FEDERAL AGENCY ASKS BARNARD COLLEGE EMPLOYEES WHETHER THEYY ARE JEWISH

Many employees and faculty members of Barnard College, part of Columbia University, were asked in a federal survey sent to their personal phones if they were Jewish or Israeli, news outlets reported on Friday.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sent out links to what it called a voluntary survey, which also asked whether they had been subjected to antisemitism on campus.

The survey stated that the EEOC was “currently reviewing the employment practices at Barnard College.”

Columbia, along with other Ivy League universities, has been under scrutiny by the Trump administration ever since it effectively allowed pro-Palestinian agitators to harass Jewish students and block them from attending classes last school-year.

“Regardless of the stated intent, this survey in effect creates a list of Jewish faculty, staff and students at Barnard,” said Elizabeth Bauer, a Barnard professor and chair of the college’s biology department.
“The government is also now requiring undocumented immigrants, including children, to register with DHS. I’ve seen this movie before and I’m horrified.”

The survey asked respondents to choose from statements, “I am Jewish”, “I am Israeli”, “I have shared Jewish/Israeli ancestry”, “I practice Judaism” or “Other”.
Another question asked: “While working at Barnard College, were you subjected to any of the following because you practice Judaism, have Jewish ancestry, are Israeli, and/or are associated with an individual(s) who is Jewish and/or Israeli?”
Respondents could check off , “unwelcome comments, jokes or discussions”, “harassment, intimidation”, “pressure to abandon, change or adopt a practice or religious belief” and “antisemitic or anti-Israeli protests, gatherings or demonstrations that made you feel threatened, harassed or were otherwise disruptive to your working environment”.
Other questions asked the respondents’ supervisor name, date of hire and other details.
Elizabeth Hutchinson, an associate professor of American Art History at Barnard, told the Guardian newspaper that when she received the survey on her phone, her first reaction was, “This must be some kind of scam, because, how could the EEOC have my contact information?
“I was frightened, and wasn’t sure what it entailed.”
The EEOC stressed that no one was obligated to submit the survey.

— David J. Glenn