Since the start of the Israel-Hamas war last fall, two of the country’s leading civil rights groups have disagreed on a lot. The Anti-Defamation League, which is dedicated to fighting antisemitism, and the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a Muslim advocacy organization, cast the plight of Jewish and Palestinian students in vastly different lights when antisemitic and anti-Muslim incidents spiked on college campuses.
But they have seen eye-to-eye on one thing: both groups agree the federal office that investigates discrimination complaints from schools lacks the resources to address the mounting pile of reported incidents.
The Office for Civil Rights, an arm of the Education Department, saw complaints rise to the highest level ever last year, according to its recently-released annual report. In fiscal year 2023, the office received 19,201 complaints, a 2% increase from the previous year’s record high of 18,804.
