Civil rights officials probe four US medical schools over antisemitism at 2024 commencement ceremonies

The Office of Civil Rights within the Department of Health and Human Services announced investigations into four medical schools.

"After October 7, we saw Jew-hatred explode not just on college campuses and city streets, but in the medical profession. This has caused a lot of concern that anti-Jewish bias in medicine endangers the lives of Jewish patients - and these concerns have not been conclusively addressed to date," said Gerard Filitti, senior counsel at The Lawfare Project, which provides pro bono legal services to protect the civil rights of the Jewish community. "The investigations announced by HHS are a crucial first step towards addressing these concerns."

Harvard's 2024 commencement ceremony was ridiculed over the school's decision to tap media CEO Maria Ressa as the school's commencement speaker following a year of incidents that included an assault against an Israeli student by pro-Palestinian protesters, scores of alleged antisemitic displays and chants, including some that praised Hamas, and numerous civil rights allegations from Jewish students. In addition, Harvard was accused by its own students of turning a blind eye to antisemitism.