Following last year’s contentious assembly mired in allegations of antisemitism, the National Education Association — the nation’s largest teachers’ union — adopted new policies for its upcoming Denver convention aimed at preventing the same chaos, the NEA confirmed to Jewish Insider. 

“Leading up to this year’s Representative Assembly, we are taking significant steps to ensure all of our members are respected and supported at the event based on extensive feedback and consultation with the Jewish Affairs Caucus, Jewish members, and partners in the Jewish community,” an NEA spokesperson told JI.

“We have strengthened policies for addressing discriminatory or harassing conduct, streamlined the complaint process, and are empowering event staff and leaders to remove those who violate NEA’s standards. There will also be an expanded security presence at the Representative Assembly and we will continue rigorous outreach and engagement with caucuses, including the Jewish Affairs Caucus, and external partners.”

The new rules for the July 3-7 Representative Assembly include stricter conduct enforcement for delegates, electronic voting to prevent shouting on the floor, de-escalation training for staff and regular public reminders of assembly rules, according to the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, which said it worked with the union’s Jewish Affairs Caucus to lobby the NEA for the changes.

At last year’s conference in Portland, thousands of delegates passed a measure that would have barred the union from using, endorsing or publicizing any materials from the Anti-Defamation League, though the decision was later overturned by NEA’s Board of Directors.

 Several Jewish teachers who spoke out against the resolution at the RA told JI they were “harassed and shouted down during the proceedings.” Other delegates from the JAC said they were surrounded in what appeared to be coordinated disruptions, and one member who referenced the victim of an antisemitic firebombing in Colorado said other attendees then laughed and applauded.

The episode was widely criticized by Jewish educators and their allies as antisemitic, exacerbating concerns about the growing marginalization of Jews within the teachers’ union following the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terrorist attacks and the subsequent impacts in K-12 classrooms. 

JCPA CEO Amy Spitalnick, who will lead a presentation titled “How Educators Can Confront Antisemitism & Hate and Defend Democracy” at the weekend convening, said that “as extreme voices on both ends of the political spectrum pit Jewish safety against democratic norms and values, it’s vital that we carve a different path forward.”

JAC Chair Alyson Brauning celebrated the NEA’s adoption of “clear standards for speech and conduct in all union spaces and promoting a greater understanding of the needs and concerns of Jewish members.

“We want to express our gratitude to NEA leadership for their work with the JAC on these new rules, and are expressing our hopes that these will be enforced as fully and fairly as possible,” she said.  

Some NEA members, including incoming JAC leadership who say they were excluded from drafting the new policies, are reserving their judgment as to their efficacy.

Naomi Rodriguez, a math teacher in Pennsylvania and the incoming chair of JAC who will start her term on Aug. 1, told JI that despite being a “proud union member,” she believes the “NEA has significant work to do.” 

“Unfortunately, I was not consulted about the agreement reached with JCPA,” said Rodriguez.  “Our members should never have to choose between supporting our union and protecting themselves. The real test will be on the Representative Assembly floor: whether the experience of Jewish delegates is tainted by dehumanizing rhetoric and identity-based attacks, and how our NEA leadership responds.”   

Josh Hirsch, an English teacher in Colorado and incoming vice chair of the JAC, told JI he was also not included in the discussions with JCPA and NEA. 

“NEA has appropriately spoken up for racial justice and immigration issues, like George Floyd and ICE raids, but when a man firebombed a peaceful Jewish gathering in Boulder just up the road from this convention, and when gunmen opened fire on Jews celebrating Hanukkah at Bondi Beach in Sydney killing 15 people, NEA stayed silent. That silence is a failure of our values, and NEA must step up publicly and stop sitting on the fence.” 

The ADL, which was targeted by the union, also criticized the manner in which the policies came about.

“We are extremely frustrated about a so-called ‘agreement’ with JCPA that was reached without all NEA JAC leadership and delegates at the table,” the ADL told JI. “Crafting commitments that affect Jewish educators without including their incoming representatives sends a troubling message. It risks reinforcing the very sense of exclusion that the changes are presumably meant to address.”

“NEA has a considerable amount of work to do to earn back the trust of Jewish educators after last year’s Representative Assembly, and in light of the unchecked rise of antisemitism within NEA and many state and local affiliates,” the antisemitism watchdog group continued. “NEA’s inconsistent enforcement of its own protections has sent an unmistakable message: Jewish educators are not a priority. That must change now.” 

Spitalnick and the NEA disputed these accounts and insisted that JAC leadership was consulted. “Our team was keeping ADL and other Jewish organizations closely in the loop,” Spitalnick told JI. “[We’ve] been in close touch with the incoming [JAC] leaders.” 

“Leadership represents the caucus in conversations like this,” she said. 

Jay Goldfischer, a teacher in Los Angeles County who has been an NEA member for 26 years, told JI that “on paper, the changes are in the right direction.”

He added, “Actions will speak louder than words once we’re on the floor at the convention.”

Goldfischer said he is going into the RA prepared for “antisemitic and exclusionary policies [being] considered — and that continues to send the message that Jewish educators aren’t a priority.” 

“What transpired at the Representative Assembly last year was really upsetting and I have serious concerns about what could happen this year,” he continued. “Last year was not a safe environment for Jewish delegates. I think it’s premature to claim that these new policies are going to ensure the safety of Jewish members and educators when already NEA’s enforcement has not been consistent in the past.” 

“I’m still stuck on the fact that they shouldn’t have to make new rules to make an education convention safe for Jewish delegates,” he continued.

Jewish advocacy groups are celebrating a new set of wonky tax guidelines released last week by the Treasury Department that offer clarity into a new federal education tax credit that they hope will help more Jewish families access day school education. 

Education-focused nonprofits have been awaiting guidance from the federal government about the program, which provides a dollar-for-dollar federal tax credit for people who donate up to $1,700 to organizations that fund certain approved education expenses, like private school tuition and tutoring costs. 

Final guidance on the tax credit regarding regulations for the organizations, and where and how they can operate, as well as who will be able to receive the scholarship funds, are not expected to be issued until September. But last week, Kevin Salinger, the Treasury Department’s deputy assistant secretary for tax policy, did a whirlwind tour of virtual briefings with nonprofits to preview the forthcoming new guidance. Treasury also hosted an in-person briefing for stakeholders that included representatives from the Orthodox Union and Agudath Israel.

“The substance of the preview was very positive, and it was very positive for parents, for all families, for people who send their kids to public schools, to Jewish day schools and to private schools,” Sheila Katz, chief Jewish life officer at the Jewish Federations of North America, told Jewish Insider on Friday.

Passed as part of Republicans’ 2025 spending package, called the “One Big Beautiful Bill” by President Donald Trump, the federal education tax credit will formally get off the ground in 2027.

JFNA is working with its network of local Jewish federations to prepare for when the new scholarship-granting organizations (SGOs) are allowed to begin operating. The group wants people to know about the tax break they could be able to receive if they support SGOs operating within the Jewish community. Jewish organizations believe that the bump in giving prompted by the tax credit will substantially increase the amount of scholarship funds available to help Jewish children attend day schools. 

Most of the conversation about the program is happening among philanthropists, educators and administrators; it is too early for all but the most plugged-in community members to be tracking the latest developments. Still, Jewish professionals working to advance the program say that the new messaging from the Treasury Department allows them to better communicate with stakeholders ahead of the program’s official launch.

“We’ve been making sure that everyone is updated, so school leaders, parents, donors, people interested in starting SGOs — really, we want to make sure that every single person, no matter what role they play as a donor, as a scholarship recipient, as a school, have all the information needed to make this the success that it can be,” said Sydney Altfield, CEO of Teach Coalition, the Orthodox Union’s advocacy arm that supports Jewish day schools. 

One open question for Jewish organizations is whether each separate SGOs needs to be created in each state, or if those organizations could operate across state lines. The new guidance clarifies that SGOs can fund scholarships in multiple states. 

“There is opportunity for a larger-scale SGO to help minimize community resources, and open up so many different operations,” said Altfield. “There could be a national Jewish SGO that helps every single Jewish day school, Orthodox, not Orthodox, whatever it may be.”

One of the biggest question marks has been which states will participate in the program, which requires states to opt in. Many Democratic governors have been hesitant to do so, wary that they will be seen as promoting school choice programs and undermining public schools. 

The Treasury Department clarified last week that the SGOs can support public school students, which had previously been uncertain. Public schools are tuition-free, but the SGOs will be able to fund tutoring programs for public school students or support for disability inclusion. 

“We were really, really pleased to hear their commitment to making this work for public schools,” said Katz. 

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis was the first Democrat to pledge to opt into the program. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, said last month that she will opt the Empire State into the tax initiative. Many other states with large Jewish communities, including Pennsylvania, New Jersey and California, have not yet weighed in. Altfield said that Teach Coalition’s focus for the rest of this year will be to convince Democratic governors to get on board.

“We are laser focused in making sure that other governors really understand it the way that [Hochul] understands it, of leaving money on the table for public school students,” said Altfield. 

Some pro-Israel members of the United Teachers Los Angeles House of Representatives are condemning the union for bypassing its own policies to expel a Jewish teacher and Zionist activist. 

During a June 3 meeting held on Zoom, the union’s House of Representatives — the highest voting body in the union — voted to expel Amy Leserman, who retired as a Los Angeles public school teacher last year and now works at a local Jewish day school. 

