Barnard settles suit alleging antisemitism, agrees to changes including anti-discrimination official

Barnard College has reached an agreement with Jewish students and others who in their lawsuit alleged antisemitism at the New York City school, the plaintiffs' lawyers announced Monday.  

As part of the agreement, Barnard will establish a Title VI coordinator to "ensure compliance with the law’s prohibition of discrimination based on race, color or national origin," according to plaintiff law firm Kasowitz.

The women's liberal-arts college, which is affiliated with neighboring Columbia University, will as part of the agreement also put restrictions on protests, prohibit the use of masks to intimidate and conceal identity and add an antisemitic component to its anti-discrimination training, Columbia Jewish & Israeli Students wrote on X on Monday.

Columbia and Barnard were the site of some of the most disruptive pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel protests on U.S. college campuses after the start of the Israel-Hamas War in October 2023. 

“Columbia, one of America’s leading universities, has for decades been one of the worst centers of academic antisemitism in the United States,” the lawsuit states.

Beginning in the 2025 fall semester, the Office of the President will also communicate an annual message of the university’s “zero tolerance” policy for discrimination and harassment on protected traits, including Jewish and Israeli identity, Kasowitz also says.

Barnard College President Laura Ann Rosenbury said in a statement, “Antisemitism, discrimination, and harassment in any form are antithetical to the values Barnard College champions. Today’s settlement reflects our ongoing commitment to maintaining a campus that is safe, welcoming, and inclusive for all members of our community. These new measures, including enhanced training and a dedicated Title VI coordinator, build on Barnard’s existing policies and make our standards and expectations for treating one another, both on and off campus, crystal clear.”

The 234-page lawsuit was initially filed on February 21, 2024 in the Southern District of New York on behalf of five Jewish students and two organizations, according to the Columbia Spectator. It was then expanded in June 2024 to include an additional 32 Jewish students as plaintiffs.

The expanded lawsuit followed continuous pro-Palestine protests on campus that led to arrests and the subsequent cancellation of Columbia’s commencement ceremony.

“In April 2024, the very same day Columbia University’s President Minouche Shafik testified before Congress that ‘safety is paramount’ and that ‘antisemitism has no place on [Columbia’s] campus,’ Columbia permitted hundreds of students, faculty, and others to occupy Columbia University’s South Lawn on campus for weeks, erecting an encampment to further their antisemitic agenda,” according to the lawsuit.