U.S. Texts Barnard College Staff, Inquires Jewish Identity

Dozens of current and former Barnard College employees received unexpected text messages from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), asking if they were Jewish or Israeli and whether they had experienced antisemitism or related harassment at the college. The messages, which initially raised suspicions of a scam among recipients, were later confirmed by Barnard administrators as part of a legitimate federal investigation into alleged discrimination against Jewish employees. Barnard’s general counsel acknowledged that the college had provided employee contact information to the EEOC, emphasizing that participation in the survey was voluntary and protected from retaliation. The outreach, which the college said it was not notified about in advance, caused concern and fear among some faculty, who likened the data collection to historical government efforts to identify Jews. The investigation comes amid heightened scrutiny of Barnard, a women’s college affiliated with Columbia University, due to pro-Palestinian demonstrations on campus and subsequent allegations of antisemitism.