Leserman chairs JewTLA, a group that seeks to help Los Angeles students, teachers and families combat classroom antisemitism through legal filings and complaints. However, she remains a polarizing figure even among some pro-Israel members of the community, who say she has personally and publicly targeted individuals she considers antisemitic and pushed union members to resign.

Still, some of those same members argue her removal violated the constitution, alleging it stemmed solely from Leserman’s personal beliefs.

“Amy has done many things in her private time against those she perceives as antisemitic and anti-Israel. She’s done many things that I don’t agree with. She’s gone after people personally, holding them accountable for their antisemitic beliefs. However, in the House of Representatives, she was simply an observer. She was allowed to be there. She never opened up her mouth, she did nothing,” Scott Mandel, a Los Angeles Unified School District teacher for 41 years who has been on UTLA’s board of directors for almost two decades, told Jewish Insider. 

“When the antisemites saw she was there, they demanded she be kicked out because of actions she took,” continued Mandel. “However, she broke no rules according to our constitution.”

Mandel, who attended the meeting, said he spoke up at the time, asserting that “if you want to start judging people because of actions in their personal life, you need to make new rules. Put that in the constitution.”

“If someone is taken out of a meeting because of what they’ve done on their own, you have to make new rules — but this is wrong. Amy is seen as very pro-Israel, so the antisemite coalition — which is big — said out with the rules and demanded her gone. For the first time in my 18 years, I saw somebody expelled for their personal beliefs.” 

UTLA, the labor union of more than 35,000 public school educators in LA, did not respond to a request for comment from JI. 

Leserman, who was a UTLA member for more than 20 years, also asserts the meeting suddenly became “an anti-Israel tirade” with participants “saying they felt threatened by my presence, they couldn’t have me there and that I was a danger to them by being in the meeting.”

She said “the president of the union let this go on for 30 to 40 minutes. [Then] they voted to expel me.” 

“There are people in the union that really resent [my involvement with JewTLA]. I don’t mind them resenting that,” said Leserman, who told JI that the rise of antisemitism in district public schools following Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, terror attacks and ensuing war in Gaza did not factor into her decision to retire. She did not elaborate on what led to that decision.  

The incident received condemnation from other Jewish union members — who also see Leserman as a controversial figure — as well as the regional chapter of the Anti-Defamation League, which called reports of the expulsion “deeply troubling.” 

A pro-Israel source familiar with the union told JI the expulsion followed months of internal tension. 

“The problem with Amy, and why she became toxic within UTLA is that when she retired she was explaining to people how to quit the union,” said the source. “She wound up getting entangled with Right to Work people, whether intentional or not. To the union as a whole, both pro-Israel and anti-Israel unionists, she became kind of toxic because of her association with Right to Work people. To what extent that played a role in what happened with the House of Representatives, it’s not clear. But it’s not black and white or that this came out of the blue.”

The source added: “She’s managed to get herself portrayed as the victim here. Everything the House of Representatives did is wrong, but the history [is important]. It’s not like she walked in as a longtime supporter of Israel and got smacked down. The anonymosity was there because of months and months of trying to get people to quit the union.” 

“I think if people quit the union it just increases the strength of the Israel and Jew haters,” the source added. 

Gregg Solkovits, a former UTLA officer and a retired teacher who has been a member of the union for 38 years, asserted that “without a doubt, it was wrong for the union to expel her.”

“What we have is intolerance from a radical minority of the union who espouses anti-Zionist rhetoric,” Solkovits, who was not on the call, told JI. “The union just elected an officer who is blatantly anti-Israel, and I say antisemitic. It’s wrong on a moral level and I think on a legal level [to expel her]. I don’t think UTLA followed its own procedures on this. It’s unfortunate that union leadership, from the president on down, chose not to say a word when it’s wrong.” 

Mandel and Leserman both pointed to a pervasive anti-Israel obsession within the union.

“This is a group that for the last two years has voted every anti-resolution possible,” said Mandel. “They’ve gotten to the point where they voted that if any politician has ever voted for arms for Israel, UTLA cannot support them. Even if you have a politician who has been the most pro-education, pro-labor person, but one time in their career voted for arms for Israel, UTLA will no longer endorse them. That’s how ridiculous they’ve gotten. They put their personal feelings ahead of what’s good for the union.”  

Leserman said, “The union does not currently have a teachers contract, the district hasn’t signed the one that they agreed on. That should have been the focus of the meeting. Instead, six out of 10 of the items on the schedule had to do with Israel and how bad Israel is. They need to deal with the problems on their doorstep — they’re about to have 6,000 teachers laid off. None of that was discussed.” 

Los Angeles Unified School District, which serves more than 560,000 students across Los Angeles County, has been accused of failing to address antisemitism — including within teachers’ unions. The district was named in a February lawsuit that highlighted several complaints from Jewish parents and children in districts across California. 

Theo Baker describes himself as “an accidental journalist.” But at just 21, his writing has already sent shockwaves through the academic world. 

As a freshman at Stanford University in 2022, he exposed then-President Marc Tessier-Lavigne’s decades-long pattern of manipulated data and research in scientific papers he co-authored or supervised, ultimately leading to his resignation. Baker, the son of New York Times reporter Peter Baker and New Yorker columnist Susan Glasser, became the youngest recipient of the George Polk Award for his reporting on Tessier-Lavigne. 

During his sophomore year, Baker published a much-discussed essay in The Atlantic called “The War at Stanford,” exploring campus culture following the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attacks in Israel. He called college “a factory of unreason” and argued that anti-Israel demonstrations and rhetoric had created a pervasive climate of fear, accusing Stanford of failing to adequately condemn the attacks or protect Jewish students, all while training the next generation of tech and industry leaders. 

Baker reflects on his turbulent college years in his new memoir and exposé, How to Rule the World: An Education in Power at Stanford University, published earlier this month. The book lays bare an elite university corrupted by Silicon Valley’s pursuit of power, all while Stanford saw a historic rise of antisemitism. 

Whether it was navigating the release of ChatGPT or grappling with the impact of the Oct. 7 attacks, Baker said every year of his experience at the elite Palo Alto, Calif., university presented a unique challenge. Weeks away from graduation, Baker spoke with Jewish Insider about his past four years on campus, the role that technology plays in rising antisemitism —  and what the future might hold for universities.  

Jewish Insider: You’ve described yourself as coming from a home with “just a tiny bit of cultural Judaism.” How has covering antisemitism changed your Jewish identity? What about your relationship with Israel?

Theo Baker: In fall 2022, I went home for Thanksgiving and said, “There’s so much antisemitism at Stanford.” I was shocked by that. It’s not something I really countered growing up. As soon as I arrived at Stanford — even in the first week — someone asked me, “why are all Jews so rich?” 

By the end of that year — and this is before Oct. 7 —- someone in my dorm, a kid who was Jewish, talked about being Jewish for the first time and someone put a bunch of swastikas and an image of Hitler on his door later that day. 

So Jewishness is an identity and not one I would have placed much investment in prior to coming to college. It was something that I knew about myself but was not particularly salient. Certainly, I, like many college students in the last few years, have been made to feel more Jewish just by the circumstances around us. It was certainly interesting to be here on campus as a reporter when the biggest story happening was something that also intersected with my own background. 

I have not taken trips to Israel [in college] but I lived in Israel briefly when my dad was the Jerusalem correspondent for The New York Times. I’ve tried to center my reporting on the things I have expertise on. Stanford is 7,000 miles away from Israel. It’s so fascinating that it became such an important issue for people, and then disappeared seemingly so quickly from the public conversation. 

JI: You wrote that extremism had made it “normal for students to be harassed and intimidated for their faith, heritage, or appearance.” You described a campus environment where to get into a party you had to say things like “f**k Israel” at the door. Do you think campus culture has improved since then? Do you expect other issues to eventually overshadow the fixation with Israel on campuses? How come the Iran war didn’t spark as many protests?  

TB: Certainly the focus has shifted dramatically. Stanford has not been a real hub of activism. It’s been a place where people have been more focused on their dorm-based startups. For one year, things were very different. Pretty quickly that [anti-Israel protests] dissipated come fall 2024. The tensions are still there, yet they’ve become far less visible. This all-consuming fixation with Israel is still certainly a thing for some quadrants of campus but is no longer the dominant narrative.   

Many of the protests were fashionable because you could join them as a pregame to a party — literally. The vast majority of students didn’t come into 2023 with the Middle East being their focus and at this point I don’t think it is either for most of them. 

Higher ed and academia perceives itself as under attacks from the federal government at the moment. A lot of attention has been focused on that, obviously a closer-to-home thing than Israel. But I also think people became less interested. 

JI: Do you think elite universities can fix this problem and what would it take? Has the threat of losing federal funding has actually changed anything? 

TB: Universities have become so sprawling that they’ve lost a sense of cohesive identity. 

Yes [the threats made an impact but] it’s a mixture of things.

JI: Your Atlantic piece on Stanford antisemitism made you a target — you’ve described receiving death threats and messages saying you should be “cooked alive.” Are you expecting similar backlash from this book or do you think the current moment is less tense? 

TB: There are a range of reactions, as you might expect. I’m grateful that both with that piece and this book there are people who care about these conversations and reasonable people can have differing interpretations. 

Sophomore year I had events canceled because of “security threats.” I did an event at Stanford for the book [last week] and no one shouted at me. So that’s a little different. I haven’t gotten as many death threats. Higher ed right now, though, is a very charged landscape so people have different reactions to things they perceive as a critique. 

