As George Mason University contends with several major incidents of antisemitism on its campus, Democrats in the Virginia State Senate rejected Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s renomination of one of the country’s leading antisemitism experts — who has been advising the university — to its board of visitors.

State Sen. Adam Ebbin, a member of the Senate Privileges and Elections Committee, which handles nominations, told Jewish Insider that the Jan. 22 vote to block Ken Marcus, founder of the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, whom Youngkin appointed to GMU’s board of visitors in July, won’t impact the “administration and board’s ability to stand against antisemitism.” 

“I appreciate Mr. Marcus’ work against antisemitism, but it is also important to me that the civil rights of minority, female and LGBTQ students are protected,” Ebbin, who is Jewish, told JI. 

Another Jewish Democrat in the state Legislature, State Sen. Scott Surovell, told JI that “it’s a tradition, at least in my caucus of the senate, not to get into the merits of individual people who are really not able to defend themselves on the floor of the Senate, so we try not to get into that.” Ebbin and Surovell are the two Jewish members of the state Senate. 

Other Democratic Virginia state legislators did not respond to requests for comment from JI asking whether they think Marcus deserves a position on George Mason’s board, especially given the difficult environment for Jewish students on campus. 

Marcus was described by The New York Times as “the single most effective and respected force when it comes to both litigation and the utilization of the civil rights statutes” to combat antisemitism. Amid an increase of campus antisemitism, the Brandeis Center has lodged a number of Title VI cases on behalf of Jewish students seeking recourse against antisemitism. 

Critics on the left say the group silences what they see as protected political speech criticizing Israel. 

“It’s not clear to me what all of these issues have to do with a job of being a member of the board of visitors at the George Mason University,” Marcus said. “But I’m certainly proud of my record and disappointed that others may be trying to politicize the issue.” 

Marcus noted that the role of the board of visitors is not necessarily to create civil rights policy, but to “ensure that the university complies with federal and state law.” 

“Given my background as a civil rights official, a teacher and an author, I believe I have deep experience in that field.” 

In addition to Marcus, Democrats, who control the Virginia Senate, rejected eight of Youngkin’s other board appointments last week. The names could still be restored by the House of Delegates when it takes up the appointments legislation later this month. 

Youngkin said in a statement to the Washington Post that “Senate Democrats have rejected excellence. This isn’t just simply petty politics; their actions hurt Virginia and institutions like George Mason University and Virginia Military Institute. Virginians are looking to the House to right this wrong.”

At the same time, hundreds of other Youngkin appointees — including conservative Republicans — were approved by Democrats for state boards, cabinet posts and agency positions.

The move to block Marcus, who was assistant secretary of education for civil rights in President Donald Trump’s first administration, comes weeks after pro-terrorism materials were found in the home of two George Mason students who were leaders of the campus’ chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine. Separately, a third student was charged with plotting a mass casualty attack on the Israeli consulate in New York. 

Several pro-Israel individuals affiliated with the university expressed concern to JI earlier this month about the university’s response to these incidents. 

The Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington has held conversations with leadership on the issue. 

In a statement to JI, the JCRC said, “Ken Marcus and the Brandeis Center have been tireless leaders in the fight against antisemitism, especially over the last year and a half, as we have seen rates of antisemitism skyrocket to alarming levels. Over the last several days, we have been actively involved in facilitating open conversations about Mr. Marcus’s appointment to the George Mason University Board. Given the procedural status of the nomination and how quickly it is moving, we are focusing our efforts on direct communication with leadership.” 

At the same time, Vicki Fishman, director of Virginia government and community relations at the JCRC of Greater Washington, told JI on Wednesday that the George Mason board issue was “not the primary focus” of a recent JCRC-led Advocacy Day, in which Jewish groups from around Virginia gathered in Richmond to lobby legislators.

Several sources familiar with the meetings with legislators said that while the issue of antisemitism at George Mason University was not on the official list of JCRC talking points, the concerns ran so deep that it was brought up organically in many of the individuals’ meetings with state lawmakers.

“It was brought up in side conversations,” Fishman told JI. “What we all collectively lobbied on was continued funding for the Hate Crimes Security Grant Program and generally measures to combat antisemitism.” 

“People are interested in understanding what the [board] process is and how this happened,” Fishman said. “There were some questions.”