April 9, 2024

Via Email: [email protected]; [email protected]

U.S. Department of Education

Office for Civil Rights
Lyndon Baines Johnson
Department of Education Bldg 400
Maryland Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20202-1100

U.S. Department of Education

Office for Civil Rights
Cleveland Office

1350 Euclid Avenue, Suite 325

Cleveland, OH 44115

I. INTRODUCTION
StandWithUs, a non-profit organization with the mission of educating about Israel and fighting
antisemitism, the Anti-Defamation League (“ADL”), a leading anti-hate organization committed
to stopping the defamation of the Jewish people and securing justice and fair treatment to all, and
the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law (“Brandeis Center”), a national non-
profit legal advocacy organization that works to combat anti-Semitism in higher education and
protect the rights of Jewish students and all students (collectively, “Complainants”), respectfully
submit this letter of complaint pursuant to Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. §
2000d et seq. (“Title VI”).

This complaint alleges discrimination and harassment experienced by current Ohio State
University (“OSU” or the “University”) students1 as a result of their actual or perceived Jewish
ethnicity/shared ancestry and/or Israeli national origin, as well as a series of incidents that have
created a hostile antisemitic campus climate at OSU for Jewish and Israeli students.

Despite ample notice to the University, OSU has failed to remediate these issues adequately.
OSU has contributed to a hostile climate for Jewish and Israeli students through inconsistent or

1
Complainants are in direct contact with students whose experiences of antisemitism are detailed herein
and can facilitate interviews between the students and the Office for Civil Rights.

1
deliberate inaction, refusal to enforce its own policies, dismissiveness toward Jewish students’
concerns, and at times unequal treatment of its Jewish and Israeli students as compared with
other minority groups on campus. As a result, Jewish students have been deprived of the ability
to fully and equally participate in the educational opportunities available to other OSU students.
Complainants seek remedies under Title VI both for those students and for other Jewish and
Israeli students who are or will be affected by the antisemitic hostile environment that is now
pervasive at OSU.
The Complainants also request mediation pursuant to Section 201(a) of OCR’s Case Processing
Manual and have provided signed consent forms.

If OSU does not agree to such mediation, or such mediation is unsuccessful, we urge your Office
to investigate thoroughly the hostile environment at OSU experienced by these students and
others due to their Jewish ancestry or ethnicity and Israeli national origin, actual or perceived. If
your investigation concludes that OSU has indeed violated Title VI, we urge your Office to
impose swift and concrete remedies, including those suggested below.

II. ANTISEMITISM AND JEWISH IDENTITY

A survey released in March 2024 by ADL and Hillel International found 73% of Jewish college
students had experienced or witnessed antisemitism since the start of the school year. The same
survey found that more than half of Jewish university students feel physically unsafe on campus
because of their Jewish identity. A majority of all students—Jewish and non-Jewish—feel that
their university has not done enough to address anti-Jewish prejudice on campus.2 According to
another recent survey, more than one-third of Jewish college students have felt compelled to
conceal their Jewish identity on campus.3
With increasing frequency, Jewish students on campuses across the country are being targeted
due to the Jewish people’s connection to Israel. Students report being shunned, harassed and
marginalized as “Zionists.” The U.S. National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism, released in
May 2023, noted that “Jewish students and educators are targeted for derision and exclusion on
college campuses, often because of their real or perceived views about the State of Israel. When
Jews are targeted because of their beliefs or their identity, when Israel is singled out because of
anti-Jewish hatred, that is antisemitism. And that is unacceptable.”4 According to the
International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance Working Definition of Antisemitism (the “IHRA
Definition”), “[h]olding Jews collectively responsible for actions of the state of Israel” is an
example of antisemitism.5

2
Campus Antisemitism: A Study of Campus Climate Before and After the Hamas Terrorist Attacks, ADL
(Nov. 29, 2023), https://tinyurl.com/d2j7ue4z.
3
Hillel International, More Than One-Third of Jewish College Students Are Forced to Hide Their Jewish
Identity, New Hillel Poll Finds (Nov. 20, 2023), https://tinyurl.com/25wd5jjx.
4
The U.S. National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism, May 2023 at 9.
5
International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) Working Definition of Antisemitism,
(https://holocaustremembrance.com/resources/working-definition-antisemitism)

2
As illustrated by ADL’s Pyramid of Hate,6 shunning and exclusion do not occur in a vacuum.
When biased attitudes are not addressed or challenged, they frequently escalate to biased and
discriminatory conduct. As OCR recognizes, Jews share more than a common faith; they are a
people with a shared history and heritage deeply rooted in the land of Israel. Indeed, according to
a PEW survey, eight in ten Jews say that caring about Israel is an essential or important part of
what being Jewish means to them.7 It is not a mere viewpoint or political opinion. For most Jews,
Zionism represents their Jewish ancestry, namely, the historic reality that the Jews as a people
originated in ancient Israel. For the majority of Jews, therefore, this ancestral connection to Israel
(i.e., Zionism) represents an integral component of their Jewish identity.