JI: What reaction have you gotten from the Jewish community to the book? Who is the target audience? What should Jewish students reading this book take away from it? 

TB: I hope different people can find different things of value in this book. The Jewish community on campus is very engaged. A lot of organizers belong to the Jewish community and some of them have opened up to me about their own experiences in relation to the book. 

What I’m describing at Stanford is an inner world that is necessarily exclusive, necessarily kept obfuscated from the rest. That matters because these are the future masters of the universe who are going to assume their rightful place among the tech masters of the world. So understanding how they are being trained — all too frequently trained to cut corners to get ahead — that has a real salience for all our lives given the sheer dominance of technology. 

JI: Your reporting on President Tessier-Lavigne, which led to his resignation, demonstrated the power of students holding institutions accountable. Do you believe student journalists have generally succeeded in covering campus antisemitism fairly and making a meaningful impact since Oct. 7, or have they fallen short?

TB: The student journalism community is a wonderful one. The past few years have been really tough for student journalists, the same we’ve seen for professionals doing this work in the “real world.” Sometimes that’s magnified on campus because you’re reporting on your peers. The number of threats and doxxing that has been targeted at journalists just doing their jobs is horrifying. 

Institutions have arrested journalists just for covering college protests. A lot of student journalists have done important work in the last few years to document this important cultural story from the ground, from the campuses where these fights are breaking out. 

JI: Your book describes Stanford as a place training kids to “rule the world.” What does it mean for American Jewish life — and American values in general — that so many future tech and political leaders are being educated in environments where antisemitism is largely unchecked?

TB: In addition to antisemitism, one of the major trends we’ve seen on college campuses in the last few years is a lack of engagement with high-quality information. This is a huge problem. The way students have come to grapple with the world is often filtered with unreliable sources that are intentionally distorting the facts and events of the world. One of the results of that is the rising surge of antisemitism, clearly prevalent among my generation. The overt antisemitism, expressed explicitly in polls, is significantly higher among people my age than even 10 years older. A big part of that technology and social media. 

The people building those echo chambers are the same ones who are being trained on this campus to learn that getting ahead at any cost means putting yourself first. 

JI: Do you think this is a Gen Z problem specifically, or is it more about the ideological framework that’s taken hold on elite campuses that your generation inherited?

TB: Our [Gen Z’s] manifestation of antisemitism is unique. So much of antisemitism is the denial of antisemitism, like Holocaust reductionalism and the anti-victim narrative refusing to allow Jews to be victims of a hate crime because they are somehow seen as a category you’re punching up at. That’s a big thing on college campuses. Part of that is how people grew up on the internet.  

JI: A 2024 report from a Stanford committee focused on addressing antisemitism stated that although antisemitism manifested itself in classrooms, campus protests and among friend groups, “no venue has provided a wider and more uninhibited berth for the expression of hostility toward Jews and Israelis than social media.” How have you seen social media and AI exacerbate antisemitism — especially at Stanford which is a leader in technology? 

TB: ChatGPT arrived two months after [my freshman year class arrived]. Already there’s a huge gap between what the freshmen coming in now who had ChatGPT throughout high school are like versus the kids who were seniors when we were freshmen. 

Stanford is a vanguard of a lot of trends we see sweeping higher education — the same way Silicon Valley trends tend to filter out into broader society, the same thing is true for Stanford. It was true of the patent licensing program and corporate partnership programs. One of the biggest trends we’ve seen here in the last few years — and certainly we’ve seen filter out into the rest of higher ed — is this corporatization of the university, where students are no longer just people or teenagers, but they’re commodities that have to be both protected and buttered up. Something you can make your riches off of. 

JI: The book examines how power operates at elite universities, particularly regarding who receives institutional protection and who is left vulnerable. Based on your reporting, did you find a direct link between the donor and venture capital influence you document and how these schools manage concerns raised by Jewish students?

TB: The most important thing to understand is that the attitudes of these institutions are shaped by their relationship to money and power. Stanford likes to think of itself as an underdog institution, a place where renegade outsiders build for the sake of it and that is what has created all the innovation and fortune that has followed. Stanford is very far from an underdog right now. It’s annual budget is higher than [more than 100] countries. The result of that is governance by corporate structure — this is a place with more administrators than undergraduate students. 

You see that reflected in all facets of student life [including how] the administration is going to respond to antisemitism. Everything is filtered through the lens of donors and protecting the ability to fundraise at the level of billions of dollars Stanford has historically been at. Everything is filtered not as seeing students as going through a formative experience, but as commodities that have to be protected and preserved just as products of any business are seen. 

JI: Jewish Insider spoke with you in 2024. Now that you’re about to graduate and have the perspective of all four years — what has changed for you? Do you think what happened at Stanford after Oct. 7 was unique in any ways or just part of a broader and systemic trend across elite institutions? 

TB: Certainly very few of the things that happened at Stanford after Oct. 7 are unique to Stanford. Individual circumstances and behaviors may be, but the broader trends are all completely reflective of what we saw at basically every major institution. 

Now with a couple of years of perspective, it’s still a hard thing to explain to some degree. 

Everything was intense and quickly faded to the background. Universities got themselves into trouble by setting a standard for themselves that they weren’t equipped to hold onto when it came to the Middle East. They adopted the path of least resistance. In that sense, nothing has changed even if the words being uttered are different ones. The primary motivation isn’t an ideological one for why these universities were making statements on political causes routinely that aligned with the liberal perspective in the past, or why they are making statements now that appear to be in favor of academic freedom. For the most part, all of that is still guided by political expediency regardless of what the actual politics are.  

JI: What would you advise a Jewish student considering attending Stanford or another elite university today?

TB: Universities for the most part are about finding your people. It’s still very much possible to do that. It’s important to keep your eyes open and observe the things happening around you because so much of what we’re seeing on college campuses right now is a representation of these broader national trends in terms of our politics, culture and technology that are important to understand and reckon with. I don’t think we properly understand the implications of having such a rancorous political climate, what it looks like to have these new technologies like ChatGPT taking on such an important role in our lives.

Every person going to college right now is well positioned to observe things that are important for our society going forward, and the lessons we draw from that have a huge impact and influence on everything. 

I hope Stanford is a hyperconcentrated version of the modern university. It takes everything and turns the dial up to 11. It’s an interesting sociological experiment to look at what is happening here and see how that is reflected in what is happening in the rest of higher ed.  

Qatar has spent more than $65 million to influence U.S. education over the past 17 years through Qatar Foundation International, with efforts targeting all levels of education including K-12, universities, teacher training programs and national education networks, according to a new report from the Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy.

ISGAP, in its report, called for a federal investigation of Qatar’s influence efforts targeting American education — and some lawmakers on Capitol Hill appear eager to join those inquiries.

“Given the scale, duration, and structure of these activities, this is not a series of isolated educational programs. The 54-page report, ‘Institutional Capture,’ specifically documents how foreign-linked funding was used to shape educational content and educator training in ways that were not transparent to institutions, regulators, or the public,” Charles Asher Small, ISGAP’s executive director, said in a statement. “These findings require decisive action. We are calling on federal authorities to conduct a full review of these activities, to examine how they intersect with publicly funded programs, and to ensure that transparency and accountability are upheld across the entire education system.”

The report alleges that QFI has gone significantly further than supporting Arab-language education, as QFI now claims is its goal, and has instead undertaken efforts to exercise influence over social studies, science, technology, art and mathematics curricula, activism and educational professional development programs — and deliberately engaged in efforts to shield its work and influence, using the credibility of host organizations to which it provided funding.

“It is the realized embodiment of defined civilizational jihad against Western society outlined by the Muslim Brotherhood decades ago, entrenching and embedding its influence within Western educational institutions to transform their narratives to align with the ideology of political Islam,” the report asserts.

The report alleges that QFI has created a “new baseline standard of pedagogy” that casts doubt on Israel’s existence, rejects efforts to normalize relations between Israel and Arab states and “normalizes and relativizes terrorism.”

The report alleges that QFI’s funding efforts have most heavily targeted states with particular strategic influence — large immigrant populations, major metropolitan areas or states with particular political capital.

The report highlights that QFI has partnered with Middle East National Resource Centers — federally funded hubs at universities that support Middle Eastern language training, research, K-12 education and public outreach activities — working to disseminate QFI materials to educators in K-12 programs and institutions of higher education.

QFI-distributed curriculum materials for teachers in Arabic language, social studies, arts and humanities programs advanced anti-Israel and pro-Qatar narratives, according to the report. And it provided direct grant funding to individual teachers.

In some cases, QFI held direct oversight and review power over specific lesson plans developed by teachers in professional development programs it funded. 

QFI funded multiyear teacher leadership programs that brought educators to Doha and guided them on developing curricula on the Middle East. Such teachers were then tasked with training their fellow educators, creating a scaling model that further distributed QFI’s material and ideology.

It also filled the speaker lineups at national social studies conferences with QFI-trained presenters to advance its priorities and narratives, the report states.

QFI additionally exercised strong influence or direct control over various professional teaching organizations focused on Arabic and Middle East education, using them to spread QFI’s influence at educational conferences and in professional networks. 

It further facilitated a program with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency to bring UNRWA officials into U.S. classrooms and partner classrooms with UNRWA schools, leveraging its connections with the federally backed National Resource Centers to promote the program.

The report accuses QFI of deliberately acting to misrepresent itself as a U.S.-based nonprofit organization to educators, despite having terminated its nonprofit status in 2011 and moving its headquarters to Doha in 2014, according to Qatari news reports at the time.

