A national anti-Israel group for university faculty and staff is reportedly urging its activists to call Senate lawmakers to oppose steps by the Trump administration to combat antisemitism, ahead of  Wednesday’s Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on the issue.

A National Faculty and Staff for Justice in Palestine email circulated to supporters urges faculty to lobby senators against the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism, the Trump administration’s executive order on antisemitism and the recently announced investigations by the Trump administration’s antisemitism task force.

The email, first published in the Jewish Journal by journalist Asra Nomani and shared with Jewish Insider, specifically claims, “we have heard that members of [Sen. Dick] Durbin’s staff want to hear stories concerning the chilling effects” of the Trump administration’s policies. The email cites no sources for this information. Durbin is the ranking Democrat on the Judiciary Committee.

A Durbin spokesperson categorically denied the contents of the email, and said Democratic committee staff have not solicited any comments criticizing the Trump administration’s antisemitism policies.

The NFSJP email urges the faculty to “describe the chilling effect on your campus” from such policies and actions.

The email includes a script for faculty wishing to remain anonymous which reads, “I am calling to report the chilling effect on my campus of the measures taken by the Trump administration threatening criminal action or other sanctions against individuals who express criticism of Israeli policies or support for Palestinian rights. I am not willing to share my name and identifying information because the climate of fear is so intense that I fear reprisal simply for placing this call and reporting the chilling effect of the Trump administration’s actions on free speech and academic freedom on my campus.”

NFSJP did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Durbin held a controversial hearing on antisemitism and other forms of hate during his tenure as committee chair last year, with the Democratic witnesses largely out of step with the Jewish community consensus on combating antisemitism.

That hearing prompted calls from GOP members for a new hearing focused specifically on antisemitism when Republicans regained control of the Senate.

Neither party has so far disclosed who they plan to call as witnesses at Wednesday’s hearing.