III. STATEMENT OF SUPPORTING FACTS

On October 7, 2023, thousands of Hamas terrorists invaded Israel via land, air, and sea. They
murdered over 1,200 Israelis—largely civilians, injured 6,900, and abducted over 240 as
hostages. Over the course of their attacks, the Hamas terrorists raped, mutilated, tortured, and
burned alive many of their victims, including babies and the elderly. In the wake of this terrorist
attack, hateful anti-Zionist and anti-Jewish groups and individuals have been emboldened on and
around campuses across the country,8 leading to increased harassment and threats of violence
toward Jewish and Israeli students. Unfortunately, OSU has become a prime example of such a
campus, where hostility towards Jews and Israelis thrives and where the university
administration has failed in its duties to protect those students through enforcement of its own
rules and compliance with its legal obligations. The climate of antisemitism is so severe and
pervasive at OSU that the University recently ranked among the top 25% of antisemitism
“hotspots” in a survey of 2,000 Jewish undergraduates from 51 campuses across the United
States.9
Since October 7, antisemitism on and around OSU’s campus has run the gamut, including:
outright physical assault of Jewish students; antisemitic and threatening graffiti in classrooms
and other university facilities; disruption of classrooms, walkway and library spaces; removal of
posters and photos of kidnapped Israelis; and antisemitic verbal taunts and threats directed at
individual OSU Jewish students. OSU and its Office of Institutional Equity (OIE)—despite a
declared commitment to eliminating discrimination and harassment on the basis of Jewish
ethnicity and Israeli national origin—have grossly failed in their duty to protect Jewish and
Israeli students from such attacks.

6
ADL Pyramid of Hate (https://www.adl.org/sites/default/files/pyramid-of-hate-web-english_1.pdf)
7
https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2021/05/11/u-s-jews-connections-with-and-attitudes-toward-
israel/
8
OCR’s own data bear out this alarming trend. According to OCR’s own “List of Open Title VI Shared
Ancestry Investigations,” an unusually large number of Title VI investigations of schools for alleged
discrimination involving shared ancestry have been opened after October 7, 2023. A Department of
Education spokesperson reported that, as of January 30, 2024, two-thirds of the complaints received since
October 2023 related to allegations of antisemitism. In early February 2024, the Department of Education
reportedly informed Congress that 183 shared ancestry complaints had been filed since October 7, 2023.
9
See In the Shadow of War: Hotspots of Antisemitism on US College Campuses, published by the
Brandeis University's Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies (December 2023).

3
Below is a description of numerous antisemitic incidents faced by Jewish and Israeli students on
OSU’s campus and the University’s inadequate response to them. Complainants note that in
addition to the notice given to the University at the time these incidents occurred, StandWithUs
sent OSU a letter dated January 15, 2024, detailing a majority of these incidents. OSU did not
formally respond to this letter. We respectfully request that, in the event mediation does not
successfully resolve this complaint, OCR investigate these incidents and compel OSU to take
immediate action to remediate the pervasively hostile environment for Jews and Israelis on
OSU’s campus.

A. OSU Has Failed to Address Adequately Physical Assaults Targeting OSU Jewish
Students, Both On and Off Campus.

1) Jewish students were spat upon and harassed for their Jewish identity.

About one-week after the October 7 terrorist attack, a non-Jewish sorority was selling “I love
Israel” bracelets on campus. Hillel staff was there for most of the tabling time. When the Hillel
staff left, two students walked by and spat on the women selling bracelets, who were Jewish.
Hillel staff came back to the table, and the students reported it to the university. We respectfully
request that OCR investigate whether and to what extent OSU failed to address this and
the following incidents, including by failing to investigate those involved for violations of its
Code of Student Conduct and failing to abide by other applicable campus policies.

2) Jewish students had pennies thrown at them by fraternity members

Another assault against Jewish students occurred on October 20, 2023, when members of the Phi
Psi fraternity – who are required by OSU’s Sorority and Fraternity Life rules to attend at least
one program on diversity, inclusion, or Social Justice each semester – threw pennies at Jewish
students, not only assaulting them, but at the same time invoking the age-old antisemitic trope of
Jews as cheap and/or greedy. The incident was reported to the OIE, but once again, nothing was
done to condemn the incident or to ensure protection of Jewish students on campus. According to
Complainants’ information, no administrative statements were issued; no investigation of the
fraternity was announced or implemented; no punitive actions were taken against the
perpetrators; and no increased security was provided for the students most at risk of further
attacks. Needless to say, this incident was also not reported in a Public Safety Notice or logged
on the university’s daily crime log. We respectfully request that OCR investigate this
incident, especially the extent to which OSU failed to enforce its own policies, including but
not limited to sections (B) and (K) of the Code of Student Conduct (respectively,
“Endangering health or safety” and “Disorderly or disruptive conduct”). We respectfully
request that OCR investigate OSU’s failure to impose appropriate penalties against the
students who committed the offense and their fraternity chapter, and the extent to which
the university’s response to these incidents targeting Jewish students differed from its
response to similar incidents targeting others.

4
3) Multiple students have been violently assaulted because of their Jewish Identity.

One month after the October 7 attack, two Jewish students were violently assaulted just steps off-
campus on North High Street. There was a small group of Jewish students walking to an OSU
Sorority House, when two men from behind started to shout at them, “Free Palestine.” When the
two men caught up to the group of five Jewish students, one of them saw that a person in the
group was wearing a Hebrew-lettering Chai necklace and called him a “Zionist kike.” He
pointed at that Jewish student and asked, “Are you a Jew?” He then proceeded to ask all five of
them if they were Jews, pointing at them one-by-one. The student wearing the Chai necklace
acknowledged that they were Jewish, and then seconds later, one of the two men that moments
earlier was chanting “Free Palestine” punched one of the Jewish students straight across the face
and threw him into the street. The other individual who was chanting punched another one of the
Jewish students across the face just seconds later. The two attackers, after committing a vicious
antisemitic attack, fled the scene. The Jewish students immediately went to the OSU Wexner
Medical Center on campus to seek medical attention. Both students who were violently assaulted
suffered serious injuries: one student had a broken nose, and the other a broken jaw.

Unfortunately for the Jewish students the horrors of that night did not end there.

