(The Center Square) – The University of Illinois has entered a resolution agreement with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights after a complaint alleged numerous incidents of antisemitism.
The Office of Civil Rights reviewed 139 incidents of shared ancestry discrimination reported from 2015 through December of 2023. Of the 139 incidents, 135 were found to be related to allegations of anti-Jewish discrimination.
Emily Briskman is vice president for Campus Affairs at Jewish United Fund of Chicago and executive director of the Hillels of Illinois.
“We think this resolution, both the mutual understandings between the Jewish organizations and the university in addition to the Office of Civil Rights settlement, is landmark and is going to offer the kinds of protections that Jewish students need and deserve on campuses, but not only Jewish students. This will actually ensure better protections for all students against harassment and discrimination, because they are going to do things, like in the Office of Civil Rights settlement, revamping their bias complaint system and how students deal with complaints and where those complaints go to,” Briskman told The Center Square.