said<\/a> that it is probing both schools, which educate some 60,000 students collectively.<\/p>\n\u201cThe same California leaders, who wax eloquent about their commitment to \u2018equity\u2019 and \u2018social justice,\u2019 appear to turn their backs on violent, harmful acts of antisemitic intimidation and harassment,\u201d stated Kimberly Richey, U.S. assistant secretary of education for civil rights. \u201cWe will investigate these allegations, ensure the safety of Jewish students and protect the right of every student in America to an education free from discrimination.\u201d<\/p>\n
There is a climate of \u201cintimidation, exclusion and fear,\u201d according to Jewish students at San Francisco State, the Education Department said. It added that it received reports of professors at the school creating a hostile environment for Jewish students.<\/p>\n
The department \u201chas been notified of antisemitic graffiti on campus, attempted break-ins targeting Jewish students and events featuring extremists with terrorist group ties hosted by the Arab and Muslim ethnicities and diasporas program,\u201d the department stated.<\/p>\n
Bobby King, director of communications for San Francisco State University, told JNS that the university is aware of the department\u2019s investigation.<\/p>\n
\u201cAntisemitism and discrimination have no place at SFSU,\u201d he told JNS. \u201cWe 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jewish students at San Jos\u00e9 State say that they have been \u201cthreatened, shunned and made to feel unwelcome in classrooms,\u201d and since Oct. 7, anti-Israel protests that disrupt classes and attacks against Jewish students have increased, according to the Education Department.<\/p>\n
Michelle Smith McDonald, senior director of strategic communications for San Jos\u00e9 State, told JNS that there is a \u201cmisleading implication\u201d in the department\u2019s announcement. <\/p>\n
The department stated that the university\u2019s vice president for student affairs and former interim chief diversity officer allegedly distinguished in an email between \u201cgood Jews\u201d and \u201cbad Jews\u201d based on their views of the Israeli government.<\/p>\n
The department attributed \u201ca quote to a former SJSU administrator,\u201d Smith McDonald told JNS. \u201cThis statement was never made by any representative of the university.\u201d (JNS sought comment from the U.S. Education Department.)<\/p>\n
\u201cThe 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,\u201d Smith McDonald said. \u201cThe university has consistently and repeatedly denounced antisemitism.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"(Aug. 6, 2026 \/ JNS) San Francisco State University and San Jos\u00e9 State University, both public schools, have…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":426062,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[88,90,89],"class_list":["post-426061","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-jose","tag-san-jose","tag-san-jose-headlines","tag-san-jose-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/426061","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=426061"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/426061\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/426062"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=426061"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=426061"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=426061"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}