After arriving at the OSU Medical Center, only the one student who was bleeding profusely and
needed immediate medical care was seen, and he was allowed only one guest. The other Jewish
students, including the other student who had been violently assaulted, were made to wait outside
in the freezing cold for over five hours, while their friend sought immediate medical care. The
Jewish students, who had just been assaulted for their Jewish identity mere steps from campus,
were now denied entrance into their own university’s hospital waiting room. The students were
denied entry to the building even to charge their cell phones so that they could contact friends
and family. Even after subsequent complaints were made about this mistreatment, through the
time of filing of this complaint, no one from the University hospital has contacted the students to
let them know why they were treated in this manner or to identify any policies or procedures that
would be changed to ensure that such mistreatment is not repeated. In addition, because of the
mistreatment, the second Jewish student who was violently assaulted (and woke up in pain with a
swollen jaw) did not seek treatment at the OSU Medical Center. Instead, he flew back to his
home, at considerable expense, to seek medical attention, where he learned that his face was
swollen due to a fractured jaw.

To this day, months after this assault, one of the Jewish students who was violently attacked that
evening has changed everything about how he approaches Jewish life and his Jewish experience
on campus. The student reports that he ensures that his Chai necklace is tucked into his shirt
when he is on campus so that he is not readily identifiable as a Jew. He avoids the Student Union
and library so that he is not surrounded by antisemitic protests, and he is fearful of attending
Chabad as he used to because he is worried about the continued targeting of Jewish institutions at
OSU’s campus. In short, the student has been forced to check his Jewish identity at the gate to
feel safe on his own college campus.

5
The foregoing violent incident, along with other on-campus hate incidents, led to the Governor
speaking out immediately. “We will not tolerate hate and violence on our college campuses or
anywhere in Ohio,” said Governor DeWine. “These are despicable acts, and as Governor, I will
ensure that the State continues our efforts to protect all Ohio students.”

This violent antisemitic attack occurred just steps from campus, and on the heels of other on-
campus antisemitic incidents/events. We respectfully request that OCR investigate what, if
any, resources OSU has devoted to investigating these incidents, and what
immediate/permanent increased security protocols were put in place to keep Jewish
students safe at and around OSU’s campus.

4) OSU’s inaction has encouraged further harassment of Jewish students on campus, causing
these students to avoid spaces and events on campus, thus preventing them from fully
participating in campus life.

On December 9, 2023, a Jewish student wearing a sweatshirt bearing the words “Am Yisrael
Chai” (“the people of Israel live”) in the shape of a Jewish star was confronted on the way to his
final exam by another student who told him to “take that f-ing shirt off now.” The Jewish student
expressed the fear this caused him and other Jews in a social media post, writing, in relevant part,
“I AM F[***]ING SCARED. WE ARE F[***]ING SCARED. Universities are not doing
ANYTHING.”

Further examples of such a hostile climate continued into 2024: Complainants are informed that
on January 26, 2024, a Jewish student living in off-campus housing found that their mezuzah (a
symbol of their Jewish identity) had been torn from their doorpost and thrown on the ground, and
that on February 23, 2024, a Jewish student’s dorm room door was vandalized with graffiti
reading, “Free Palestine.” On February 2, 2024, Jewish students eating Shabbat dinner at the
campus Hillel were interrupted by students banging on the Hillel windows and shouting, “Free
Palestine!”

In some cases of harassment by non-students on OSU’s property, Jewish students called the
police and OSU banned the perpetrators from campus, but it is unclear what concrete measures
OSU has taken to actually protect Jewish students from further harassment even by those same
individuals. On February 15, 2024, for example, Jewish students at the Ohio Union trying to
gather signatures on a petition against antisemitism were confronted by a man saying he would
not sign because he wants to “kill Jews.” The students called the police and this man was
officially banned from entering campus, but Complainants are unaware of any additional security
measures taken by the university to actually enforce such a ban. The following day, someone
stole an Israeli flag from the Ohio Union after a multicultural event there and proceeded to flash
a “white power” sign and harass Jewish students. Again, students called the police and OSU
banned the perpetrator from campus, but it is not clear what actual additional security measures
were implemented to enforce this ban. Moreover, to Complainants’ knowledge, OSU failed to
issue any Timely Warning alerts to the OSU community about these incidents or even to label

6
them appropriately to reflect their apparent anti-Jewish bias motivation.10 Additionally,
Complainants are unaware of any statements by University officials condemning these actions or
expressing support for OSU’s Jewish community in the aftermath of these incidents.

OCR must investigate whether OSU has taken action to protect its Jewish and Israeli
students from this type of harassment on campus, whether it appropriately recorded and
reported the incidents as required by the Clery Act to reflect their anti-Jewish motivation,
and whether the administration’s response to these incidents was comparable to its
response to harassment of other students based on other protected characteristics.

B. Verbal Harassment, Vandalism, and Threats Against Jewish Students Remain

Unaddressed.
The physical assaults described above are far from the only instances of antisemitic harassment
of Jewish students occurring on and around campus since October 7 as to which OSU has failed
to take meaningful remedial action. For instance, on October 23, 2023, on the Main Oval, a man
harassed a female Jewish student by invoking a classic antisemitic canard, telling her she had a
“Jewish nose.” The student promptly reported the incident to the OIE, which responded with a
form email assuring that it would be “working on this matter.” Several months later, the student
has received no further correspondence from the OIE; it appears that OIE did nothing to address
the incident.

Similarly, on October 18, 2023, a professor witnessed a student threaten to kill pro-Israel
students during classroom discussion and, appropriately, removed that student from the class.
However, that student was subsequently allowed to attend classes, having apparently faced no
disciplinary action from the University. On October 23, 2023, an OSU student in an OSU
dormitory stated into their phone that “Jews are bloodthirsty” while standing next to a Jewish
student wearing a Jewish star. The student reported this incident to the campus police, but, thus
far, it appears no further action has been taken.

