In its latest assertion that American universities “permit and perpetuate” antisemitism on campus, the U.S. Department of Education on Thursday added San Francisco State and San Jose State to the dozens of schools the Trump administration is investigating for alleged discrimination against Jewish students.
The announcement that the department is investigating whether the two California State University campuses have created “hostile environments” for Jewish students comes nearly a year after another agency in the Trump administration, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, announced it was investigating the entire CSU system for allegedly tolerating antisemitism.
It’s not clear whether the probes came to any conclusions.
The latest investigations are among more than 60 similar probes across the country by Trump’s Department of Education, including UC Berkeley and at least a dozen other colleges in California.
“Today, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights opened investigations into San Jose State University and San Francisco State University amid allegations that the schools permit and perpetuate antisemitic harassment against students on campus,” the department announced in a press release.
Department officials painted a picture of widespread hostility towards Jews on the campuses and largely blamed Palestinian, Arab and Muslim students and faculty. The department did not mention whether those students may have experienced discrimination, as some campuses have reported.
At San Jose State, “students have allegedly been threatened, shunned, and made to feel unwelcome in classrooms because of their Jewish ancestry. Reports of anti-Israel protests disrupting classes and displacing students and staff, as well as physical attacks on Jewish students, have increased since the October 7th (2023) terrorist attack in Israel,” the department declared, noting that its Office for Civil Rights had received complaints that “Jewish students were subjected to hostile environments on the campuses of both universities.”
At San Francisco State, “Jewish students have described their campus as an environment of ‘intimidation, exclusion, and fear,'” the department said, and claimed that an event hosted by the campus’ Arab and Muslim program had “terrorist group ties.”
Trump officials said there had been antisemitic graffiti and “attempted break-ins targeting Jewish students,” and reported receiving complaints that faculty have “used their positions of authority to create a hostile environment for Jewish students.”
Spokespersons at both universities said they were reviewing the allegations and would respond to the department.
Both also strongly denounced antisemitism.
“Antisemitism and discrimination have no place at SFSU,” said Bobby King, a spokesperson at San Francisco State. “We take the concerns raised by members of our Jewish community seriously and remain committed to ensuring that every member of our community can study, teach, work, and participate in university life free from discrimination and harassment prohibited by law and university policy.”
King also shared a university letter to the campus community from November 2023 following its discovery of antisemitic graffiti, the fourth such incident in recent months.
The letter condemned the incidents, described the graffiti promoting violence against Jews as “deeply concerning and antithetical” to university values, and said campus police were investigating the threatening vandalism.
The letter also acknowledged that such incidents can be painful, and listed six resources available to students, from psychological counseling to support specific to Jewish students.
Michelle Smith McDonald, a San Jose State spokesperson, said that “the university treats antisemitic incidents with the utmost seriousness, and has taken numerous actions that prioritize the safety and well-being of all members of our campus community. The university has consistently and repeatedly denounced antisemitism.”
Smith McDonald also noted that the department’s press release included a “misleading implication” claiming that a San Jose State administrator had “purportedly made the distinction between ‘good Jews’ and ‘bad Jews’ based on their support of the Israeli government.”
“This statement was never made by any representative of the university,” she said.
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This article originally published at S.F. State and San Jose State are latest targets of federal campus antisemitism probes.