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DOE Probes Swarthmore College Over Antisemitism Response · Antisemitism Watch

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  Speaker 1: You're listening to Antisemitism Watch. I'm Rachel Adler. We're launching
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  Speaker 1: Antisemitism Watch, Mid-Atlantic, providing focused coverage from New York, New Jersey, Connecticut,
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  Speaker 1: and the Philadelphia region. Find out more at clockworkmedia.org slash m. A,
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  Speaker 1: we begin today with a federal investigation into Swarthmore College.
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  Speaker 1: The Department of Education announced on October 7th that it
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  Speaker 1: will expand a 2025 antisemitism investigation into the Pennsylvania College.
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  Speaker 1: According to the Swarthmore Phoenix, the expansion is prompted by
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  Speaker 1: complaints that the college has not adequately and promptly responded
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  Speaker 1: to what the DOE calls particularly egregious antisemitic propaganda on campus.
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  Speaker 1: This refers to a reposted video from a former campus group,
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  Speaker 1: Students for Justice in Palestine, which depicted an effigy of
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  Speaker 1: an Israeli soldier being burned, accompanied by the message, Long
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  Speaker 1: live Al-Aqsa flood. The video, which did not depict a
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  Speaker 1: real soldier but a dummy, was originally shared by a
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  Speaker 1: Philadelphia-based group unaffiliated with the college. According to Swarthmore president
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  Speaker 1: Val Smith, the DOE's Office for Civil Rights is investigating
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  Speaker 1: whether Swarthmore has violated Title VI of the Civil Rights
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  Speaker 1: Act of 1964. OCR Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Kimberly
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  Speaker 1: Ritchie stated that if Swarthmore has in fact turned a
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  Speaker 1: blind eye to such provocation, someone is asleep at the wheel.
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  Speaker 1: Ritchie added, It appears the college's leaders have cravenly allowed
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  Speaker 1: this to happen, Therefore, OCR will thoroughly investigate Swarthmore College.
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  Speaker 1: Swarthmore Vice President for Communications and Marketing Andy Hirsch affirmed
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  Speaker 1: that the Students for Justice in Palestine group is not
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  Speaker 1: recognized by the college and is prohibited from accessing college funds,
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  Speaker 1: hosting events, or using other resources, Hirsch told the Philadelphia Inquirer.
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  Speaker 1: While we believe the complaints that led to OCR's expanded
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  Speaker 1: investigation have no merit, we will comply with the law
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  Speaker 1: and work with the Department of Education as it reviews
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  Speaker 1: the allegations. President Smith also condemned the video as a
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  Speaker 1: hateful depiction of violence, but added that Swarthmore embraces individuals'
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  Speaker 1: rights to express views, stating, We cannot allow that commitment
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  Speaker 1: to come at the expense of our right to learn, work,
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  Speaker 1: and live in a campus community free from intimidation, harassment,
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  Speaker 1: and discrimination. Turning to Ireland, reporting asserts that antisemitism has
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  Speaker 1: reached unprecedented heights. According to the Jewish Representation Council of Ireland,
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  Speaker 1: 143 antisemitic incidents were reported in the second half of
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  Speaker 1: 2025 alone. These incidents ranged from verbal abuse and vandalism
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  Speaker 1: to threats, exclusion and assault. The article claims the Irish
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  Speaker 1: government has no system for recording antisemitic incidents, asserting it
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  Speaker 1: does not care. Examples of problematic rhetoric. include Fine Gael
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  Speaker 1: councillor Panam Rain telling Dublin City Council that the entire
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  Speaker 1: US economy is ruled by the Jews, by Israel. Dublin
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  Speaker 1: councillor Philip Sutcliffe, a former Irish Olympian, reportedly posted a
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  Speaker 1: video that included Hitler. The reporting also states that swastikas
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  Speaker 1: and a Jewish star labelled with rat were painted on
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  Speaker 1: a road near Ardy, and that swastikas and graffiti reading
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  Speaker 1: Kill Jews and Zionists out of Ireland have appeared. Vandals
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  Speaker 1: have also targeted the Jewish Museum and the Belfast Synagogue.
