The CAIR lawsuit against Northwestern University accuses the school of violating the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by requiring students to complete an antisemitism training course. The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) filed the complaint on behalf of the Graduate Workers for Palestine group, arguing the program bans “expressions of Palestinian identity.”
“Under the pretense of combating antisemitism, Defendant Northwestern University has enacted policies and practices that prohibit expressions of Palestinian identity, culture, and advocacy for self-determination,” the lawsuit claims. CAIR also alleges the university “silence[s] those, including Jewish students, who express solidarity with Palestinians.”
The training in question, produced by the Jewish United Fund, compares anti-Israel rhetoric with comments from Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke to emphasize that “you can’t tell the difference.” Students who refused to take the course were barred from class registration.
Critics say the CAIR lawsuit ignores the growing hostility toward Jewish students at Northwestern. Earlier this year, activists vandalized the campus Holocaust center with “Death to Israel” and “Intifada Now.” Protesters reportedly shouted “dirty Jew” and “Zionist pig” at students and displayed images of university president Michael Schill, who is Jewish, with devil horns.
Michael Teplitsky, president of the Coalition Against Antisemitism at Northwestern, dismissed the case. “The idea that an antisemitism training could somehow threaten anyone’s civil rights is absurd,” he said. “Northwestern worked with JUF to create a student program aimed at inclusion and understanding.”
