Jewish Professor Alleges Anti-Semitic Harrassment, Retaliation at Duquesne University
TPP EDITORS’ NOTE
- Jewish Americans—who make up roughly 2.4% of the U.S. population—are consistently the targets of 63% to 70% of all religiously motivated hate crimes nationwide. On the other hand, Muslims were targeted in ~9% of religion-based hate crimes.
- Antisemitic incidents on college and university campuses experienced a steep localized rise. The ADL tracked 1,694 campus incidents in a single year, an 84% jump compared to prior levels, accounting for nearly 18% of all recorded incidents nationally.
- Arab states and Middle Eastern institutions have contributed over $16.2 billion across more than 14,000 separate transactions to nearly 300 U.S. universities.
Brandeis Center files complaint with EEOC, urging an investigation into an alleged pattern of anti-Semitism and retaliation in Duquesne’s Psychology Department
Learn more about the work of the Brandeis Center HERE.
Washington D.C. – The Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law filed a formal federal complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), urging the agency to investigate allegations that a Jewish professor at Duquesne University endured ongoing anti-Semitic harassment and a hostile work environment, then faced retaliation affecting teaching responsibilities and professional standing after repeatedly reporting the conduct. The Brandeis Center filed the EEOC charge on behalf of the professor alleging violations of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and Duquesne’s own anti-discrimination and anti-retaliation policies, which prohibit workplace discrimination based on religion and retaliation against employees who report or oppose discrimination and harassment.
According to the charge, the professor repeatedly reported anti-Jewish harassment within Duquesne’s Psychology Department beginning after the October 7, 2023 Hamas terrorist attacks on Israel, including communications and social media posts that allegedly invoked anti-Jewish stereotypes, targeted the professor personally and celebrated or excused violence against Israeli civilians. The charge also describes a broader departmental climate in which faculty and graduate students allegedly expressed support for violence against Israeli civilians, invoked anti-Jewish stereotypes and attacked or disparaged those who raised concerns about anti-Semitism. Despite the professor’s repeated reports, the charge alleges Duquesne failed to take appropriate action.
Instead, the charge alleges the objections to anti-Semitism were repeatedly turned against the professor: concerns were characterized as “unprofessional,” “uncivil,” “provocative” or made in “bad faith,” and a student whose conduct the professor had reported later filed a bullying complaint against him. The allegations extend beyond one professor. According to the charge, graduate students reported concerns about a departmental climate in which raising anti-Semitism could result in retaliation affecting grades, clinical training, licensure or future career prospects. The filing also alleges that concerns about anti-Semitic conduct within the department predated October 7, 2023.
The charge alleges the consequences ultimately extended into the professor’s work. In late 2025, Duquesne created an alternative to the professor’s required Spring 2026 course after he raised concerns about anti-Semitism, allegedly to “protect” students from feeling pressured by his views. The professor was later removed from a graduate student’s examination committee after his “ideology” was considered incompatible with the student’s.
“We have seen a spate of incidents in which Jewish Americans, including college faculty, have faced unlawful retaliation for speaking out against anti-Semitism. We won’t stand for that. Jewish professors must not face professional consequences because they report anti-Semitism in their workplace; they should be applauded for doing so,” said Hon. Kenneth L. Marcus, chairman and CEO of the Brandeis Center and the former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Education who ran the Office for Civil Rights during two administrations. “Federal law protects employees who report discrimination. When whistle-blowers face retaliation, their punishers must be punished.”
The Brandeis Center is asking the EEOC to investigate the allegations, protect the professor from further retaliation, restore professional responsibilities or opportunities affected by any discriminatory or retaliatory conduct, and require reforms to prevent future anti-Jewish discrimination and retaliation.
The Duquesne case comes amid growing concerns about anti-Semitism in psychology and the targeting of Jewish and Israeli faculty across American education. Earlier this year, the Brandeis Center filed a federal civil rights complaint against the American Psychological Association alleging widespread anti-Semitic discrimination and hostility within the psychology profession, which the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights subsequently opened for investigation. The Brandeis Center has also represented an Israeli professor at UC Berkeley who was denied a teaching position because of national origin, as well as a Jewish Brooklyn public school teacher who faced swastikas, Nazi salutes and death threats from students as harassment became increasingly threatening. A recent report from the Academic Engagement Network and ADL further documented Jewish faculty facing hostility, exclusion and professional consequences connected to Jewish identity, Israel and Zionism, including professors being labeled “Zionists” as a slur, pushed out of leadership positions and targeted in their classrooms.
The Brandeis Center has been at the forefront of efforts to combat anti-Semitism across higher education. Most recently, the organization secured a landmark Title VI settlement requiring sweeping anti-Semitism reforms at Reed College and has reached precedent-setting agreements strengthening protections for Jewish students at UC Berkeley, the Nysmith School and other institutions. One such agreement was the precedent-setting settlement with Harvard University, leading to Harvard implementing the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of anti-Semitism, and recognizing the centrality of Zionism to Jewish identity.
-The Brandeis Center
This piece was reproduced with the permission of the Brandeis Center. Any opinions articulated herein are those of the author, not The Prickly Pear. To read the original piece, please visit HERE.