We respectfully request that OCR investigate what, if any, resources OSU has devoted to
investigating these violations of its Code of Student Conduct and to deterring harassment
of Jewish students on its campus.

In the hostile climate fostered by OSU’s inaction, on December 3, 2023, two individuals
approached a Jewish fraternity house early in the morning while yelling antisemitic slurs and
throwing bottles at the residence. Fraternity members inside the house called the Columbus
police, who took over an hour to arrive. The fraternity members themselves alerted several
Jewish organizations as well as the OIE about the antisemitic attack. Complainants are not
aware of any response by the OIE and respectfully request that OCR investigate what

10
OSU’s Daily Crime Log lists an incident on February 15, 2024, at the Ohio Union, which it categorized
as “Disorderly Conduct _ offensive gesture or noise” and another incident at the Ohio Union the
following day which it categorized as “Disorderly Conduct (CCC) Engage in fighting.” If indeed these
entries relate to the antisemitic harassment described herein, there is no indication in this log regarding
the antisemitic nature of the offenses.

7
actions, if any, the OIE undertook in response to this report by the Jewish fraternity
members.

The following day, the Senior Vice President of Administration and Planning at OSU reportedly
informed the head of a Jewish organization on campus that OSU had a photo of the perpetrators
and would be interviewing them the following day. He also indicated that the University would
review the incident against the Code of Student Conduct and take appropriate further action.
However, there is no indication that OSU did any of this, and Complainants respectfully
request that OCR investigate what steps, if any, the administration took to apprehend and
discipline the perpetrators. If no such action was taken, Complainants request that OCR
determine why OSU failed to act, as well as why it misled the Jewish community on campus
regarding the actions the University would be taking.

Because the perpetrators have not been caught, creating an ongoing threat to the Jewish
community on and around campus, Complainants believe the University should have issued a
Public Safety Notice, which is supposed to issue “when a serious crime occurs that demonstrates
an ongoing threat to the campus community.”11 We respectfully request that OCR investigate
whether a deliberate determination was made by OSU not to issue such a notice, and if so,
whether such a determination was proper under applicable campus policies.

C. Antisemitic Demonstrations and Graffiti Proliferate Unlawfully on Campus with

OSU Complicity and Inaction.
Since October 7, antisemitic statements at OSU have also been ubiquitous at gatherings on
campus, chanted as slogans at anti-Zionist demonstrations—including those sponsored and
promoted by registered student organizations—or plastered on walls throughout the university.
We respectfully request that OCR investigate whether and to what extent OSU failed to
address the following incidents, including by failing to abide by its own university policies
and by failing to investigate those involved for violations of its Code of Student Conduct
and other applicable policies.12 In particular, Complainants call OCR’s attention to the fact that
the Code of Student Conduct applies to any activity, on or off campus, by both individual
students and student organizations, which “causes or threatens serious harm to the safety or
security of members of the university community; or… which could constitute a criminal offense
as defined by local, state or federal law, regardless of the existence or outcome of any criminal
proceeding.”

11
According to OSU’s Department of Public Safety, the Police Division issues Public Safety Notices
“when a serious crime occurs that demonstrates an ongoing threat to the campus community.” The attack
on the Jewish fraternity house unquestionably qualifies as such a threat. Two days after that attack, over
150 people rallied on the South Oval to speak out against it and other recent antisemitic incidents at OSU,
in a clear demonstration that these attacks are more than isolated incidents and that they affect the broader
campus community.
12
Complainants also ask that OCR determine whether OSU’s stated principles embodied by its Shared
Values, which were incorporated by reference in the latest version of the Code of Student Conduct, were
applied differently with respect to Jewish students than with respect to other students.

8
On December 6, 2023, Jewish students found flyers throughout campus advertising an event,
sponsored by a student organization called the Central Ohio Revolutionary Socialists (“CORS”),
scheduled for the following day in an OSU classroom. The event was titled, “Intifada,
Revolution, and the Path to a Free Palestine.” Apart from the title, which expressly calls for
violence and the destruction of Israel, the flyers (pictures of which may be seen in the Appendix)
contained images promoting violence, and in some instances included the logo of the PFLP, a
Designated Foreign Terrorist Organization according to the US State Department. When
apprised of the signs, OSU informed campus Jewish leadership that maintenance would take
down the flyers. It also informed campus Jewish leadership that “the student group has been
informed that they do not have the space reserved that is indicated on the event poster.” Despite
having full knowledge about the event before its scheduled time, possible violations of the
OSU University Space Rules, and a potential threat to campus safety,13 and despite
claiming that it cancelled the event, OSU took no action to prevent the use of its building
for the event itself, which went forward as planned. We respectfully request that OCR
investigate why OSU refused to enforce its rules with respect to an event whose very title
and advertisements promoted terrorist violence against Jews and Israelis.

Early reports from CORS itself in January 2024 claimed that OSU suspended CORS’
“registration [as a student organization], temporarily and immediately, pending a full
investigation by Student Conduct in the Office of Student Life” after the Dean of Students
determined that there was “reasonable cause to believe [its] activities pose a significant risk of
substantial harm to the safety or security of [the] organization’s members, other members of the
university community or to university property.” However, Complainants could not confirm that
CORS was ever actually formally suspended from using OSU’s resources.

