US government texts dozens of Barnard College employees asking if they’re Jewish amid antisemitism probe

Dozens of current and former employees at Barnard College have recently received text messages asking them if they’re Jewish, which after initial bewilderment have turned out to have been sent by the US federal government as part of the Trump administration’s efforts to probe the extent of antisemitism in the Columbia University affiliate, according to American media reports.

According to reports by the New York Times and the Intercept, one question asked respondents to tick all that apply: “I am Jewish”; “I am Israeli”; “I have shared Jewish/Israeli ancestry”; “I practice Judaism”; and “Other.”

“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?” read one of the questions, sent out by the administration’s Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

Respondents were given some 10 options, from “unwelcome comments, jokes or discussions” to “antisemitic or anti-Israeli protests, gatherings or demonstrations that made you feel threatened, harassed or were otherwise disruptive to your working environment,” the report says.

Jewish sociology professor Debbie Bechar tells the Times that she found it “a bit terrifying” that the administration “wants to know who the Jews are through some text message and Microsoft Office form.”

Bechar says there have been group chats in which anxious staff members wondered if the texts were real: “Clearly, it made everyone scared. I’ve been getting text messages from my former graduate students and other faculty members — I still am — asking what they should do.”

In a follow-up email sent to Barnard faculty and obtained by the Times, Barnard’s general counsel Serena Longley acknowledged that the college shared staff members’ personal contact information with the EEOC — which she said was legally entitled to receive the information due to the ongoing probe into the school — in order for it to send out the survey, but that participation was “voluntary.”

According to The Intercept, the general counsel assured staff that going forward, they will be informed ahead of time if the college is required to once again share their personal information with the Trump administration.