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  Speaker 1: The article contends that Ireland is now the most dangerous
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  Speaker 1: country in Europe for Jews today. In politics and media,
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  Speaker 1: Senator Ted Cruz is sounding the alarm about rising antisemitism
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  Speaker 1: within the Republican Party. As reported by All Israel News,
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  Speaker 1: Cruz stated that antisemitism among far-right activists known as Groypers
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  Speaker 1: is becoming so widespread that it is affecting hiring decisions.
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  Speaker 1: He told the Wall Street Journal, the Groiper problem is real,
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  Speaker 1: and that antisemitism on the political right has reached levels
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  Speaker 1: he has never witnessed. Cruz indicated that his support for
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  Speaker 1: Israel has complicated staff recruitment, suggesting as many as half
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  Speaker 1: of applicants have expressed troubling sentiments related to the issue.
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  Speaker 1: The movement's de facto leader, Nick Fuentes, is known for
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  Speaker 1: promoting white nationalist ideas, antisemitic conspiracy theories, and Holocaust denial.
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  Speaker 1: Fuentes and his followers criticized the Republican establishment's support for Israel.
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  Speaker 1: A Yale Spring 2026 youth poll cited noted that 55%
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  Speaker 1: of voters ages 18 to 22 agreed with a statement
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  Speaker 1: adapted from Fuentes' calling for America to end its subservience
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  Speaker 1: to Israel. Also concerning political rhetoric, the England and Wales
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  Speaker 1: Green Party Conference passed a motion defining Zionism as racist.
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  Speaker 1: Scottish Green co-leader Gillian Mackey while calling the debate unhelpful.
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  Speaker 1: Later stated that the realization of Zionism, referencing Israeli government
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  Speaker 1: actions in Gaza and the West Bank, is racist due
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  Speaker 1: to Palestinian displacement and deaths. Mackey said, I don't think
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  Speaker 1: anybody can look at what's happening in Gaza and the
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  Speaker 1: West Bank at the moment and not see that the
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  Speaker 1: realization of that political ideology is racist. Scottish Conservative MP
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  Speaker 1: Andrew Bowie stated that the Greens under Zach Polanski have
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  Speaker 1: allowed it to rear its ugly head. Reform UK's Scottish
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  Speaker 1: deputy leader Thomas Kerr criticised Mackey and Ross Greer for
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  Speaker 1: supporting the motion, asserting it shows they care more about
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  Speaker 1: Palestinians than Scotland's Jewish communities. Finally, Shai Davidai, a former
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  Speaker 1: Columbia Business School professor, discusses his forthcoming book, American Intellectual Antisemitism,
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  Speaker 1: the anti-Jewish movement tearing through our universities. Davidai defines this
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  Speaker 1: phenomenon as a modern and insidious form of Jew-hatred that
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  Speaker 1: cloaks itself in progressive jargon and academic rhetoric. Using the
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  Speaker 1: language of social justice to disguise bigotry, he gained prominence
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  Speaker 1: following a viral post critiquing university leaders' responses to the
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  Speaker 1: October 7th attacks. David I testified before Congress, received death threats,
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  Speaker 1: and was barred from teaching his business course. He noted
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  Speaker 1: that Columbia University suspended him, which he felt revealed the
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  Speaker 1: administration's priorities. David I also draws parallels to historical antisemitism
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  Speaker 1: at Columbia, referencing his grandmother's experience in 1919 with Dean
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  Speaker 1: Virginia Gildersleeve, who enacted exclusionary policies after Jewish enrollment reached 40%.
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  Speaker 1: David I's book aims to expose the radical politics, ideological indoctrination,
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  Speaker 1: institutional indifference, leadership failures, and moral unraveling within American academia.
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  Speaker 1: observing how some students adopt anti-Israel rhetoric for social acceptance.
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  Speaker 1: I'm Rachel Adler, thank you for listening to Antisemitism Watch.
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  Speaker 1: For focused coverage from New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and
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  Speaker 1: the Philadelphia region, listen to Antisemitism Watch. MidAtlantic at ClockworkMedia.org
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  Speaker 1: slash MA. Follow Antisemitism Watch in your podcast app so
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  Speaker 1: you don't miss the next update. This report was generated
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  Speaker 1: with AI assistance and may contain inaccuracies. Please verify important
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  Speaker 1: details with primary sources.