According to CORS’ own social media posts, its student leaders met with OSU administrators on
January 8, 2024, and as of January 13, 2024, the group had already been officially granted the
“right to meet on campus.” By January 31, 2024, CORS claims it received a letter from OSU’s

13
According to these rules, classrooms “may be reserved for activities or events that support the
University’s teaching, research, and service missions, the University’s administrative functions, or
students’ campus-life activities consistent with these rules.” Section A. “Students are expected to conduct
themselves in accordance with all University policies, the Code of Student Conduct, and state and federal
laws.” Section F. And, “When enforcing these rules, an official or employee authorized to maintain order
on the campus or facility should make a reasonable attempt to warn and advise registered student
organizations, students, faculty, staff and non-affiliates to cease the prohibited conduct or activity before
citing and/or arresting the individual for violation of these rules, except where the conduct violating these
rules reasonably appears to create a threat to or endanger health, safety or property.” Section F
(emphasis added). According to the notice that was reportedly sent to the student organization after the
event, separate and apart from the flyers, there were possible violations of these rules, pertaining to
“reserving meeting space” and “using classroom space during a prohibited period.” These violations, by
their nature, would have been known to the university prior to the event itself, and may have warranted
further action to stop the event from happening. Moreover, OSU’s notice to the group reportedly
indicated that there was reasonable cause to believe the group’s activities posed “a significant risk of
substantial harm to the safety or security” of members of the university community or university property,
which would have permitted a university official to immediately stop that activity if they were aware of
this risk at the time.

9
Dean of Students, Danny Glassman, announcing CORS’ reinstatement. This formal
reinstatement was reflected on OSU’s website, where the group’s status was changed from
“Inactive – Fiscal/Conduct” to “Active – New/Re-Established II.”

Complainants request that OCR investigate whether a suspension was ever implemented
against CORS. If not, Complainants request that OCR determine why OSU failed to
enforce its own policies and why its spokesman claimed to OSU’s student newspaper that
CORS was “prohibited from participating in or holding activities as a registered student
organization while under investigation.” If CORS was in fact suspended, Complainants ask
that OCR investigate why the administration lifted that suspension so shortly after
imposing it, when there is no indication that the group ever rescinded its threatening
messages toward Jews and Israelis.14 Complainants further request that OCR investigate
whether the University’s actions with respect to CORS are consistent with how OSU’s
administration has treated other alleged misconduct when those most threatened by that
misconduct were not Jewish or Israeli.

According to CORS’ initial statement about its alleged suspension, the group was reported to
Student Conduct for several alleged rule violations, including a “failure to follow university rules
regarding posting temporary fliers, reserving meeting space, using classroom space during a
prohibited period (reading day), and the failure to respond to meeting requests from its advisor
and university leaders.” Yet despite these alleged violations, CORS was inexplicably allowed to
continue using University meeting spaces and advertising for its events. Photos and video posted
by the group on its social media page after its reinstatement show members of the group further
violating OSU’s University Space Rules on February 2, 2024, by draping a large banner with
“Free Palestine!” on it over the railing above a staircase and using a megaphone15 for speeches at
the Ohio Union. One member of the group used the megaphone to lead a chant of “There is only
one solution, Intifada revolution!” and to falsely accuse Israel of committing “genocide” and a
“final solution.”

CORS continues to glorify terrorism on its social media pages: it has not removed the
advertisements containing the PFLP logo and violent imagery from its Facebook or Instagram
pages, and on February 6, 2024, it posted, “Resistance to oppression is not terrorism” above a
photo and quote from PFLP terrorist Leila Khaled, infamous for being the first woman to hijack
an airplane. Even in its post announcing its reinstatement, CORS included an image depicting
Palestinians wielding assault rifles below the slogan “Free Palestine!” (See photos in Appendix).

14
Complainants request that OCR investigate whether OSU’s administration even considered CORS’
actions a threat to the Jewish and Israeli students on campus in the first place. According to a video posted
on CORS’ Instagram page on February 10, 2024, administrators told CORS members that they
suspended the group for its own protection, rather than for the protection of the Jewish or Israeli
students on campus.
15
University rules limit the locations in which signs can be hung (Section D.5 and accompanying
University Posting Standards) and provide that amplified sound is restricted except with special
permission from the university requested a minimum of 48 hours prior to the event (Section D.4).

10
Complainants note that OSU’s Code of Student Conduct provides that it “may be applied to
behavior conducted online, via e-mail, text, or other electronic medium” and that online postings
such as web postings and social networking sites … can subject a student to allegations of
conduct violations if evidence of policy violations is posted online.” OSU’s administration was
put on notice about CORS social media posts on Facebook and Instagram at least as early as
January 15, 2024 (i.e., prior to the CORS’ reinstatement), when it received a letter from
StandWithUs including screenshots of several posts, yet there is no indication that the
administration initiated any disciplinary action against those responsible for those posts.

We request that OCR investigate whether OSU’s administration conducted any

investigation into policy violations by the individual students responsible for CORS’ social
media. We further request that OCR investigate OSU’s decision to reinstate CORS prior to
taking any disciplinary action against it or any of its members in connection with their
promotion of terrorism against Israelis on social media.

In another example of OSU’s complicity in antisemitic activity on its campus, on October 25,
2023, an anti-Zionist demonstration was held in the Ohio Union, with the active participation of
OSU’s own Associate Professor of English and Faculty Advisor for the OSU Students for Justice
in Palestine, Pranav Jani. In a speech employing a loud megaphone, this professor advocated, in
the context of the Israeli-Hamas war, for the Palestinian “right to resist” and referred to Israel’s
“colonial occupation of Gaza” and to US support for Israel as “imperialism.” Such rhetoric
implicitly supports violence against Jews and Israelis and denies 3,000 years of Jewish history,
identity, and rights in their ancestral homeland. Students at this demonstration chanted, “From
the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” a well-known anti-Zionist slogan calling for the
ethnic cleansing (i.e., the elimination) of Jews who live between the Jordan River and the
Mediterranean Sea, which is where Israel is located.