“The organization has had a huge impact on US education on the Middle East over the past fifteen years, permeating curriculum development, teaching materials, website and database content, student engagement, professional development, and professional networks,” the report concludes. “This is compounded by a pattern of organizational deception that extends to QFI’s relationships with federal authorities and educational institutions, exploiting gaps in foreign agent registration requirements and educational oversight mechanisms.”

The report calls for an immediate ban on further Qatari state or QFI funding of U.S. schools or development programs, for federal investigations into QFI and the National Resource Centers that were infiltrated by QFI and for QFI to be required to register as a foreign agent.

It also calls for changes to U.S. law to require greater disclosure of QFI and other funding for schools, greater transparency for the National Resource Centers and other accountability measures for schools, professional organizations and school curricula.

Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) called the report “shocking” and said it demonstrates the “institutional capture” of the U.S. education system at all levels “by foreign adversaries who seek to control and manipulate the American education system.”

“This comprehensive report uncovers what I have investigated on the Education and Workforce Committee: that the Qatari government has systematically operated across various layers of our education system through strings-attached partnerships with universities, manipulation of taxpayer funded Title VI Middle East National Resource Centers, and curriculum development,” Stefanik said.

She said that lawmakers will continue to examine disclosure and oversight requirements and guarantee U.S. higher education “is not influenced by national security threats.”

Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) likewise said more transparency is needed.

“American classrooms should never serve as vehicles for foreign government influence. When a regime like Qatar’s quietly shapes what is taught, who is invited to speak, and which ideas are amplified on our campuses, the American people have a right to know,” Gottheimer said. “We must safeguard our curriculums from outside interference, enforce full compliance with disclosure laws, and demand real accountability from schools and universities.”

Rep. Kevin Kiley (I-CA), who chairs a subcommittee on the House Education and Workforce Committee, said that he plans to work with ISGAP and House colleagues to “to protect academic integrity from foreign agendas.”

“In contravention of Qatar’s representations that QFI funds only grants for foreign language, the report documents more than $65 million in funding for more than 220 programs between 2009 and 2025, through which QFI built a scaled and national network of influence over educators in areas that went far beyond language acquisition and reached K-12 schools, colleges, and universities,” Kiley said.

Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) said that “no foreign government should be allowed to quietly shape what American students are taught” and that “Americans deserve to know” about such efforts.

“Just as we’ve raised concerns about influence campaigns tied to China and other foreign adversaries, we should take seriously any effort by foreign-linked entities to embed themselves within our educational institutions,” Moskowitz said in a statement. “This report raises legitimate concerns about whether existing safeguards are sufficient to combat foreign-funded entities meddling in American education. I strongly urge Congress to examine these findings closely and take concrete steps to ensure foreign governments cannot use America’s classrooms as vehicles for influence campaigns.”

Over the last two years, the second semester of the academic year at American universities coincided with crisis and chaos. 

In 2024, it was anti-Israel encampments overtaking campus quads across the country; last year, it was threats from the Trump administration to slash hundreds of millions of dollars in funding and ban foreign students. 

By comparison, the spring of 2026 has been relatively smooth sailing for research universities, even with a bit of hubbub over graduation speakers scrutinized for their stance on Israel and Gaza at a few schools, including the University of Michigan and Georgetown Law. 

But it’s not that things have gone back to the pre-Oct. 7, pre-Donald Trump normal. University administrators have just gotten better at managing an ambient sense of friction: Conflict between university leaders and activist faculty and students is still bubbling under the surface, and the threat of funding cuts at the federal level lingers. 

According to several university presidents who gathered last week at the Milken Institute Global Conference in Los Angeles, the task before universities is to win back the trust of skeptical Americans. 

“The world of higher education, I think, is still in turmoil,” Vanderbilt University Chancellor Daniel Diermeier told Jewish Insider in an interview at the Milken confab. “I think the time when a university does say that’s all overblown and everything is great, that’s over. At least the vast majority of university presidents know that there are challenges, and they want to take them on.” 

While the leaders of many elite universities struggled to respond to anti-Israel activism that at times veered into antisemitism and violence, Diermeier was one of a handful of leaders at elite universities in 2023 to speak clearly about what constituted acceptable protest and what violated school rules. He has also been a forceful advocate for institutional neutrality, a position that many of Vanderbilt’s peer institutions — such as Harvard, Stanford and Columbia — have since adopted in the wake of that heady year. 

“My sense is that higher education is moving overall,” said Diermeier. “You feel there is momentum there. … It’s gratifying to see that this is happening, and it must happen, because fundamentally we need to regain the trust of the American public.” 

For American Jews, the post-Oct. 7 campus chaos has led some to rethink the kind of institution they want to attend.

“As a professor, as an educator, one of the most tragic dimensions of what’s happened on campus is it’s introduced this wedge between American Jews and the university,” Steven Weitzman, director of the Center of Advanced Judaic Studies at the University of Pennsylvania, said at a panel on antisemitism at Milken. “That relationship has been so important for Jewish success and also for the success of the university.” 

That wedge has benefitted schools like Vanderbilt and Dartmouth College, each of which have pitched themselves as places where a multiplicity of voices can be found, without the disruptions that have plagued peer institutions. 

“We have a culture that is very committed to creating an educational environment where these different voices can be heard, and where you don’t have to justify all the time that you went on a Birthright trip,” said Diermeier.

Dartmouth College President Sian Beilock started at the university in September 2023, and she said she has observed “a more robust, vibrant Jewish presence on our campus” since then. “It feels like something special is happening,” she told JI in an interview at Milken. 

Both Beilock and Diermeier touted their cooperation with the campus Chabad and Hillel organizations. Earlier this month, the student government at The New School in New York City voted to defund and sever ties with Hillel over its connections to Israel. (The administration rejected the measure.) Beilock called the development “concerning,” and Diermeier said it is “awful.”

“It would never be tolerated for any other group. It is exactly what’s wrong. At that point, you are violating the fundamental principles of an institution,” Diermeier said. “They are terrible developments and it shows us that we still have a lot of work to do.”

Like Vanderbilt, Dartmouth took on the tumult of the post-Oct. 7 era forcefully and directly. Beilock said she was always clear about the university’s mission in a way that some of her colleagues at other schools were not, though that is beginning to change.

“We’ve called balls and strikes, and I actually think it’s led to a campus where we have some of the most diverse views portrayed on campus in a way that’s more respectful,” Beilock said. “I see a shift in presidents understanding that it’s important to call out the mission of an institution, to be clear about that, and important to ensure that people who are both receiving our education and benefiting from the impact, whether it’s our doctors or discoveries, see the power in what we do.”

In other words: universities need to do a much better job of telling their stories, and not acting like their worth is self-evident. Trust in higher education was higher last year than in 2023 or 2024 — 42%, according to a Gallup poll in 2025, up from 36% — but still down from 57% a decade before. University of Southern California President Beong-Soo Kim said at a Milken panel about the future of higher education that the problems facing the academy connect to a broader loss of public trust.

“There’s a larger breakdown in trust in other institutions, not just higher education, and I think that that’s something important to understand,” Kim said. “I think that there’s an opportunity for partnership among universities, between universities and the government, and the private sector.” 

Making change on that front requires humility, a quality that is not always present among elite institutions. 

“I think there’s a lot of institutional rigidity to prevent that from happening,” said Eric Gertler, CEO of U.S. News & World Report, which publishes annual college rankings.

Rebuilding that trust runs through Washington, university leaders have begun to realize. Prominent universities are building out satellite campuses — and lobbying shops — in the nation’s capital. 

Diermeier and Beilock told JI that they have each decided to engage with Washington more than ever, including by traveling to the city regularly for meetings with members of Congress and administration officials. Vanderbilt and Dartmouth have for now managed to avoid the most severe of the civil rights investigations or funding cuts coming from the Trump administration, but shifts in funding priorities from the federal government still impact the schools. 

“I spent a lot of time in D.C. in the last year. I’ve probably been there close to a dozen times, and I plan to continue it. It’s more than I did before, but really important,” Beilock said. “I think we have to be clear to our representatives what the value of the government-university partnership is and how important it is not to lose it. And part of that, to me, is being clear where we can do better.”

Minnesota Vikings owner Mark Wilf, the son of Holocaust survivors, believes that his family’s history and his role owning an NFL franchise give him a unique responsibility: to use his platform to educate younger generations about the dangers of antisemitism and bigotry. 

That mission was on display Saturday, when Wilf was joined by Vikings defensive tackle Levi Drake Rodriguez, offensive lineman Walter Rouse, defensive end Elijah Williams and former Vikings tight end Visanthe Shiancoe as the group took a tour of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum together with a group of Black and Indigenous Minneapolis-area high school students. 

The visit marked the sixth such trip coordinated by the Vikings and the nonprofit Project Success and was aimed at exposing students to history through tours of both the Holocaust museum and the National Museum of African American History and Culture. 

“It’s very important for young people to learn about history and how they can make an impact on the world and society,” Wilf told Jewish Insider during the group’s guided tour of the Holocaust museum. “To learn the history of the world — where sometimes there’s hatred and bigotry and see what it can lead to — and also learn the impact of an individual: how an individual can change things, can fight back and how we can set an example by being tolerant and learning from each other.”

