31 Summer 2025 surrounded the library.19 On October 25, 2023, protestors pushed past security guards to congregate around the floor-to-ceiling windows housing the Cooper Union library where they surrounded the library and began forcefully banging on the library doors while chanting hateful slurs and carrying antisemitic posters. Cooper Union argued that these demonstrators were protected by the First Amendment while the plaintiffs argued that the school did nothing to protect them from imminent violence, and even told law enforcement not to engage, during this targeted 20 minute display. Judge Cornan ruled that “the physically threatening or humiliating conduct that the complaint alleges Jewish students in the library experienced is entirely outside the ambit of the free speech clause,” and reiterated that “these events took place in 2023 – not 1943 – and Title VI places responsibility on colleges and universities to protect their Jewish students from harassment.”20 Other Title VI lawsuits are still working their way through the court system. For example, in Eyal Yakoby and Jordan Davis v. University of Pennsylvania, students accuse the Ivy League university of fostering an “incubation lab for virulent anti-Jewish hatred.”21 In its motion to dismiss, which is pending, Penn cited Judge Stearns’ decision in the MIT case dismissing for failure to allege deliberate indifference. On the West Coast, in The Louis D. Brandeis Center Inc. v. Regents of the University of California, filed on November 28, 2023, the Brandeis Cener alleged a “longstanding, unchecked spread of antisemitism” on the Berkley campus.22 In particular, the complaint details how 23 Berkeley law student organizations implemented discriminatory policies that inherently target Jewish students. For example, the organizations have bans on Zionist speakers and on publication by Zionists. Berkley’s motion to dismiss is before the court. The Campus Antisemitism Legal Line (“CALL”) initiative, a collaboration between Hillel, the ADL, the Brandeis Center, and Gibson Dunn & Crutcher, is an important development in the effort to address these systemic challenges.23 CALL provides pro bono legal consultation and referrals for legal representation to students, faculty, and supporters experiencing antisemitism on campus, empowering them to advocate for their rights and demand accountability from their institutions. As of September 2024, the line had received over 650 requests for legal support related to perceived antisemitic incidents on campus, highlighting the widespread nature of such experiences among students.24 By equipping students with the resources and support to navigate available legal avenues, initiatives like CALL help to ensure that universities and colleges are held to their commitments under Title VI and related obligations, fostering an environment where Jewish and Israeli students can pursue their education free from harassment or discrimination. The recent surge in antisemitism-related litigation is already beginning to shape Title VI precedent. Brave students at prominent American universities and colleges are holding their academic institutions accountable for failing to protect their Jewish and Israeli students. Many of these lawsuits have already led to meaningful new protections for students, either through an injunction or comprehensive settlements, while at least one was dismissed, and others are awaiting decisions on motions to dismiss and may soon move into the discovery phase. The throughline and key takeaway of these lawsuits, no matter what phase of litigation they are in, is that passive or token responses are no longer tolerated and will be deemed insufficient. Schools have instead been compelled to acknowledge and adopt the well-recognized IHRA definition of antisemitism, promote and focus on the importance of training programs, create new programs and hire compliance officers, and reinforce processes for enforcement of school policies. The creation of these Title VI compliance positions suggests both a new normal for Jewish students on campus, but also the ways in which 19. Gartenberg et al. v. The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, No. 1:24-cv -02669 (S.D.N.Y. Feb. 5, 2025), available at https:// www.nysd.uscourts.gov/sites/default/ files/2025-02/24cv2669%20Opinion%20and%20 Order.pdf 20. Id., at 37. 21. Eyal Yakoby and Jordan Davis v. University of Pennsylvania, No. 23-4789 (E.D. Pa. 2023). 22. The Louis D. Brandeis Center Inc. v. Regents of the University of California, No. 3:23-cv-06133 (N.D. Cal. Filed Nov. 28, 2023). 23. “Free Legal Protection Helpline for College Students Received Requests Concerning 650+ Antisemitic Incidents on Campus” HILLEL INTERNATIONAL (Sept. 2, 2024), https://www.hillel.org/free-legal-protectionhelpline-for-college-students-received-requestsconcerning-650-antisemitic-incidents-on-campus/; Students and others who wish to report an incident on campus can do so through the CALL website: https:// www.legal-protection.org/ 24. Hillel International, supra note 23.
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