Complainants note that OSU’s University Space Rules provide that not only students, but
also “Faculty and staff are expected to conduct themselves in accordance with all
University policies, and state and federal laws.” Complainants therefore request that OCR
investigate whether OSU failed to enforce its own policies against the students as well as
Professor Jani, in connection with their involvement in this antisemitic event.

Complainants also request that OCR investigate OSU’s inaction or tacit support for other
antisemitic activities on campus, including but not limited to the following:

• On October 24, 2023, the OSU Students for Justice in Palestine posted on social media a
call to participate in a “National Walkout Against US-Funded Genocide in Gaza” outside
the Ohio Union the following day. In addition to using the false accusation of “genocide”
to describe Israel’s war against Hamas, the student organization’s post called on students
to “LEAVE YOUR CLASSES, WORK & WHATEVER YOU WOULD BE DOING TO
JOIN US AT 2PM OUTSIDE THE UNION.” We request that OCR investigate
whether this post and the activity of any of the group’s members during class time
as a result of this post violated OSU’s Code of Student Conduct, and if so, why OSU
failed to enforce its own rules in order to enable this anti-Israel demonstration. In

11
 particular, Complainants direct OCR’s attention to those sections of the Code that
prohibit “[a]ny activity that tends to compromise the academic integrity of the university
or subvert the educational process” or “[d]isorderly or disruptive conduct that
unreasonably interferes with university activities or with the legitimate activities of any
member of the university community.”16

• On November 15, 2023, protesters were loudly encouraging an “intifada revolution” right
outside OSU’s President’s Office. University administrators reportedly watched the
hateful demonstration that incited violence from the nearby Office of Student Life yet did
nothing to stop it.

• On November 17, 2023, an unaffiliated student group staged a demonstration inside of

Thompson Library, unfurling a large banner, shouting slogans falsely accusing Israel of
“genocide,” and loudly reading out the names of people killed in Gaza, disrupting the
study space there for approximately an hour. Demonstrators also loudly chanted the
antisemitic call for genocide, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.” Though
the group had not obtained prior permission for its event as required by the University
Space Rules, the OSU President’s Office later acknowledged that nevertheless,
“University officials … allowed the demonstration to proceed.” Interfering with study in
the main library is another example of violating the Student Code of Conduct that
prohibits disruption of the educational process and protects the legitimate activities of
students attempting to use the library in peace and quiet. Complainants request that
OCR investigate OSU’s failure to enforce its own rules in order to facilitate these
antisemitic disruptions.

• On November 29, 2023, a “die-in” event was held for several hours in the Ohio Union,
replete with antisemitic signs falsely accusing Israel of “genocide” and “ethnic
cleansing.” Demonstrators used a loud megaphone and draped large banners on the
railings and staircase. The Director of Operations told a Jewish student at the Ohio Union
that he could not do anything to stop the event due to freedom of speech and that he
would only restrict the use of the megaphone if more students began complaining about
the noise. However, he did not indicate whether the demonstrators had received prior
permission to use such sound amplification in accordance with the University Space
Rules (Section D.4).Though he eventually instructed the demonstrators to remove a
banner that had been taped to a staircase after deeming it a fire hazard, the other banners,
e.g., those affixed to railings, appear to have been in violation of the University Space
Rules (See Section D.5 and accompanying University Posting Standards17) but were
permitted to remain in place. Complainants request that OCR investigate why OSU

16
We also draw OCR’s attention to several other posts (see Appendix) by the same student organization
on Facebook and Instagram promoting events at various locations on OSU’s campus and falsely accusing
Israel of “genocide” and “ethnic cleansing.” Despite having notice of such antisemitic activity, OSU has
not taken any action to remediate its effect.
17
The University Posting Standards provide that “Posting is strictly prohibited in or on…railings.”

12
 appears to have chosen not to enforce its own policies18 and instead permitted this
antisemitic demonstration.

• On December 5, 2023, the Senior Vice President of Administration and Planning at OSU
informed Jewish campus leadership that the University had approved a request from the
Students for Justice in Palestine group on campus to plant 8,000 Palestinian flags on the
South Oval the following day. Photos of the display, however, show that in addition to
the flags, there were mock dead bodies in shrouds and antisemitic signs reading
“Genocide University” and “Palestine Holocaust.”19 Complainants request that OCR
investigate whether the display of such signs had been approved by the
administration, and if so, what criteria were applied for this approval. If they were
not approved, we request that OCR investigate why OSU has not taken any action
to determine who was responsible for violating its policies or to discipline those
students.

• On February 8, 2023, the OSU Students for Justice in Palestine participated in a

“National Student Day of Action” promoted by the National Students for Justice in
Palestine Organization. Two days prior to the event, the group announced on its
Facebook page its intention to conduct a “mass walkout and march” outside of the Ohio
Union. Despite this group’s known history of antisemitic rhetoric and previous disruptive
behavior, the University took no action to prevent disruption of classes from this walkout
or to remind these students of their obligations to abide by the OSU Code of Student
Conduct. According to a contemporaneous report in OSU’s student newspaper,
participants in this event chanted the antisemitic call for genocide, “From the river to the
sea, Palestine will be free.”
Antisemitic rhetoric, however, was not limited to campus demonstrations. It could also be found
graffitied on the walls of OSU’s buildings. Examples include:

• Several iterations of the call for genocide of Israelis, “From the river to the sea,
Palestine will be free,” found on walls on several levels of a stairwell in Knowlton
Hall;
• At least two false accusations of Israeli “genocide” found on walls in a stairwell
in Knowlton Hall; and
• Graffiti found on December 5, 2023, in the Denney Hall girls’ bathroom
reportedly accusing Israel of “genocide.”

