A federal civil rights investigation into Emory University was confirmed on Thursday, with Biden administration officials asked to determine whether the university discriminated against Muslim students following the devastating October 7 surprise attack by Hamas fighters against civilians in Israel.
The Department of Education is now investigating Emory University to determine whether it violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act in its treatment of Muslim students following the October 7 attack.
The Emory students behind the 18-page complaint that prompted the investigation, according to The Guardian, are members of the university’s chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) who Middle East Eye explained received help from the Georgia branch of the Council on Islamic-American Relations (CAIR) to list their grievances.
Potentially highlighting the political affiliations of activists leading the anti-Israel encampments, a recent report established that Hungarian-American financier George Soros and his associates provided support to encampments associated with SJP on multiple college campuses.
Similarly, CAIR was designated a terrorist organization by the United Arab Emirates in 2014 due to its alleged ties to the Muslim Brotherhood. CAIR said there was “no factual basis” for the decision.
The complaint against Emory was not filed in response to the university calling police to remove the anti-Israel encampment and protest that formed last week, The Middle East Eye reported, but instead was filed on April 5.
In a statement, Emory told The Guardian it “does not tolerate behavior or actions that threaten, harm or target individuals because of their identities or backgrounds.”
Emory University President Gregory Fenves is currently facing a no-confidence vote amid upset faculty members who argue he should not have called police to the campus to disperse the anti-Israel encampment.
Fenves additionally recently acknowledged that he misquoted the number of Emory students and faculty arrested due to their involvement in the encampment in his original remarks, which pointed to outside agitators. At least two Emory professors were among those arrested for refusing to leave the campus despite police instruction.
Nonetheless, participation in the encampment was confirmed by the Stop Cop City organization, which was formed to oppose the construction of the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center. More than 60 of its alleged members were indicted last year, and Georgia state prosecutors argue they are part of a criminal organization that seeks to use violence to advance anarchist and collectivist goals.
Stop Cop City protesters explained their participation in the Emory encampment was “to demand total divestment from Israeli apartheid and Cop City.”
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Georgia Star News, The Pennsylvania Daily Star, and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Emory University Students” by Emory University.