Wilf and his brother, Zygi Wilf, have owned the Minnesota Vikings since 2005. Wilf’s family has long supported Holocaust education and survivor organizations, including Yad Vashem, the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum and the Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York. He is the current chair of the Jewish Agency for Israel, after recently serving as chair of the Jewish Federations of North America.

During World War II, Wilf’s father, Joseph, was deported with his family to a Siberian labor camp. His mother, Elizabeth, survived by escaping the Lvov ghetto and hiding in a barn with her family until liberation. Joseph and Elizabeth met at a displaced persons camp in Germany after the war, married and came to America.

For Wilf, the Vikings’ partnership with Project Success connects his professional platform with that family legacy.

“My parents, grandparents, are all Holocaust survivors, so it’s deeply personal to myself and my family,” Wilf said. “We’re very privileged to be in this country and as Americans, and being part of the NFL … so I’m going to use that platform to help educate.”

The veteran Vikings owner acknowledged that antisemitism is “much more out there” today, but emphasized that the need for education remains constant. “It doesn’t matter when the time is, to be educated is important,” he said. “Every generation has to learn that history over and over again. The bigotries, the prejudices, the hatreds — these lessons are always critical to making society better.”

“All these lessons from history, these things happened, and now, by going through these museums and being on the street, they [the students] are now witnesses, and they have a responsibility to tell, to learn that as individuals they can make an impact,” he added. 

Beyond exposing students to Holocaust history, Wilf said it was also important for Vikings players to join the tour — both to help guide the students and to experience the history themselves.

“Our Vikings players are so appreciative of representing the Vikings and being here,” Wilf said. “People look up to professional athletes like the Minnesota Vikings. We’re appreciative that they’re great ambassadors for our organization, and they’re learning as well at the same time.” 

Rouse, an offensive tackle who was selected in the sixth round of the 2024 NFL Draft, told JI that it was his first time on the trip and that he would not hesitate to do it again. He said the experience was especially enlightening for him based on “how little I learned in high school on what happened in the Holocaust.”

“The main thing I knew was about Anne Frank and Auschwitz,” Rouse said. “It’s important that everyone at least understands and gets a glimpse of what happened with the Holocaust, especially with the state of the world today.”

“The fact that you had people [Wilf’s parents] that were able to survive the Holocaust and still persevere through to have raised someone like Mark and have that strength to move forward and to get through that evil — it’s just important,” he added. “It’s a disgusting part of the history of the world, but I think it’s important that everyone knows about that.”

Rouse said that having the students in attendance was especially important: 

“A few of them [the students] talked about how they didn’t even know a lot about the Holocaust, they only learned a couple things,” Rouse said. “They may have known a lot about slavery, but they didn’t know about the Holocaust. Being able to see that perspective actually brings us closer together because we have more things in common with one another. I think that’s one thing that we can connect and share and come together that can just help bring us forward.” 

Rouse said the effort is something that more NFL teams and players should emulate. “I think there are players in every single team that do want to get involved, do want to help,” he said. “And there are students across the country in each and every state that would not hesitate to say yes and come to something like this and be part of the experience. I think we should do this for as many people as we can.” 

Williams, a defensive end who signed with the Vikings in 2025, said the most important part of the experience was “understanding history.” Echoing Rouse, Williams said the museum tour offered a closer look at a subject he felt was not taught in enough depth in school.

“In school, you don’t really get too in-depth of all the atrocities. But when you get into these museums, you really get the unfiltered truth. That’s what we need in society — unfiltered truth so we don’t sugarcoat the atrocities of the past,” Williams said. “We tend to repeat it [history], and this is just another example of the hatred in the world and how we need to avoid it.”

But while the players had their own takeaways from the experience, Williams similarly emphasized that “the kids being here was way more important than us [the players] being here.” 

“The younger generation is always going to be the future, even though we’re not that many years apart,” Williams said. “I feel like them being here is just going to help bring more change into this world, more than the previous generations could bring.” 

Rodriguez, a defensive tackle and seventh-round selection in the 2024 NFL Draft for the Vikings, said the experience was important in bringing the history “to light.” 

“I think it just brings to light the history that is brutal, heartbreaking and gut-wrenching, and shows how we could seek a change in our lives and get more knowledge from that,” Rodriguez said. “Just how many souls had to fight day in and day out. You can’t even put into words, honestly, the [amount of] mass casualties that took place. And for what? Someone’s race, skin color or ethnicity? It’s insane.”

Citadel CEO Ken Griffin praised Rahm Emanuel’s tenure as former mayor of Chicago while attacking Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker for his handling of crime and education issues — two Democrats seen as potential presidential contenders —  during a panel at the annual Milken Institute Global Conference on Tuesday. 

The billionaire hedge fund magnate and major Republican donor has held a longstanding feud with Pritzker over his state’s economic, crime and education policies to the point that he moved his firm’s headquarters from Chicago to Miami, Florida.

Griffin said his acrimonious relationship with New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani was “triggering of the trauma I went through in Chicago.” Citadel has a major presence in New York City, but Griffin has threatened not to proceed with a major planned development in Manhattan due to Mamdani’s use of Griffin’s property there to promote a tax on luxury second homes.

“Chicago went through a renaissance during most of my 30 years there,” Griffin said on Tuesday. “Under the leadership of JB Pritzker, [former Chicago Mayor] Lori Lightfoot and the current mayor [Brandon Johnson], it has just evolved into a state that has lost its way. … This is really a story of the progressive left. I mean, when Rahm Emanuel was there, I think he did an extraordinary job of helping to deal with the issues that we had in our public schools and that we had with crime on the streets.”

Griffin touted the work he did with the Emanuel administration to get the city to “use digital technology to forecast what crime could occur.”

“I helped to fund this work, and we would actually pre-position police officers in these crime hotspots. We brought murder rates down in one of the most difficult neighborhoods by 50% in less than two years. That’s lives saved. That’s both political leadership, thought leadership and execution from our police department,” he said. 

“We saw that JB Pritzkers and Lori Lightfoots of the world dismantle these gains that we were making that we’re really improving the lives of people who depend upon good government to make their lives better.”

Griffin said violent crime was “the biggest problem” that caused him to leave the state, telling Eisen that “I had a colleague stabbed outside the door of our building. I had a colleague’s house burned down by an arsonist. I could just go on for the next 10 minutes about muggings, about bullets flying through people’s cars.”

“It became impossible to recruit people to Illinois, because of the question they posed: ‘I love the job, I love the people, but will my family be safe here?’” he continued. “You couldn’t look somebody in the eyes and go, ‘Your family will be safe here.’ You couldn’t. The best you could do is, ‘I hope they will be.’”

The Citadel chief executive said his team’s conversations with Mamdani’s City Hall have “made clear … that we need to double down on our bet in Miami.”

“We want to be in a state that embraces business, that embraces education, that embraces personal freedom and liberty and that embraces people having an opportunity to live the American dream,” Griffin said. “It’s a dream of earned success, not a dream of redistributive handouts that lead people dependent on government for their lives and their livelihoods in a way that takes away community and honor.”

On the U.S. war with Iran, Griffin backed the rationale for the war while criticizing the Trump administration for not being transparent enough with the American public. 

“I applaud the president for having the willingness to actually try to ensure a nuclear-free Middle East,” Griffin said. “I don’t think he has made that case strongly for the American people, but we should all sleep better knowing that he has set back the Iranians and their nuclear ambitions for years, if not decades, over the course of his time as president.”

Asked by Eisen about the lack of broad support domestically for the war, Griffin reiterated his view that the president has not made a “strong enough” case to the public for launching the war, but continued to defend its mission.

“A nuclear Iran would put into question the safety and security of the people of our nation,” Griffin said. “I think that they have made many good decisions here, but they have encountered something that they did not anticipate, which is a military capacity by Iran and a commitment to the preservation of the regime that is completely different to what they saw in Venezuela. In some sense, the extraordinary success of Venezuela almost certainly led all of us to believe that we could have some remarkable success in Iran,” he added, referencing the U.S. mission to oust former dictator Nicholas Maduro.

Griffin also noted that the Iranian military had not yet “been defeated,” counter to Trump’s claims, which Griffin described as a “stalemate situation” that was causing energy prices to rise. He said that the U.S. is “largely shielded from that” from a holistic standpoint, but that individual consumers are not. 

The Los Angeles Unified School District unanimously passed its first-ever resolution recognizing May as Jewish American Heritage Month, embracing a new educational curriculum on Judaism and Israel provided by Israeli activist and author Noa Tishby.  

Designed for middle and high schoolers, the curriculum is based on Noa Tishby’s eight- episode YouTube series, “What is?,” which explores topics including Judaism, antisemitism, the Holocaust and Israel.

“We decided the series needed to be a curriculum in schools,” Tishby, founder of the nonprofit media company Eighteen and Israel’s former special envoy for combating antisemitism, told Jewish Insider.

When she found out that the LAUSD had never recognized JAHM, Tishby reached out to a Los Angeles educator to create a curriculum based on parts of her video series. 

Tishby, who lives in LA, then connected with LAUSD School Board Member Nick Melvoin to draft the resolution, which was co-sponsored by Board Member Sherlett Hendy Newbill and Board President Scott Schmerelson. 

The resolution passed with full support on April 21. 

LAUSD, the second largest school district in the country after New York City, honors cultural heritage months including Black History Month in February, but has never formally acknowledged Jewish American Heritage Month. Several other school districts, such as NYC Public Schools and Berkeley Unified, also promote curricula, books and resources to celebrate the month.