18
The relevance of these particular rules was reflected in an email that OSU’s Senior Vice President for
Student Life sent to the OSU student body the very same day as this demonstration, in which she
reminded students about OSU’s rules for gatherings and demonstrations, including that the University
Space Rules require reservations for gatherings of more than 100 or where a group expects sole usage of a
space, and that university signage standards limit the posting of advertisements to designated spaces –
“open posting boards (inside) and kiosks (outside).” This email also reiterated that the Code of Student
Conduct and other university policies were applicable to student behavior in connection with these
demonstrations.
19
Photos of these signs are found in the Appendix.

13
Students discovered the graffiti in Knowlton Hall (seen in the Appendix) as early as November
8, 2023, though it may have been created earlier, and prompted an email from the Office of the
Dean of the College of Engineering on November 28, 2023, noting an “increase in graffiti within
our buildings” over “the past few weeks” and reminding students that “[g]raffiti of any kind is
not permitted.” It is Complainants’ understanding that additional security cameras were recently
installed in the Knowlton stairwell to partially address the proliferation of antisemitic graffiti
there. However, there is still no indication that OSU’s administration intends to find and
discipline those responsible for violating the no-graffiti rule with these antisemitic messages.
Without such disciplinary action, the perpetrators remain emboldened20 and the climate of fear to
which the graffiti contributed for Jewish and Israeli students remains.

The hostile environment for Jewish and Israeli students is compounded not only by OSU
administrators’ inaction, but by their apparent failure to treat Jewish students’ concerns the same
way they would treat concerns by other protected groups. When a Jewish parent tried to convince
an administrator to take action against those calling for the genocide of Jews on campus by
analogizing those calls to calls for lynchings of Black people, the administrator responded by
taking umbrage at the analogy. When that parent told the administrator that their child was afraid
to display signs of their Jewish identity but that the parent was proud the student continued to
wear a Jewish star, the administrator remarked “Black students can’t peel off their brown skin.”
We request that OCR investigate whether OSU’s administration has been treating
members of protected classes differently based on a perception that some identities can be
more easily hidden than others, and whether such disparate treatment constitutes a
violation of Title VI.

IV. OSU’S TITLE VI OBLIGATIONS

Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color and
national origin in programs and activities receiving federal financial assistance, including OSU.
The Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights (“OCR”) has explained that schools “may
violate [Title VI] and the Department’s implementing regulations when peer harassment based
on race, color, [or] national origin . . . is sufficiently serious that it creates a hostile environment
and such harassment is encouraged, tolerated, not adequately addressed, or ignored by school
employees.” The Department of Education’s implementing regulations for Title VI expressly
provide, it is prohibited for a Title VI recipient to, inter alia:
(i) Deny an individual any service, financial aid, or other benefit provided under
the program;
(ii) Provide any service, financial aid, or other benefit to an individual which is
different, or is provided in a different manner, from that provided to others under
the program;

20
Some students at the school have even been agitating already for the new cameras’ removal so that the
antisemitic graffiti can be resumed without consequences. They have circulated a petition for that
purpose.

14
 (iii) Subject an individual to segregation or separate treatment in any matter related
to his receipt of any service, financial aid, or other benefit under the program; or
(iv) Restrict an individual in any way in the enjoyment of any advantage or
privilege enjoyed by others receiving any service, financial aid, or other benefit
under the program.21
Importantly, for purposes of the instant complaint, OCR has clarified that Jewish students are
among those entitled to protection from the type of discrimination prohibited by Title VI,
including harassment that creates a hostile environment, and, consequently, to have school
administrators take remedial actions if and when such conduct occurs. Specifically, OCR has
explained:
[G]roups that face discrimination on the basis of actual or perceived shared ancestry
or ethnic characteristics may not be denied protection under Title VI on the ground
that they also share a common faith. These principles apply not just to Jewish
students, but also to students from any discrete religious group that shares, or is
perceived to share, ancestry or ethnic characteristics (e.g., Muslims or Sikhs). Thus,
harassment against students who are members of any religious group triggers a
school’s Title VI responsibilities when the harassment is based on the group’s
actual or perceived shared ancestry or ethnic characteristics, rather than solely on
its members’ religious practices. A school also has responsibilities under Title VI
when its students are harassed based on their actual or perceived citizenship or
residency in a country whose residents share a dominant religion or a distinct
religious identity.22
According to OCR, “[h]arassing conduct [that violates Title VI] may take many forms, . . . does
not have to include intent to harm, be directed at a specific target, or involve repeated incidents[,
and] . . . creates a hostile environment when the conduct is sufficiently severe, pervasive, or
persistent so as to interfere with or limit a student’s ability to participate in or benefit from the
services, activities, or opportunities offered by a school.” Crucially, it is the responsibility of a
school to proceed with immediate and appropriate action to “address[] harassment incidents
about which it knows or reasonably should have known,” and, where discriminatory harassment
has occurred, to “take prompt and effective steps reasonably calculated to end the harassment,
eliminate any hostile environment and its effects, and prevent the harassment from recurring.”
OSU therefore has an obligation to address and redress the antisemitic incidents that occurred on
its campus and the overall hostile climate that currently exists therein.
V. APPLICABLE DEFINITION OF ANTISEMITISM IN TITLE VI
INVESTIGATIONS
Guidance issued by the OCR and DOJ since 2004 has extended protections under Title
21
34 C.F.R. § 100.3(b).
22
U.S. Dep’t of Education, Office for Civil Rights, Office of the Assistant Secretary, “Dear Colleague
Letter,” Oct. 26, 2010, p.5, available at https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/letters/colleague-
201010_pg5.html. See also U.S. Dep’t of Education, Office for Civil Rights, Office of the Assistant
Secretary, “Dear Colleague Letter,” Sep. 13, 2004, available at
https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/religious-rights2004.html.

