NYT Discovers Jewish Employees Aren't a Monolith, But Still Sparks Backlash
While the NYT frames this as controversy over identifying 'Jewish employees,' the suit filed by the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) is reportedly seeking aggregate, anonymized data, not names. The 'backlash' appears to stem from a selective reading of 'discovery' in a very public investigation, one that saw Penn's board chairman, Scott Bok, resign after his university—like
many others—faced intense scrutiny and donor pressure following October 7. One might wonder if the real 'backlash' is against transparency into an issue frequently used to conflate criticism of Israeli government policies with antisemitism. Instead of addressing the substance of the OCR's investigation into discrimination, the narrative shifts to what appears to be a fear-mongering tactic:
suggesting a federal agency is compiling lists of Jewish people. This conveniently sidesteps accountability for universities like Penn, which has seen its presidential leadership challenged amidst accusations of failing to protect Jewish students while also facing criticism for stifling pro-Palestinian voices. The media's selective outrage over data requests contrasts sharply with its silence on
the extensive McCarthyite blacklisting of students and faculty critical of Israel. How many times have we seen alleged 'antisemitism' invoked to shut down dissent against an allied government's actions?