“I think at this time with rising antisemitism and knowing that education is the best antidote, it was important to commemorate May as Jewish American Heritage Month and make sure it’s more than symbolism, with those resources that Noa created,” Melvoin told JI. “There are [existing] resources even prior to the resolution around the contributions of Jewish Americans. But I thought at this time, given the climate [of antisemitism], it’s important to be more explicit about it.”

As a supplement to the curriculum, the Jewish Federation Los Angeles plans to promote a poster series celebrating Jewish Americans to be distributed to public schools. 

A spokesperson for the Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History in Philadelphia told JI that the museum, which spearheads Jewish American Heritage Month, is “thrilled to hear that LAUSD, one of the largest school districts in America, is adopting JAHM, a federally recognized annual celebration that is held every May and powered by The Weitzman. This move is especially meaningful as we celebrate America’s 250th [anniversary].”  

Tishby recalled being “shocked” that she only learned about the month’s existence a few years ago, despite President George W. Bush issuing the first presidential proclamation designating it as such in 2006.    

“I was blown away,” she told JI. “Jewish American Heritage Month is suffering from very low PR, and it’s not celebrated as much as it should be. We’re trying to make it more visible … There’s never been an LA resolution that actually acknowledges this month at all.” 

The resolution comes as the LAUSD, which serves more than 560,000 students across Los Angeles County, has been accused of failing to address antisemitism — including in teachers’ unions. The district was named in a February lawsuit that highlighted several complaints from Jewish parents and children in districts across California.   

While the resolution cannot require schools to implement the curriculum, Melvoin said he’s “pretty confident” that many will adopt it. “This is where collaborations with folks like Noa and her network and parent leadership [helps],” he said.  

“We want to make sure the Jewish community, which stands with others historically through celebrations and commemorations, also has an opportunity to be celebrated and appreciated,” said Melvoin. “There was no pushback. The board passed it unanimously, and the district staff will work to implement it by making sure there are resources available to districts and schools.” 

“In L.A., there was a sense that Jewish educators and parents didn’t have to be vocal, because we felt comfortable,” he continued. “Since Oct. 7, and even before, Jewish educators and parents have felt galvanized to demand better.”

Given the heavy workload teachers already face, Melvoin said the resolution is not “explicit with [demanding how much time] they must spend covering this. But the spirit of the resolutions is this is something that will be commemorated [every] May.”

“If we hear anecdotally from teachers and parents that it wasn’t as celebrated as it needs to be, then next year I’ll be a little more prescriptive about what needs to happen,” he said.  

Tishby added, “As a Jewish community, we have not taken a seat at the table. We have kind of kept to ourselves, and I don’t think that’s true for where we are right now. We need to claim our seat at the table, and a part of that is to acknowledge that just like any other ethnicity, race or minority, we have this month, and we would love to teach you about us.”  

This story was updated on Apr. 30 to reflect that LAUSD is the second-largest school district in the country, not the first, and that the district did not officially adopt the curriculum but is rather encouraging its use.

Education Secretary Linda McMahon claimed on Tuesday that she’s trying to rebuild and expand the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR), even as the administration pushes for tens of millions in funding cuts this year.

The Trump administration cut half of OCR’s staff and nationwide offices at the outset of President Donald Trump’s second term, eliciting strong condemnation from many Jewish community groups. OCR is the primary agency responsible for investigating and adjudicating complaints of antisemitism on college campuses. 

The administration has continued to push for further budget cuts to OCR and is more broadly attempting to dismantle the Department of Education and transfer some of its functions to other federal agencies.

At a Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing, McMahon largely brushed off responsibility for the initial force reduction, claiming that the process to carry out the firings had been initiated before she was confirmed for her post and carried out shortly after she was sworn in, blaming “very stringent budgetary requirements that we were given.”

“We were in the process of looking at how to make sure that our Office of Civil Rights was in fact going to be able to handle cases, trying to make sure that we could get as many of them as possible,” McMahon said.

McMahon further claimed that the 2027 budget submitted by the Trump administration contains more funding to hire lawyers at OCR. The budget, in fact, requests a $49 million cut, from $140 million in 2026 to $91 million in 2027.

“It is a budget of increasing dollars for civil rights,” McMahon said, refusing to acknowledge, under questioning by Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT), that the budget submitted by the Trump administration called for a 35% cut to the OCR budget, to Murphy’s bewilderment.

“We are bringing back lawyers, we are hiring lawyers, with the person who has been so successful before in getting this done … we’re addressing [the case backlog] for rapid mediation, expanded resolution and multi-regional teams that we have now put back in place. Addressing the issues in the past were inadequate,” McMahon said.

McMahon was referring to Kim Richey, now the assistant secretary for civil rights, who has served in previous Republican administrations as well. McMahon praised her as highly “effective.” She also claimed to have re-hired all of the OCR attorneys who were fired, except those who took early retirement.

“It’s like black is white, it’s a 35% cut you’re proposing,” Murphy interjected.

Pressed by Murphy on the sweeping firings at the outset of the Trump administration, McMahon said, “That is hindsight.”

Pressed further, McMahon responded, “You know perfectly well what it is. We’ve brought people on board to handle these cases because I believe they should be handled. We should be dismissing these cases, we should be finding resolutions to them.”

In a detailed budget appendix submitted to Congress, the Trump administration also called for $274.5 million in funding for the Nonprofit Security Grant Program, flat funding with 2024 and 2025 but a cut from the proposed — but still not approved — $300 million expected for 2026.

Jewish groups and supporters of the program in Congress are pushing for between $750 million and $1 billion for the program.

Following a report spotlighting Qatari funding in Georgia public schools, the state’s General Assembly became the first in the country to pass legislation requiring the disclosure of foreign government funding in statewide K-12 schools.

The Foreign Funding Transparency and Accountability Act, HB 1379, requires public school districts, public universities and technical colleges to report funding of $10,000 or more from foreign countries or entities, naming specifically Qatar and Saudi Arabia — the two largest foreign funders of American universities. 

The bill — which passed both chambers of the Assembly earlier this month and now awaits Republican Gov. Brian Kemp’s signature —  was spearheaded by Democratic state Rep. Esther Panitch, the only Jewish member of the Georgia Statehouse, as well as Rep. Houston Gaines and the pro-Israel Georgia Solidarity Network. 

In January, the Foundation for Defense of Democracies published a report showing that the Qatari royal family’s U.S. philanthropy arm, Qatar Foundation International, had spent at least $281,000 on education in Georgia — including K-12 teacher trainings, Arabic textbooks for young students and student trips to Qatar.

Panitch told Jewish Insider she tweeted the findings, only to be surprised by a direct and hostile response from the Qatari ambassador to the U.S. and his deputy chief of mission on X, who allegedly told her she was spreading misinformation “like you people always do.”

“Why did they care what a legislator from Georgia thinks? It was weird. I started engaging back and this went on for days,” said Panitch. The back and forth eventually resulted in her involving the FBI. “The moment he responded to me was the moment I knew FDD was on to something right,” she said. 

“We were all caught off guard after [the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attacks]. I think Qatar had a lot to do with the responses on college campuses. Parents had no idea that some of their kids were being radicalized. I hope we get more answers, but this will definitely help,” continued Panitch.  

The Georgia Solidarity Network, a two-year-old bipartisan political action committee supporting pro-Jewish and pro-Israel causes, proposed legislation crafted by co-founder Alli Medof, which Panitch filed a couple weeks after the report’s release. 

“We didn’t want to make it loud and attract the attention of people who might object,” Panitch told JI. “I didn’t want Qatar to come in and hire a lobbyist. We went to committees and didn’t get much pushback.”

There was, however, some pushback from colleges and schools “in an operational sense, asking how they are supposed to carry this out,” said Panitch.

The bill also faced scrutiny in the state Senate, according to Panitch, who said some lawmakers “didn’t seem to care that Qatari money had seemingly resulted in teachers saying that [late Hamas leader] Yayha Sinwar was to be commended or that suicide bombing is okay.” 

Ultimately, the bill passed the Senate 31-20 and the House 139-16. Kemp has 40 days to sign the bill into state law. If he doesn’t veto it, it goes into law automatically. 

“I wouldn’t presume anything” in terms of whether the governor will sign the bill, said Panitch, adding she has not heard anything that implies he would veto it. 

A second bill establishing a K-12 statewide Title VI coordinator, also crafted by the Georgia Solidarity Network, simultaneously passed. The bill authorizes the withholding of state funding from institutions that fail to correct violations within 30 days — an enforcement mechanism absent from comparable laws in Tennessee, Oklahoma and California.

The legislative session also secured $3 million in state security funding for the rest of 2026 for nonprofit organizations at elevated risk of attack, with an additional $5 million budgeted for Fiscal Year 2027. 

“The Title VI bill was kind of similar because we were also dealing with schools and universities,” Panitch told JI. “There was a part that mentioned antisemitism that we ended up taking out. The preamble still mentions antisemitism but we didn’t want anyone to think this was only for the Jews. It was the Jewish community that brought it forward because we’ve been dealing with this, but essentially it’s a civil rights bill for kids and everyone wants to protect their kids, so it passed, not difficultly.” 

Six months ago, foreign funding transparency was “not on the roadmap or priority list” of many Georgia legislators, GSN co-founder David Zalik said. There was already evidence of foreign funding in university systems, he said, but “when we went back to the legislators and showed them documentation [regarding the same for K-12], they were stunned and surprised.”

