US Education Department Seeks Columbia Accreditation Removal Over Jewish Student Discrimination

The U.S. Department of Education, under Secretary Linda McMahon and the Trump administration, has formally accused Columbia University of violating federal anti-discrimination laws by failing to protect Jewish students amid antisemitic harassment following Hamas' October 7, 2023, attack on Israel. The Department has notified the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, Columbia's accreditor, that the university no longer meets accreditation standards, risking the loss of federal funding and student aid. McMahon described Columbia's leadership as acting with "deliberate indifference" to the harassment, labeling their actions "immoral" and "unlawful." This move follows earlier actions by President Trump, including stripping Columbia of $400 million in federal funding due to widespread antisemitism on campus. Columbia had taken some steps, such as reorganizing its Middle Eastern Studies department, but these have not satisfied the administration. Similar scrutiny is also being applied to other institutions like Harvard University amid broader concerns over campus antisemitism.