The Department of Education accused Columbia University in New York on Wednesday of failing to meet accreditation standards required of higher education institutions because it has failed to protect its Jewish students.

The secretary of state, Office of Civil Rights The federal Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights (OCR) has informed the Higher Learning Commission, which accredits universities, that Columbia University “violates anti-discrimination laws and therefore falls short of established accreditation standards,” it said in a statement. The document states that the school has been in violation of the rules since the war in the Middle East began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas invaded Israel, killing more than 1,200 people and taking hundreds more hostage. Education Secretary Linda McMahon said in the statement that Columbia has “acted with deliberate indifference toward the harassment of Jewish students on its campus” since October 7, 2023, calling the school’s actions “immoral” and “unlawful.” The Office for Civil Rights had warned the school, one of the most prestigious in the country, on May 23 that it was violating Title VI of the the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination based on race, color, and national origin in programs and activities that receive federal funds, and today notified the accrediting commission.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration is engaged in another head-on battle with Harvard University, which it accuses of anti-Semitism, despite the institution's saying it has taken action but will not allow itself to be dictated to by the president, who has cut millions of dollars in funding and banned it from enrolling foreign students.

The Trump administration had also cut funding to Columbia for the same reason, after last year,Pro-Palestinian protesters at the university sparked a wave of demonstrations that spread to college campuses across the country, culminating in mass encampments and arrests.