Following the legislative session, Zalik sees the bill as “a model” for adoption beyond the Peach State.  

“Other leaders in other communities reached out,” he told JI. “We crafted new language that other states want to emulate. Georgia is a state that clearly takes this very seriously.”  

Medof added, “We’re incredibly proud of the impact this is going to make, and not just on the Jewish community. I think every one of these measures are going to improve the quality of life of students and Georgians. Foreign funding impacts curriculum, ideology, faculty and research [for all students]. It’s not just anti-Jewish or anti-Israel, it’s anti-American ideology that’s coming in. The more we can do to shine a line on that, the better it is for all Georgia students.” 

Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), the chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, wrote to New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Tuesday questioning if a city-run health agency was using federal resources in its initiative aimed at responding to the “ongoing genocide in Palestine.”

He suggested that public funding for the city’s health department could be at risk without a course-correction.

Cassidy sent the letter to Mamdani on Tuesday afternoon raising his concern about the “Global Oppression and Public Health Working Group” established within New York City’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene in response to the “ongoing genocide in Palestine.” 

The Louisiana senator cited a New York Post report that said the group “aims to address the growing interests among the health department staff to learn about current and ongoing global oppression in its many forms and how it influences the advancement of health equity.”

After noting that there was no mention of Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on Israel during the group’s inaugural meeting, as reported by the Post, Cassidy mentioned a recent comment that Dr. Alister Martin, New York City’s health commissioner, offered to NY1 earlier this month. Martin stated that there is “pretty specific evidence that the federal government is not a fan of the work that we’re doing on equity,” but that the city under Mamdani was “not gonna stop doing that work” even if the Trump administration “comes and messes with our money.”

Cassidy warned that the working group could violate Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by potentially creating a hostile environment for Jewish employees, putting at risk $600 million in annual federal funding that the city’s health department receives, which makes up 20% of the department’s budget.

“Given the scale of the NYC Health Department and the substantial federal resources granted to it, it is critical to the state of New York that the Department ensure that its activities remain consistent with federal law and the conditions attached to federal funding,” Cassidy wrote. “Prioritizing a political agenda over compliance with these requirements risks both federal funding and the public health of New York City residents. Federal taxpayers should have confidence that funds intended to support public health services are administered in compliance with those obligations.”

“These recent developments raise serious questions about whether the agency is taking appropriate steps to ensure that programs and initiatives supported by federal funds are administered in compliance with applicable federal law and directives governing diversity, equity, and inclusion,” he continued. 

“The Department’s focus on the Israeli Palestinian conflict and the creation of an internal ‘working group’ organized around a particular ethnic or national group underscores the need to ensure that workplace initiatives are administered in a manner that does not leave other employees — in this case, Jewish employees — feeling excluded or marginalized,” he wrote.

Cassidy and his committee are currently undertaking an investigation of Mamdani and his management of city affairs related to antisemitism, and he has similarly warned Mamdani that billions in federal funding for the city’s public schools could be at risk.

Mamdani’s office did not respond to Jewish Insider’s request for comment on the letter.

A newly released report finding that Jewish enrollment at Harvard University has fallen to roughly 7% — its lowest level since the pre-World War II era — has sounded alarms among some Jewish leaders, while touching off a debate at Harvard about its accuracy. 

The figure marks a steep decline from a decade ago, when Jewish students made up about twice that share, and represents the lowest proportion among Ivy League schools with available data. The decrease is not reflected at all Ivy Leagues, though: At Princeton, Jews declined at less than a fifth of the rate of their white non-Jewish peers. At Brown and Cornell, Jewish enrollment held or grew over the past decade. 

The 64-page report, “A Narrowing Gate: Jewish Enrollment at Harvard and Its Peers, 1967-2025,” released this week by the university’s official Jewish alumni group, argues that the decline is not simply the byproduct of neutral admissions trends, but reflects a growing “ambivalence” to admitting Jewish students on Harvard’s part. 

“It’s not that Harvard intended [Jewish enrollment] to decline. It’s that they were ambivalent about the decline. We were invisible and therefore irrelevant,” Adrian Ashkenazy, the report’s author and president of the Harvard Jewish Alumni Alliance, told Jewish Insider. 

Jews face several documented structural disadvantages in the admissions process, according to the report, chief among them geography. Harvard has deliberately shifted enrollment away from the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, it alleges, home to nearly half of all American Jews, with New York state enrollment alone falling from 264 students in 1992 to 160 in 2024. 

An increase in international student enrollment has deepened the effect: The report finds that international students come from a “uniformly and dramatically less Jewish applicant pool,” meaning every percentage point of international student growth decreases the available seats for Jewish students.

Racial and ethnic diversity goals and financial aid present additional headwinds: The vast majority of American Jews are Ashkenazi and check “white” on an application box, placing them outside the diversity categories universities actively recruit. 

Harvard’s access initiative since 2004 recalibrated holistic review to weight “socioeconomic context, parental occupation, and first-generation status as positive factors.” Jewish applicants are, the report finds, “disproportionately higher-income, continuing-generation, and concentrated in coastal urban centers, characteristics that sit on the unfavored side of all four dimensions of this initiative simultaneously.”

The Supreme Court’s decision reversing affirmative action, which was ostensibly meant to reverse these policies, has “made it much harder to pursue diversity for its own sake, which includes a targeted increase in Jewish enrollment,” said Ashkenazy. 

But Ashkenazy argues it’s not a given that these factors have to decrease Jewish enrollment — he offered Brown as a counter-example to Harvard, saying the Rhode Island school had been intentional in its efforts to recruit Jews.

“Brown looked at its Jewish community and decided that maintaining and growing it was consistent with their broader diversity goals — that the Jewish community is not a monolith and that real diversity can be pursued within it. At Harvard we were absent from the equation. At Brown we were integrated into it. That is the difference.”

“The decline at Harvard is a story of absence, not intention,” he continued. “We were crowded out by other admissions priorities. Harvard didn’t measure it, anticipate it or manage it. The Jewish community simply was not a priority.”

“When a decline is steepest at particular institutions, it ceases to be coincidence and looks more like culture,” Rabbi David Wolpe, emeritus rabbi of Sinai Temple in Los Angeles, who served as a visiting scholar at Harvard Divinity School in 2023-24, told JI. Harvard now has “a choice of denial or determination to change the atmosphere and procedures that led us here,” said Wolpe, who stepped down from his position on Harvard’s antisemitism advisory committee in December 2023 due to what he said was an inability to effect change. 

A spokesperson for Harvard told JI that the university “does not collect data on applicants’ shared ancestry or religious identity. Any estimates that exist on applicant data come from external surveys, which vary widely in methodology and cannot reliably measure changes over time, outline differences across schools, or explain application, admission, or enrollment patterns. Harvard continues to fully comply with the law, including Title VI and the Students for Fair Admissions decision, in its admissions policies and practices.”

Harvard “shares the Harvard Jewish Alumni Alliance’s commitment to fostering a vibrant Jewish community at Harvard,” the spokesperson said. “Jewish life on campus remains active and well-supported, with strong participation across student organizations, religious and cultural life, and campus programming. Additionally, over the last few years, Harvard has taken intentional steps to strengthen our campus culture and environment.”

Miriam Elman, executive director of the Academic Engagement Network, said that the report “has provided university leaders with a thoughtful and rigorous analysis.”

“While Harvard has seen a dramatic decline in Jewish undergraduate student enrollment, enrollment at Brown remains high and robust, even though this Ivy League university has also experienced antisemitic incidents in recent years. What explains the difference? It’s because Brown has significantly invested in campus Jewish life and cares about recruiting Jewish students,” Elman told JI.

“For a number of years it has strategically focused on a number of local New England high schools with high Jewish student populations,” Elman continued. “Brown is also initiating a host of educational programs that infuse a welcoming culture that supports Jewish and Zionist students: open inquiry, dialogue across difference and mutual understanding. So, while there are still challenges and room for improvement, Jewish life at Brown is thriving. Harvard should look closely at Brown’s successes.”

Two Jewish leaders on Harvard’s campus expressed skepticism about aspects of the study.

Rabbi Hirschy Zarchi, founder of Harvard Chabad, said that “while the data and studies are admittedly not scientific, they raise important questions.”

“However, because different methods and factors vary across universities — and even within the same institution over time — we don’t have the data to accurately contrast Jewish population figures,” Zarchi told JI. “Additionally, from Chabad’s personal relationships with hundreds of students, we know that many Jewish students at Harvard come from highly assimilated backgrounds who often first discover their Jewish identity and belonging with Chabad on campus. This indicates that the actual number of Jewish students is likely higher than what may surface on non-scientific surveys.”

Rabbi Jason Rubenstein, director of Harvard Hillel, told JI that the study provides a “vitally important” opportunity to better understand why Harvard’s Jewish population is “significantly smaller than similar institutions,” an issue that he said the Harvard Jewish community has been advocating on for several years already. 

Still, “our perception is that each of the last two admitted classes have an appreciably larger number of Jewish students than the preceding classes,” said Rubenstein.

Hillel’s data from last year’s admissions cycle shows the number of students admitted from two prominent New York Modern Orthodox day schools — five from Salanter Akiba Riverdale Academy and five from Ramaz — is high compared to previous generations. 

“Harvard has been speaking with stakeholders for a while about the need to refocus efforts” in outreach to Jewish day schools, said Ashkenazy. “That’s obviously a good thing that they’re starting to prioritize it. On the one hand, it’s a visible win for the university and Jewish community to recruit from Jewish day schools. At the same time, we all have to accept that the percentage of us that goes to Jewish day schools is excruciatingly small as it pertains to our community.” 

