By Kanishka Singh
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Justice Department said on Tuesday it would probe the response of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, to claims of antisemitism on campus, in the latest federal investigation of a school over protests against Israel’s assault on Gaza.
The Trump administration has threatened to cut federal funds to universities over campus pro-Palestinian protests. The government says universities allowed displays of antisemitism.
Protesters, including some Jewish groups, say the government wrongly equates criticism of Israel’s assault on Gaza and its occupation of Palestinian territories with antisemitism, and advocacy for Palestinian rights with support for extremism. The government has not announced probes into Islamophobia.
“The investigation will focus on the University’s response to antisemitism on campus,” the Justice Department said.
“The compliance review investigation will examine whether UNLV, a recipient of federal financial assistance, has engaged in discriminatory practices.”
UNLV said it will cooperate with the probe and expressed confidence the review will show it complies with applicable laws.
The DOJ’s civil rights division wrote to UNLV’s leadership, asking for some documents by November 1 on how it handled complaints of alleged discrimination on campus after the October 2023 Hamas attack and Israel’s subsequent assault on Gaza.
The Justice Department letter acknowledged that some requested material may contain student information protected under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, a federal law regulating disclosure of student education records.
The letter claimed the DOJ was authorized to get such information without prior consent for “enforcing federal legal requirements” including anti-discrimination policies.
Rights advocates have raised privacy, free speech and academic freedom concerns over Trump’s actions.
Trump has faced some legal setbacks in actions against pro-Palestinian protesters. A U.S. judge ruled on Tuesday his administration acted unconstitutionally by adopting a policy of revoking visas, arresting, detaining and deporting foreign students and faculty over pro-Palestinian advocacy.
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Sam Holmes and Leslie Adler)
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