Johns Hopkins University reaches settlement to resolve complaints of antisemitism, Islamophobia

Johns Hopkins University reached a settlement Tuesday with the Department of Education over complaints of antisemitism and Islamophobia on its campus.  

The school has agreed to take actions to ensure compliance with Title VI after Muslim and Jewish students were allegedly subjected to discriminatory comments and stereotypes between Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas attacked Israel, instigating the war in Gaza, and last May.  

The Department of Education gave examples such as one professor saying, “Those brutal Arabs will, God willing, pay a price like never before.” 

Another incident involved a person on campus with a sign with a swastika on it that read, “Go Hamas, from the river to the sea, finish the job.”   

“Johns Hopkins has agreed to take important steps necessary to ensure it adequately addresses discrimination reported to it on the basis of shared ancestry and that all its students are able to learn in an environment free of harassment,” Assistant Education Secretary for Civil Rights Catherine E. Lhamon said.  

While the department said the university took “important steps” to fulfill its Title VI obligations, such as proactive outreach, it needed to do more. 

The department’s Office of Civil Rights said the school did not apply the right legal standard when determining if an incident created a hostile environment on campus.  

The office also found, in some cases, Johns Hopkins University didn’t take any action when students or staff were directly targeted.  

The university has agreed to deploy annual training to all staff responsible for investigating complaints, administer a climate assessment on campus, review response reports from all incidents in the time frame, give training to all students and staff on discrimination, and give the office all complaints of discrimination in that time frame.  

“Johns Hopkins University is deeply committed to fostering a safe, respectful, and inclusive environment for all members of our community. Discrimination of any kind, including anti-Semitism and anti-Arab bias, is not only at odds with university policy, but is also antithetical to our most fundamental values,” the school said in a statement.  

Johns Hopkins University joins multiple other schools that have entered into Title VI agreements with the department after the Israel-Hamas war began.