The events rippled across Ivy League colleges and top education institutions, culminating in the resignation of Harvard President Claudine Gay as well as University of Pennsylvania President Elizabeth Magill after an audience before Congress, where both were accused of not properly responding to antisemitic behavior by students at their institutions.

Bill Ackman, another billionaire and Harvard alumni, also joined the group of voices including Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, criticizing the way the universities handled the protests, becoming a vocal figure in the controversy, and promoted candidates for a board that will oversee the election of a new Harvard president. According to CNN, the candidates backed by Ackman and Zuckerberg were not successful in making it on the ballot.

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Picture from Wikimedia Commons.