Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.) is asking the Department of Education to re-evaluate the 2007 decision that Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects Jewish students against anti-Semitic discrimination.
In a letter to Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, Sherman expresses his concern about the response to "anti-Semitic incidents aimed at Jewish students at several colleges and universities" by the department’s Office for Civil Rights. OCR concluded in 2007 that it lacked jurisdiction over such incidents because Title VI prohibits discrimination based on "race, color or national origin." OCR said none of those categories apply to anti-Semtism.
Sherman’s letter argues that "under the federal courts’ interpretations of various civil rights statutes, Jews are both a racial and a national orgin group" and asks for a clarification of current OCR policy.
The complete letter can be seen here.
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