'It is unconscionable that students have been made to suffer an unsafe and unwelcome learning environment without recourse...,' CAIR-Georgia leadership says
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The U.S. Department of Education's (DOE) Office for Civil Rights is investigating Atlanta's Emory University for alleged anti-Muslim discrimination on campus.
The investigation comes as college campuses across America are being engulfed by disruptive, chaotic and often violent anti-Israel protests — leaving many Jewish students with no choice but to flee campus or fear for their safety.
The DOE’s investigation comes after the Georgia chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Georgia) and Palestine Legal filed a civil rights complaint against the school on behalf of Emory Students for Justice in Palestine.
The groups claim that Palestinian, Arab and Muslim students have been called "terrorists," "fake Muslims" and endured severe harassment, intimidation and discrimination on campus and online. It claims students had their flyers, noting the number of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces, ripped down or thrown in the trash.
Students chant during an anti-Israel protest at Emory University on April 25 in Atlanta. (Elijah Nouvelage/AFP via Getty Images)
"The last 6 months at Emory University have been difficult for Palestinian, Arab and Muslim students. We want the Department of Education to do what Emory failed to — which is [to] investigate our reports of bias properly, listen to our voices, and hold Emory accountable, so we can safely advocate for Palestinian rights without fearing for our safety on campus," Emory Students for Justice in Palestine said in a release from CAIR-Georgia about the complaint. "No student should ever feel marginalized, intimidated and unsafe like we have been feeling. We are here to learn, and we should be able to do so in peace without being threatened, harassed and dox[x]ed simply for being Palestinian, Muslim, Arab or a supporter of Palestinian rights."
When reached by Fox News Digital, Emory University said it received the complaint from the DOE and will respond, but said it is unable to discuss an open investigation.
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Similarly, the DOE confirmed the investigation, but told Fox News Digital it "does not comment further on pending investigations."
CAIR-Georgia — a group whose main chapter top executive said he was "happy" to witness the Oct. 7 terrorist attack on Israel — praised the DOE’s investigation into Emory.
"It is unconscionable that students have been made to suffer an unsafe and unwelcome learning environment without recourse despite asking the University for help multiple times," Azka Mahmood, CAIR-Georgia's executive director, said in a press release. "We hope that this investigation will compel Emory University administration to address the harassment and systemic discrimination faced by Palestinian, Muslim, and Arab students."
The DOE’s investigation into anti-Muslim discrimination comes as students and outside agitators have staged often-violent anti-Israel encampments at universities across the U.S.
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At Emory, at least 28 people were arrested during a recent demonstration at the Emory Quad. The school said its Police Department "issued criminal trespass warnings to six individuals suspected of committing recent acts of vandalism on campus" and "confirmed that none of these individuals are affiliated with Emory."
Video taken on campus showed police officers armed with Tasers, tear gas and pepper balls attempting to bring the rowdy anti-Israel agitators under control.
Former FBI Special Agent and Fox News contributor Nicole Parker said the DOE investigating alleged anti-Muslim discrimination on Emory’s campus and not antisemitism is just par-for-the-course with the current federal criminal justice system under the Biden administration.
"It seems that when it comes to investigating members of the liberal progressive movement, the FBI and DOJ almost turn a blind eye," Parker told Fox News Digital. "But yet they drop the hammer on those on the conservative end of the spectrum."
Parker stressed that she cannot speak about the DOE, but said the federal criminal justice system in general "picks and chooses who they are going to protect."
"The FBI claims that the violent and dangerous actions against Jews on college campuses the past couple of weeks are simply an exercise of first amendment rights," Parker said. "If those activities don’t constitute violation of civil rights or a hate crime — I’m not sure what a hate crime is."
She pointed to the FBI’s definition of a hate crime. On its website, the FBI defines a hate crime as a "criminal offense against a person or property motivated in whole or in part by an offender’s bias against a race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, ethnicity, gender, or gender identity."
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When previously reached by Fox News Digital about the anti-Israel and often blatant antisemitic demonstrations on college campuses, the FBI released the following statement:
"The FBI is in close contact with state and local law enforcement partners and, as we do in the normal course of business, we will share any information regarding potential threats. We respect the rights of individuals to peacefully exercise their First Amendment rights and the FBI investigates individuals who violate federal law through violence or other criminal activity."
Parker encouraged any students who feel they have been the victim of a hate crime to contact the FBI by calling 1-800-CALL-FBI or submit a tip online at tips.fbi.gov.
She said "hold them accountable."
"First amendment free speech is embraced in our blessed nation, but violence, terroristic threats and destruction are not. In fact, those are serious crimes and should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law," she said.
Fox News Digital reached out to Emory Students for Justice in Palestine, but has not yet heard back.
Fox News Digital's Greg Norman and Timothy Nerozzi contributed to this report.
