UIC Expected To Address Antisemitism Findings

By By Jim Talamonti | The Center Square, The Center Square

9 mins ago

(The Center Square) – The University of Illinois Chicago is expected to respond to a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission finding that the school discriminated against three faculty members because of their Jewish religion or their Israeli national origin.

StandWithUs, a nonprofit organization dedicated to combating antisemitism, said an investigation by the EEOC’s Chicago District Office found reasonable cause to believe harassment occurred from at least January 2022 at the Chicago campus.

The EEOC did not confirm or deny the finding.

“Under federal law, both charges filed with, and charge inquires made to the EEOC are confidential,” an EEOC spokesperson said in a statement to The Center Square.

Deedee Bitran, senior counsel at StandWithUs Saidoff Law, said the EEOC found the same result with three different Jewish professors who all hired different law firms.

“And that consistency matters. It shows that this wasn't just a personality conflict or misunderstanding between peers in a workplace. Rather, this exposes systemic antisemitism that the university had every opportunity to address and didn’t,” Bitran told The Center Square.

Bitran said UIC should treat Jewish employees the same as anyone else.

“This means enforcing its anti-discrimination and anti-harassment policies consistently and updating its policies to protect Jewish employees, just as its sister institution, UIUC, did just a few years ago,” Bitran said.

In September 2024, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign entered a resolution agreement with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights after a complaint alleged numerous incidents of antisemitism.

In a statement provided to The Center Square, UIC said it condemns antisemitism, hate and discrimination in all its forms and takes seriously any allegations of harassment or bias.

“The university is committed to fostering an inclusive and respectful environment and will evaluate the EEOC findings and respond accordingly,” the statement said.

Last month, the interim dean of the Chicago-based University of Illinois College of Medicine, Dr. Enrico Benedetti, testified before Congress that the school has taken steps to address antisemitism.

Bitran said UIC should update its policies to protect Jewish employees.

“Federal civil rights laws, they don't just catch patterns like this. They hold institutions accountable for them,” Bitran said.

StandWithUs said, under EEOC procedures, a finding of reasonable cause is followed by an invitation to a confidential process of conciliation in which the commission seeks to resolve the violations it has identified.

If conciliation does not resolve the matter, the charging parties may pursue their claims in federal court.

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