In a letter to national Jewish leaders, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee condemned the disruption of a University of Washington Board of Regents meeting earlier this month by anti-Israel demonstrators, who shouted down the CEO of the local Jewish federation. 

Jewish leaders accused the Board of Regents of failing to intervene and allow pro-Israel speakers to address the meeting; the board ultimately cut the meeting short as a result of the disorder.

“Public meetings are an essential democratic tradition, and disrupting such a meeting with fear and intimidation is an attempt to undermine our democracy,” Inslee, a Democrat, said in a letter to Jewish Federations of North America CEO Eric Fingerhut and Julie Platt, the organization’s board chair. “This incident must not be repeated.”

Fingerhut and Platt wrote to Inslee earlier this month asking him to respond to what they described as “one of the most vile, outrageous displays of antisemitism to be witnessed at a public meeting in the United States of America in recent memory,” condemning the board for failing to ensure that pro-Israel speakers were allowed to speak and calling for the hecklers to be punished.

Inslee said that he’d spoken to Board of Regents members before even receiving the JFNA letter and “stressed that the public’s expectation, as well as my own, is that the university ensures adequate security so that all speakers may be heard and that all meetings can be held in a safe and orderly fashion.”

He said that the board would hold a special meeting to continue discussion, while also offering some defense of the board’s response: “I recognize that the university adjourned the meeting because the disruptive participants made safe and orderly conduct impossible. This conduct resulted in at least one arrest and the investigation into this incident continues.”

Inslee said that “a review is underway” to ensure that the disruption is not repeated, and is speaking to “community members to hear their views,” including state legislators.

“In Washington state, we reject bigotry, incitement of hatred and demonization of religion. I have

consistently and purposefully condemned anti-Semitism and, as governor, have prioritized the protection of our state employees and institutions from discrimination and violence,” Inslee continued. “We have also stood in defense of democracy in all its forms and in all our public institutions and I will continue to do so.”

Fingerhut said in a statement that he appreciated Inslee’s response.

“What happened at UW was egregious, and we appreciate that Gov. Inslee has been responsive to our community, met with the Jewish Federation in Seattle, and worked to reschedule the event focused on antisemitism on campus,” Fingerhut said. “We can never allow the Jewish community to be shouted down and silenced, especially when we are simply trying to share our experiences and educate about antisemitism.”