U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks on the ‘Trump Accounts’ tax-advantaged investment program, at Wheeler High School in Marietta, Georgia, U.S., July 22, 2026. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein

Reed College in Portland, Oregon, will adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism as part of a settlement resolving a federal civil rights complaint that alleged school officials allowed antisemitic harassment to escalate into an assault involving a potentially deadly object.

As first reported by The Free Press, the liberal arts college, founded in 1908, agreed to adopt the widely used IHRA definition following discussions with the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law and the Anti-Defamation League (ADL).

The complaint stemmed from a harrowing May 2024 incident in which members of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) allegedly threw rocks through the dormitory window of a Jewish female student, striking her in the head. The assault followed months of harassment and abuse, including the desecration of her mezuzah.

In a statement announcing the settlement on Wednesday, Reed said it was committed to ensuring that such failures are not repeated. The Brandeis Center, however, credited the Trump administration with pressing the college to act.

“This is one of the most significant OCR campus antisemitism settlements under the current administration, building on our prior settlements with Harvard University and the University of California at Berkeley,” Brandeis Center chairman and co-founder Kenneth L. Marcus said in a statement. “Reed College allowed antisemitism to fester, leading to a student being struck in the head with a rock. No institution should be the scene of that kind of violence.”

The IHRA — an intergovernmental organization comprising dozens of countries, including the United States and Israel — adopted its working definition of antisemitism in 2016. Since then, the definition has been endorsed by numerous Jewish organizations and lawmakers across the political spectrum and adopted by hundreds of governments and public institutions, including the US State Department.

According to the definition, antisemitism “is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews.” It adds that rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism may be directed against Jewish or non-Jewish individuals, their property, Jewish communal institutions, or religious facilities.

The definition also provides contemporary examples of antisemitism in public life, the media, schools, workplaces, and religious settings. Alongside traditional forms of anti-Jewish hatred and Holocaust denial, the examples include demonizing Israel, denying the Jewish people’s right to self-determination, and applying standards to Israel that are not expected of other democratic countries.

“This settlement is what accountability looks like, and it should not be the exception. It should be the standard every school holds itself to before, rather than after, a student is hurt,” [ATTRIBUTION] said. “Reed College is now bound to real reforms that demonstrate what it means for a college to combat antisemitism forcefully. In particular, it is crucial that Reed’s policies acknowledge that anti-Zionist harassment can constitute a violation of civil rights.”

The US Department of Education has said it is investigating dozens of other colleges and universities accused of failing to address campus antisemitism following the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre. During the turbulent 2023-2024 academic year, Jewish students across the country reported being spat on, assaulted, threatened, and excluded from areas of their own campuses.

The Trump administration has also frozen or withdrawn billions of dollars in federal funding from higher education institutions, demanding that they address antisemitism and adopt other reforms supported by conservatives. Some institutions, including Harvard University, have challenged the administration in court. Others have reached settlements or announced their own antisemitism initiatives, often while avoiding admissions of wrongdoing that could expose them to further federal scrutiny.

Despite these actions, campus antisemitism remains a politically fraught issue for the Trump administration. Some Jewish students and advocates welcome the administration’s willingness to impose substantial consequences on universities accused of tolerating anti-Jewish discrimination. Others are uncomfortable with Jewish civil rights becoming entangled with a broader conservative campaign against higher education.

Critics also argue that sweeping funding cuts can damage medical research, academic programs, and Jewish students themselves without directly addressing the conduct that created hostile campus environments.

These tensions have at times led Jewish academics and advocacy groups to criticize the administration, including over federal efforts to collect information about Jewish faculty members who reported experiencing antisemitism.

On Wednesday, the ADL said the administration had, in this case, pursued a time-tested civil rights process capable of producing lasting institutional change.

“We are pleased that Reed College has committed to meaningful, immediate, and long-term action to ensure that the civil rights of Jewish students on campus are protected and affirmed that antisemitism has no place on campus,” ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said. “This outcome demonstrates how the Title VI process can work to effectively protect Jewish students. We are deeply grateful for the Office for Civil Rights’ dedication and assistance in resolving this case.”

Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.