In the wake of ongoing protests surrounding the Israel-Hamas conflict on campuses across the United States, a relatively unknown executive order signed by former President Donald Trump in 2019 is predicted to lead to an influx of student legal claims against universities. According to a report by NBC News, attorneys from various white-shoe corporate firms and Jewish advocacy groups are meeting with students who believe their schools are failing to adequately protect them from instances of antisemitism or anti-Israel conduct.

The executive order issued by Trump expanded the interpretation of Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, directing federal officials to consider "discrimination rooted in anti-Semitism" as a form of racial, color, or national origin-based discrimination. The order was prompted by a series of violent incidents targeting Jews, including the fatal synagogue shooting in Pittsburgh in 2018 and an attack on a Kosher supermarket in New Jersey in 2019.

While Title VI does not explicitly mention religion as a subject of discrimination, legal experts explain that federal officials have expanded interpretations to encompass ethnoreligious groups. Trump's order encouraged the use of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's definition of antisemitism, which controversially includes "holding Jews collectively responsible for actions of the state of Israel" and "drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis."

On January 19, 2021, the day before leaving office, the U.S. Department of Education released a memo defining the parameters of antisemitism in educational settings. A review of ongoing investigations by the Department reveals 15 pending cases related to race or national origin, with the most recent being filed against Oberlin College in Ohio before the recent Hamas attacks.

One such individual, Melissa Landa, an alumna of Oberlin College, filed a complaint after the school allegedly failed to address a professor who taught students that "Israel is an illegitimate settler colonial apartheid regime." Landa hopes that her Title VI complaint will set an example for other universities to take action.

Confirming an uptick in complaints since the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel in October, a spokesperson for the Department of Education stated that they are assessing all received complaints. Lawyers involved in Title VI claims have reported a significant increase in calls from Jewish college students and parents seeking representation.

Kenneth Marcus, former head of the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights, expressed astonishment at the number of cases they are handling, emphasizing the inundation of campuses with complaints. Marcus now leads the Brandeis Center for Human Rights, a nonprofit organization focused on safeguarding the civil rights of Jews.

The Brandeis Center has filed Title VI complaints against various institutions, including the University of Vermont and the State University of New York at New Paltz, on behalf of Jewish students who allege that their universities have allowed antisemitism to persist on campus. In April, the Office for Civil Rights found that the University of Vermont had failed to investigate student claims of antisemitism, leading to the signing of a resolution agreement between the university and federal officials. The Office for Civil Rights subsequently opened a formal investigation into SUNY-New Paltz.

Marcus has been advocating for expanding Title VI protections to other ethnoreligious groups, but Trump's executive order specifically focused on protecting Jews. In September, President Joe Biden noted that Title VI also prohibits Islamophobic activities in federally funded programs, although a detailed memo defining Islamophobia has not been released by the U.S. Department of Education.

On the other side of the spectrum, Gadeir Abbas, a senior litigation attorney with the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), said his organization is preparing discrimination complaints on behalf of Muslim and pro-Palestinian students who feel unjustly labeled as Hamas sympathizers or supporters of terrorism.

As per Abbas, pro-Israel groups view Title VI claims as a means to undermine student organizations advocating for Palestinian rights, potentially leading Palestinian students to file their own Title VI complaints. Reports have indicated a rise in bias incidents against Muslims, with CAIR receiving triple the number of reports and requests for help compared to the previous year.

Palestine Legal, an advocacy organization for Palestinian rights, recently filed a Title VI complaint with the U.S. Department of Education after the University of Illinois Chicago allegedly denied access to students with Arab-sounding names to an informational session on a university-sponsored Israel study abroad program.

Legal experts anticipate a significant number of future Title VI cases to be filed by Jewish students, in line with a report by the Anti-Defamation League highlighting a staggering 388% increase in harassment, vandalism, and assault incidents compared to the previous year.

Among the most vocal supporters of Jewish students using Title VI claims is the Lawfare Project, a non-profit organization representing Jewish clients. The organization has actively engaged with Jewish students on campuses, soliciting cases in Jewish WhatsApp groups and recruiting young clients through their social media campaign "End Jew Hatred."

Georgetown Law student Julia Wax is currently discussing a potential Title VI lawsuit against her university with the Lawfare Project. She alleges that pro-Palestinian student organizations on campus have publicly expressed support for Hamas. Wax believes that creating an open forum for discussing the conflict and adopting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's definition of antisemitism at Georgetown would be an ideal outcome.

In February 2020, the Lawfare Project represented one of the first Jewish college students to file a Title VI complaint following Trump's executive order. Jonathan Karten, a Columbia University student, claimed to have faced harassment by members of the campus group Students for Justice in Palestine. The case also highlighted tensions stemming from a professor's reference to Hamas' military wing as "armed resistance."

As student lawsuits based on Title VI claims gain momentum, the issue raises questions about the delicate balance between free speech and protection against discrimination on college campuses.