A diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) administrator was reportedly fired from the University of Michigan (UM) after making antisemitic statements, The New York Times reported Thursday.
The administrator, Rachel Dawson, said that the university was “controlled by wealthy Jews,” and that Jewish students were “wealthy and privileged” and not in need of the university’s diversity services, according to The New York Times. The university has experienced countless antisemitic incidents since the start of the war in Gaza on Oct.7, 2023.
The employee was also accused of saying “Jewish people have no genetic DNA that would connect them to the land of Israel,” according to a complaint from the Anti-Defamation League of Michigan obtained by the NYT. Dawson’s lawyer told the NYT she plans on suing the university.
Several students were charged for incidents relating to anti-Israel protests at UM in April after setting up an illegal encampment on campus and clashing with police, according to the Michigan attorney general’s office. On Monday, a Jewish regent’s home was vandalized, with pro-Palestinian messages spray painted on the regent’s cars and a mason jar filled with a “foul-smelling liquid” thrown through a window of the house, according to the Detroit News.
The University of Michigan hosts the largest and most expensive DEI program in the nation, but the efforts may soon be coming to an end after reports circulated showing the program’s failures, such as intensifying racial relations on campus and failing to increase campus diversity.
“Ms. Dawson was fired by the Provost because her behavior as a university representative at a conference and during an on-campus protest was inconsistent with her job responsibilities, including leading a multicultural office charged with supporting all students, and represented extremely poor judgement,” Kay Jarvis, director of public affairs at UM, told the Daily Caller News Foundation after publication.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect comment from the University of Michigan.
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