The U.S. Department of Education has terminated its investigation into allegations of “rampant anti-Semitism” at the University of Pennsylvania, according to a lawsuit initiated by Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison. Filed on behalf of Jewish American civil rights groups, the lawsuit seeks to reinstate the probe, which the plaintiffs argue was unlawfully closed.
The suit, which names Education Department Secretary Miguel Cardona and Assistant Secretary Catherine Lhamon as defendants, was disclosed by Law.com Radar. It emerges against the backdrop of ongoing legal and administrative discussions regarding the Department’s handling of such sensitive investigations.
The issue gained additional complexity last December when Liz Magill, then-president of the University of Pennsylvania, resigned after providing contentious testimony before the U.S. House Committee on Education. Magill suggested that the university code of conduct’s applicability to calls for the “genocide of the Jewish people” would depend on the “context,” a statement that has drawn significant public and institutional scrutiny.