15
VI to cover discrimination against Jews on the basis of their “actual or perceived shared ancestry
or ethnic characteristics.” As clarified in the 2019 Executive Order on Combating Anti-Semitism
(EO 13899), agencies tasked with Title VI enforcement are required to utilize the International
Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) Working Definition of Antisemitism (“IHRA
Definition”) when investigating potential discrimination involving antisemitism. OCR expressed
its commitment to applying the IHRA Definition on January 19, 2021, in a set of questions and
answers it issued regarding the executive order. On January 4, 2023, Department of Education
Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, Catherine Lhamon, publicly reaffirmed OCR’s
“commitment to complying with Executive Order 13899” in an email announcing the release of
OCR’s new fact sheet on “Title VI Protection from Discrimination Based on Shared Ancestry or
Ethnic Characteristics.” The continued relevance of the fact sheet and question and answer
documents was further reiterated in OCR’s Dear Colleague letters dated May 25, 2023 and
November 7, 2023 (which referred to both of those documents in their lists of Resources).

The IHRA Definition reads as follows:

Antisemitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred

toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed
toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish
community institutions and religious facilities.
Also included with the IHRA Definition and referenced in the Executive Order is a list of
examples of contemporary behavior that could, taking into account overall context, constitute
antisemitism, including demonization or dehumanization of Jews, denying the Jewish people
their right to self-determination by calling for the destruction of the Jewish State or the
elimination of Jews there and abroad, applying double standards to Israel’s behavior (i.e.,
behavior not expected or demanded of any other democratic nation), and drawing comparisons of
contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis. While antisemitic language, without more, may
not be actionable, use of the IHRA definition allows investigators to determine whether conduct
accompanied by hateful language (e.g., harassment) is antisemitic in nature.
As demonstrated above, OSU has failed to respond adequately or effectively to a pattern of
incidents on its campus that should be characterized as antisemitic under the IHRA Definition.23
OSU’s deliberate indifference and even complicity have had a detrimental impact on OSU’s
Jewish student population, including the students who shared their experiences with
Complainants. This impact will only worsen if OCR does not hold the OSU administration
accountable for its failure to remedy the hostile antisemitic environment that exists on its
campus, as required by Title VI.

23
The IHRA Definition is not only the standard applied by OCR; it is also OSU’s own standard. As
OSU’s own OIE has noted, in its definitions of Protected Classes, “Ohio State has adopted the IHRA
definition of antisemitism in accordance with Executive Order 2022-06D.”

16
VI. SUGGESTED REMEDIES
In sum, OSU has failed to enforce its own clearly applicable policies, honor its Title VI
obligations, or even comply with applicable hate crime reporting requirements under the Clery
Act. In so doing, it has allowed a hostile environment to develop for Jewish and Israeli students
at OSU, adversely impacting these students’ ability to participate fully and equally in the
educational and extracurricular activities provided by the University. Therefore, Complainants
respectfully request that, should mediation not successfully resolve this complaint, OCR
investigate the recent actions—and inactions—of OSU’s administration, including its failure or
deliberate unwillingness to enforce its own policies as they apply to Jewish and Israeli students.
We respectfully request that OCR compel OSU to take the following actions, along with any
other remedial actions that OCR deems appropriate:

1. Clearly and unequivocally communicate to the OSU community that antisemitic

conduct, including verbal harassment, will be met with a zero-tolerance policy at
OSU. OSU must issue a public statement condemning the antisemitic hostility on
campus, including on the basis of shared ancestry. OSU’s statement must recognize
that for many Jewish students at OSU, Zionism is a key component of their shared
ancestral and ethnic identity, and that harassing, demonizing, or excluding anyone on
the basis of such identity is unacceptable at OSU;

2. Implement robust enforcement of applicable campus rules and policies, including but
not limited to the Code of Student Conduct and University Space Rules for
antisemitic harassment, demonstrations, and signage on campus;

3. Provide an accounting of University policies and procedures for addressing incidents

of antisemitic bias and, to the extent that those policies or the implementation are
deficient, revise them;

4. Comply with all relevant state and federal laws, including laws regarding the
targeting of individuals based on protected identity characteristics and those related to
the timely reporting of hate crimes to the campus community, including through
Public Safety Notices;

5. Implement all measures necessary to secure the safety of Jewish and Israeli students
at OSU, including by devoting more resources, and increasing security measures,
todeter attacks against this vulnerable minority; and

6. Take the necessary steps to ensure that the University community is able to
understand and recognize the types of antisemitic discrimination that are confronting
its Jewish students, including those that involve Jewish shared ancestry connected to
Israel, and how contemporary antisemitism manifests. To do that, OSU should: (a)
Incorporate the IHRA working definition of antisemitism, including its guiding
examples, into its campus policies concerning discrimination; and (b) provide
mandatory antisemitism training to University administrators, faculty, students and

17
 staff (including especially OIE staff) on antisemitism, the IHRA definition, and
new/enhanced University policies related to harassment and discrimination.

Respectfully submitted,

Yael Lerman
Director, StandWithUs Saidoff Legal Department

Carly Gammill
Director, StandWithUs Center for Combatting Antisemitism

James Pasch
Senior Director of National Litigation, ADL
Anti-Defamation League

L. Rachel Lerman
Vice Chair and General Counsel
Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law

18
 APPENDIX

Antisemitic graffiti and flyers found on OSU’s campus, including flyers displaying the logo of a
designated Foreign Terrorist Organization:

i
Photos of December 6, 2023, Students for Justice in Palestine On Campus Demonstration:

ii
Social media posts by OSU registered student organizations:

iii
iv
Photos of November 29, 2023 “Die-In” event showing signs accusing Israel of “murder,”
“genocide” and “ethnic cleansing,” and students using a megaphone and displaying large
banners on railings: