Representatives from several Jewish groups met with Paula Stannard, the director of the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights, last week to discuss potential action to counter antisemitism in health-care and medical education.

The meeting, organized by the Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, also included representatives from the American Jewish Medical Association, Hadassah (The Women’s Zionist Organization of America), the Anti-Defamation League, Jewish Federations of North America and StandWithUs.

Kenneth Marcus, the founder of the Brandeis Center, told JI that the meeting was the second sit-down between the Brandeis Center and HHS leadership, given an “an extraordinary surge in health sector related antisemitism reports” to Brandeis and a “greater involvement by HHS in antisemitism and other civil rights issues than we’ve seen before, so meeting with HHS has become much more important.”

He said that, in the first meeting, which was just between Brandeis and HHS, his organization “made clear the nature and scope of the problem of antisemitism in health care,” particularly the “decolonizing therapy” movement in mental health spaces that has characterized Zionism as a mental illness to be treated.

The second meeting, last week, which lasted around an hour, brought in other Jewish communal groups to share additional information.

Eveline Shekhman, the CEO of AJMA, called the meeting “very productive.”

“We went in with the goal of coming collectively, and also to take a look at how we can use the government relations arm to work and partner with the government, so in that way, we could take a look at what’s going on in the workplace environment, as well as medical schools and all the other various stakeholders that would have a part in it, which includes the [medical] associations, the unions,” Shekhman said.

She said that the AJMA representatives sought to communicate the various forms and examples of antisemitism that providers and medical students have faced.

“This has a different level of gravitas because of the life and death nature of it. … When people are distracted in the ER and the OR by politics, and particularly by antisemitism, it really puts vulnerable people, patients at risk,” Andrea Wolf, AJMA’s director of advocacy added. “And then on top of that, if a patient comes in as an identifiable Jew, wearing a magen david or a yarmulke, or something like that, we’re not sure anymore that they can get the same level of care as someone who’s not identifiably Jewish.”

Dan Granot, senior director of government relations for ADL, said in a statement, “ADL’s data shows a troubling rise in antisemitism within health care settings. We must use all levers of government to respond to this crisis. Hospitals must remain places of healing, not hate.” 

“As a member of the federal Task Force to Combat Antisemitism, the Department of Health and Human Services has a key role in confronting this scourge,” Granot continued. “We welcome HHS taking this challenge seriously and appreciate the opportunity to engage in a constructive discussion on what should be done to protect patients, providers, and future providers alike.”

Rachel Dembo, the director of policy and government relations for JFNA, said, “Nobody seeking medical care should be exposed to hate. Unfortunately, we have seen many disturbing instances of antisemitism creeping into medical settings, and too many instances where institutions failed to act or, worse, were permissive of antisemitism. We appreciate HHS OCR for taking this issue seriously and look forward to continuing to work with them and Congress to ensure Jewish Americans have access to hate-free health care.”

HHS is looking both at potential civil rights violations by individual institutions as well as at the possibility of broader policymaking to combat antisemitism in the field generally, Marcus said. He said that the problems in health care are wide-ranging, and come from patients, providers and healthcare students, in educational, hospital and medical association and conference settings.

“HHS has an extraordinarily wide jurisdiction. Since they fund such a high percentage of colleges and universities, they could certainly address many of the same sorts of situations that the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights is handling,” Marcus explained. “But they also fund medical practices, health care of various sorts, and some associations, such as the American Psychological Association, where there have been concerning reports of antisemitic activity.”

He said HHS could issue informal guidance in the form of a dear colleague letter on antisemitism, but added that he’s “concerned at the appearance that HHS continues to fund some decolonizing therapy activity,” which he said he would like to see addressed in guidance and in enforcement activities.

Wolf said that AJMA is also pushing for a “more robust and accurate reporting mechanism” for incidents of antisemitism, noting that “our biggest challenge right now is not having a clear sense of the pervasiveness and the facts on the ground.”

Wolf and Shekhman said AJMA would also support an HHS dear colleague letter — reminding entities of their legal responsibilities and duty to combat antisemitism — and further work across administrative agencies and with Congress to address antisemitism and expand scientific partnerships between the U.S. and Israel.

Wolf said AJMA is also working to track donations to medical schools by bad actors.

HHS was involved in, and announced the revocation of, funds from various university-affiliated medical programs as part of the administration’s crackdown on campus antisemitism in early 2025. But that activity tapered off and faded from the public eye in the latter part of the Trump administration’s first year.

“What we’re looking for is a second wave of Health civil rights enforcement,” Marcus said. He noted that much of that early action was undertaken by personnel in acting capacities who in some cases are no longer at the agencies, and was driven largely by initiative from the White House.

“Now we’re looking for something different,” Marcus continued, calling for “more activity of a more institutionalized sort, such as investigations by HHS career officials throughout their regional apparatus” by the Office for Civil Rights and a “more normalized effort through the HHS bureaucracy taking on the issue of antisemitism.”

He said his conversations with Stannard and HHS have made him “optimistic” that such efforts would be forthcoming from the administration.

Wolf emphasized that AJMA aims to take a more collaborative approach with both the government and with medical schools themselves, and to serve as a resource to both. She said that HHS does not “condone or encourage investigations” of medical schools by HHS, “but once they are open by HHS, there’s really no better source of facts than AJMA membership, and so we will work with the government to help them.”

She said AJMA is happy that the administration is now taking a “more thoughtful and more targeted” approach to addressing antisemitism “without threatening a lot of scientific funding.”

A bipartisan group of House lawmakers is urging colleagues to take steps to address antisemitism in the health care field in the 2026 appropriations process for the Department of Health and Human Services and related agencies.

In a letter sent Wednesday, the lawmakers called on the leaders of the Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies to demand reports from HHS on the rise of antisemitism in health care.

“Failure to confront this pernicious ideology harms not only Jewish medical professionals, students, and patients but threatens to destroy the very foundations of our healthcare system,” the letter reads. “Dangerous rhetoric from individuals in positions of influence raises fears among Jewish and Israeli students, families, and patients about whether they will receive equitable and compassionate care. Antisemitic hate and bigotry put Jewish patients at risk and undermine the ethical foundations of medicine, where commitment to the patient should be paramount.”

The lawmakers argued that there is growing evidence of a “dangerous erosion of the professional standards that define graduate medical training” and said that medical schools must enforce codes of conduct to prevent antisemitism.

The letter highlights that the vast majority of Jewish medical professionals experienced antisemitism in the year after the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attacks, and points to specific incidents which the lawmakers argue have “directly compromised patient care.” 

It also highlights issues in medical schools that they say constitute a “dangerous erosion of the professional standards that define graduate medical training” and issues in the mental health field including therapists promoting the view that Zionism is a mental illness and who have blacklisted Jewish patients and providers.

The letter urges the lawmakers, in their 2026 funding bill, to instruct HHS to provide a comprehensive report to Congress on antisemitism and civil rights violations in health care and medical schools, arguing that a lack of comprehensive data makes it difficult to tackle the problem.

It also requests a report on all civil rights complaints in health care and medical schools submitted to HHS in the past two years, including spelling out which cases included antisemitism, and how the complaints were addressed.

The letter was signed by Reps. Buddy Carter (R-GA), Dan Goldman (D-NY), Mike Lawler (R-NY), Greg Landsman (D-OH), Troy Balderson (R-OH), Brad Sherman (D-CA), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Tim Kennedy (D-NY), Haley Stevens (D-MI), Tom Suozzi (D-NY), Don Bacon (R-NE), Shelia Cherfilus-McCormick (D-FL), Sarah Elfreth (D-MD), Mike Carey (R-OH), Laura Friedman (D-CA) and Jared Moskowitz (D-FL).

“Far too many Jewish health professionals and graduate students face pervasive antisemitism that often goes unaddressed by the very institutions entrusted with their safety and wellbeing,” Rachel Dembo, the senior manager of government relations and engagement for the Jewish Federations of North America said in a statement. 

“It’s alarming that today’s current and future providers are encountering environments where antisemitism is treated as acceptable — and where it can even distort or impact clinical care,” Dembo continued. “Compassion cannot coexist with discrimination and bigotry. Jewish Federations of North America are committed to ensuring clinical care is safe and fair for all — because bias can never be part of any patient’s treatment plan.”

Lauren Wolman, the director of government relations at the Anti-Defamation League, said in a statement, “We commend bipartisan Members of Congress for sounding the alarm on this disturbing trend, and we urge the Appropriations Committee to act.”

“From hospitals to medical schools — the mission of medicine is to heal, not to harm. Antisemitic discrimination in clinical and educational environments violates that fundamental principle,” Wolman added. “Providers, students, and patients deserve an environment rooted in equity, dignity, and safety — free from antisemitism and hate.”

Ramping up its pressure campaign against Ivy League schools, the Trump administration notified Harvard University on Monday in a letter that it is reviewing the school’s billions of dollars in federal funding. 

The newly formed Federal Task Force to Combat Antisemitism will review $255.6 million in contracts and $8.7 billion in multiyear grant commitments between the government and Harvard, first reported by The Free Press and later announced by the Department of Education.

“Harvard’s failure to protect students on campus from anti-semitic discrimination — all while promoting divisive ideologies over free inquiry — has put its reputation in serious jeopardy,” Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said in a statement. “Harvard can right these wrongs and restore itself to a campus dedicated to academic excellence and truth-seeking, where all students feel safe on its campus.”

Harvard President Alan Garber argued in a statement on Monday that the university has “devoted considerable effort to addressing antisemitism” for the past 15 months. 

Those efforts, Garber said, have included “strengthen[ing] our rules and our approach to disciplining those who violate them, training and education on antisemitism across our campus and [the introduction of] measures to support our Jewish community and ensure student safety and security.”

Garber said that the university will “engage with members of the federal government’s task force to combat antisemitism to ensure that they have a full account of the work we have done and the actions we will take going forward to combat antisemitism.” 

The crackdown comes days after Columbia University agreed to enter into ongoing negotiations with the Trump administration, which cut $400 million from the university on March 7, citing the academic institution’s “ongoing inaction in the face of relentless harassment of Jewish students.” The set of demands that Columbia agreed to include putting the school’s Middle Eastern studies department under a “receivership,” which would involve closer oversight from an external body.

As an apparent preemptive measure to avoid a fate similar to Columbia’s, two heads of Harvard University’s Center for Middle Eastern Studies were let go from their roles last Wednesday. 

Task force member Sean Keveney, acting general counsel at the Department of Health and Human Services, said in a statement that the task force is “pleased that Harvard is willing to engage with us.” 

Harvard University did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Jewish Insider about the investigation. 

On March 10, the Department of Education sent letters to 60 universities, including Harvard, warning them of “potential enforcement actions” if they do not fulfill their obligations under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act to protect Jewish students.