Vice President Kamala Harris spoke out against the antisemitism on American college campuses, pledging in a Friday virtual event before Yom Kippur to “do everything in my power to combat antisemitism whenever and wherever we see it.” 

“I know across the country, many Jewish parents and grandparents are worried for their children who are on college campuses, and I know many Jewish students have feared attending class in recent months,” Harris said. “When individuals participate in calls to violence and harassment against Jews, that is antisemitism, and I condemn it. When Jews are targeted because of their beliefs or identity, and when Israel is singled out because of anti-Jewish hatred, that is antisemitism, and I condemn it.” 

She described a need to balance students’ legitimate freedom of speech while also fighting hate on campuses.

“In the United States of America, we can and we must ensure people can peacefully make their voices heard, while we also stand up for the rule of law and stand up against hate, and this is a priority for me,” said Harris.

Until now, Harris has said little about discrimination and hostility faced by Jewish students at U.S. universities. In September, former President Donald Trump threatened to cut federal funding to universities if they don’t address antisemitism, he told the Republican Jewish Coalition. 

In July, Harris told The Nation that young pro-Palestine protesters are “showing exactly what the human emotion should be, as a response to Gaza,” while drawing some distance from their extreme rhetoric: “There are things some of the protesters are saying that I absolutely reject, so I don’t mean to wholesale endorse their points,” she said. “But we have to navigate it. I understand the emotion behind it.”