FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 25, 2026

Gevura Fund v. US Department of Education
Landmark Lawsuit Filed Against U.S. Department of Education for Failure to Enforce Agreement Addressing Antisemitism in Philadelphia Schools

Philadelphia, PA — The National Jewish Advocacy Center (NJAC) and the Deborah Project today announced the filing of a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) for entering into an arbitrary and capricious agreement with the School
District of Philadelphia to resolve the alleged hostile antisemitic environment, and then failing to
enforce even that inadequate agreement.

OCR had previously investigated widespread allegations of antisemitic discrimination in Philadelphia public schools and entered into a Voluntary Resolution Agreement (VRA) with the district in December 2024. The lawsuit alleges that the agreement was fundamentally insufficient from the start, and that federal officials have since failed to enforce even its limited provisions. The complaint further asserts that the Department of Education failed to carry out its mandatory duties to investigate, remedy, and enforce protections against discrimination under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

“The federal government has a basic legal obligation under Title VI to protect students from discrimination,” explained Rachel Sebbag, litigation counsel with NJAC representing the plaintiff. “Instead, it entered into a weak agreement with a school district now notorious for fostering a hostile environment for Jews. The agreement failed to address the root causes of antisemitism in the district, and then the government failed to enforce it. Jewish students are paying the price.”

The plaintiff is Gevura Fund, whose members include parents of children in the district who, according to the complaint, have continued to face antisemitic discrimination and a hostile environment in the fifteen months since the agreement was executed.

“Before and after the Title VI case in Philadelphia, the Gevura Fund has heard from parents, teachers, and students about the hostile environment for Jews in the city’s schools,” said Tina Snider, president of the Gevura Fund. “Many are afraid to speak up for fear of retaliation. It’s time for the government to be held accountable and for Jewish children to attend school without fear of bullying or harassment.”

Jerome Marcus of the Deborah Project, counsel for plaintiff, added, “Distraught Jewish parents are telling us that their children are being victimized in Philadelphia’s public schools. That is the direct consequence of the federal government’s failure to hold district leadership accountable. The government must step up and do what it is legally required to do—impose behavior-changing penalties for the district’s failure to enforce essential policies which ensure that all children can learn without fear of harassment and physical threats.”

Mark Goldfeder, CEO of NJAC, explained that “While lawsuits over the Department of Education’s broader Title VI enforcement failures are not new, this approach represents a novel effort to hold the Department accountable for entering into, and then failing to enforce, its own OCR resolution agreement in a Title VI antisemitism matter. Civil rights law cannot be performative, and an unenforced agreement is not worth the paper it was signed on.”

For additional information, please contact:
Brigette Herbst, Executive Director, Gevura Fund
brigetteherbst@gevurafund.org