Zac Sardi-Santos, a Jewish Harvard senior studying computer science, said the report left him with a question: “If this is true, where are these potential Harvard Jewish students going, and why?”

“But in order to diagnose this issue, we must first prove its existence with transparency and independent review,” said Sardi-Santos. “I do believe it would be in Harvard’s best interest to collect this data and verify if this anomaly is truly the case … especially for Jewish students, in a time when antisemitism on college campuses is increasing.”   

The study draws only on data collected before the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attacks in Israel, and therefore does not reflect Jewish enrollment during and after the campus protests and encampments that disrupted many universities.

“I’m hoping the number has stayed stable. What I can say is that Jewish prospective students I’ve spoken with have expressed real hesitation about Harvard since Oct. 7, and that is something the university needs to take seriously,” said Ashkenazy. 

In the aftermath of the attacks and the surge of antisemitism that ensued, Jewish scholars, as well as students and their parents, grappled over whether they should still attend schools such as Columbia and Harvard — two Ivy League campuses that have been beset by controversy over anti-Israel encampments and classroom disruptions, physical assaults of Jewish students and battles with the federal government over an alleged failure to address antisemitism. (While Brown has been relatively quieter, it too was targeted by the Trump administration over antisemitism allegations, and in July 2025 reached a settlement.) 

But declines in Jewish representation have been a persistent and contentious issue at Ivy League institutions well before Oct. 7. In April 2023, Tablet reported that the number of Jews on most major prestigious campuses had been cut in half or more over the past decade, by “new elite doctrines that downplay merit in favor of amorphous definitions of ‘diversity’ and ‘privilege.’”

The issue dates further back, to the 20th century when wealthy, liberal American Jews in the Northeast navigated a system that tried to exclude them. Harvard admitted to having a quota system for Jews in the early 1920s. From the 1920s until the early 1960s, Yale’s administration implemented a series of secret admissions rules that had the intention of keeping the Jewish percentage of the student body at a consistent 10%. 

But eventually, Ivy League doors opened to Jewish students, and the community at Harvard became “a present and vital part of this university for a century,” Ashkenazy told JI. “We have long believed in the importance of building a genuinely diverse university, and that commitment has not changed.”

“We ask only that we remain woven into the university’s social fabric, valued as much as those we have long advocated for. Diversity is not a finite resource. Making room for the Jewish community does not diminish anyone else’s place here. It never has. A university that embraces every other race, religion, and background should understand that better than most.”

👋 Good Thursday morning!

In today’s Daily Kickoff, we look at efforts by Jewish groups to lobby Democratic governors to opt into a new federal education tax credit program, and report on IL-9 congressional candidate Kat Abughazaleh’s comments at a debate last night expressing opposition to U.S. support for Israel’s Iron Dome missile-defense system. We cover D.C. mayoral candidate Janeese Lewis George’s pledge to the DSA that she would reject interactions with the “Zionist lobby,” and report on a new lawsuit filed by Jewish groups against California for its failure to address antisemitism in K-12 schools in the state. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Rep. Greg Landsman and Jay Solomon.

Today’s Daily Kickoff was curated by JI Executive Editor Melissa Weiss and Israel Editor Tamara Zieve, with assists from Danielle Cohen-Kanik and Marc Rod. Have a tip? Email us here.

What We’re Watching

• White House Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are back in Geneva for Omani-brokered talks with Iran. The meeting comes two days after Witkoff, speaking at AIPAC’s Congressional Summit in Washington, said that any future nuclear deal with Iran should last indefinitely — a departure from the Obama administration’s 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, which included sunset clauses.
• President Donald Trump will receive an intelligence briefing at 11 a.m.
• Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi wraps up his two-day visit to Israel today. In a speech yesterday at the Knesset — which was also attended by former New York Mayor Eric Adams — Modi, who was the first Indian leader to address the Israeli body, pledged that “India stands with Israel firmly with full conviction in this moment and beyond.”
• In California, JCRC Bay Area, the Jewish Federation Los Angeles and JPAC are hosting the Jewish California 2026 Governor Candidate Forum at the Skirball Center in Los Angeles. Speakers at the forum are set to include entrepreneur Tom Steyer, Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA), political commentator Steve Hilton, San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.
• Jewish Alumni Strong is hosting a screening on Capitol Hill this afternoon of Duki Dror’s 2025 film “Unraveling UNRWA,” about the embattled U.N. organization. 

What You Should Know

A QUICK WORD WITH JI’S JOSH KRAUSHAAR

A pair of new polls — one in a Democratic Senate primary in Maine and one in a Republican gubernatorial primary in Florida — should sound alarm bells about the political and ideological trajectory of Gen Z voters, and the younger generation’s creeping tolerance of antisemitism that transcends party ID.

While the top lines from the polls generated the most headlines, the more notable takeaway was just how different the preferences of Boomers and Gen Zers were — even among those affiliated with the same party. The younger voters gravitated toward the candidates with checkered (at best) records on antisemitism. 

James Fishback, a 31-year-old Republican investor who made a name for himself with incendiary social media posts attacking Israel and invoking antisemitic tropes, is barely winning a following among most Florida Republicans as he runs for governor. But among younger Republican voters, he appears to be building a growing base of support.

Graham Platner, an anti-establishment oyster farmer who for years had a skull-and-bones Totenkopf tattoo on his chest, a symbol adopted by a Nazi SS unit, is barely facing any backlash from Maine voters in his outsider Senate campaign. (He had the tattoo covered up during the campaign, amid widespread controversy.) Indeed, he may soon become the favorite to win the Senate seat in Maine, fueled by near-universal support among younger Democratic voters.

The polling underscores the dramatic generational disconnect.

Read the rest of ‘What You Should Know’ here.

TAXING TALK

Democratic governors facing push from Jewish groups to embrace education tax credits

At the start of a pivotal campaign cycle, Democratic governors will face a politically high-stakes decision this year on a new education policy that President Donald Trump signed into law last year. One provision of Republicans’ sweeping spending package adopted in 2025 — dubbed the “One Big Beautiful Bill” by Trump — was a measure that provides a dollar-for-dollar federal tax credit for people who donate to approved scholarship organizations that can support a range of education expenses, including private school tuition and tutoring. Individual states must opt in for taxpayers to be eligible for the credit of up to $1,700 annually, Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch reports.

The dilemma: Democratic governors, skeptical of school choice programs and wary of powerful teachers’ unions, face a tricky choice. They have to opt in by the end of the year for taxpayers to be eligible for the credit. The National Education Association urged lawmakers to vote against the bill last year, and has said that “voucher-inspired schemes” like the federal tax credit program “erode public education, the foundation of our democracy.” (An NEA spokesperson declined to comment on Wednesday.) Orthodox Jewish groups have long supported school choice efforts, including vouchers, while most non-Orthodox groups sat out those matters in the past or opposed them. Now, Orthodox leaders are being joined by the Jewish Federations of North America as the umbrella group urges Democratic governors to support the bill. 

Read the full story here.

Bonus: eJewishPhilanthropy’s Nira Dayanim does a deep dive into the program and how it could impact the Jewish community.

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EXCLUSIVE

Rep. Greg Landsman: U.S., allies ‘may very well need’ to carry out targeted strikes on Iran

Rep. Greg Landsman (D-OH) said that the U.S. and its allies “may very well need to take defensive action, targeting military assets in Iran,” in a statement shared with Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod on Wednesday.

Notable quotable: “Targeted strikes on known ballistic missiles and rocket infrastructure and other weapons depots, including nuclear assets, may very well save lives,” Landsman said. “The region and world would be a much safer place if the regime’s military capacity was leveled. These targeted strikes could prevent war, which should be the goal of any effort.” While Landsman didn’t explicitly say in the statement that he intends to oppose the war powers resolution on Iran that may come to a vote before the House next week, his position suggests that he’s skeptical of that effort.

Read the full story here.

Schedule check: Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) told reporters on Wednesday that a Senate resolution blocking the use of military force against Iran without congressional authorization is likely to come up for a vote next week, though it could come as early as Thursday.

Veep’s view: Vice President JD Vance urged the Iranian regime on Wednesday to take President Donald Trump’s diplomatic overtures “seriously,” cautioning that the president has “a number of tools at his disposal” to keep the “craziest and worst regime in the world” from acquiring nuclear weapons, Jewish Insider’s Emily Jacobs reports.

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PRAIRIE STATE DEBATE

Abughazaleh says she doesn’t support Iron Dome, dodges on Israel’s right to exist

At a televised debate in Illinois’ 9th Congressional District on Wednesday evening, far-left activist and social media influencer Kat Abughazaleh said she would not support continued aid for Israel’s Iron Dome, dodged a question on Israel’s right to exist and said that President Donald Trump is only considering strikes on Iran because he wants to “bomb more brown people,” Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.

What she said: Asked whether she supports Israel’s right to exist, Abughazaleh responded, “I think that this question is said as if it doesn’t exist. What we need is to ensure that any solution, whether it is a two-state, a single secular state, whatever it is, is negotiated not by America, but by the people that actually live there.” Asked whether she would support conditioning defensive systems like Iron Dome, Abughazaleh responded, “Defensive weaponry is an oxymoron. Weapons are inherently offensive.”

Read the full story here.

Exclusive: Amid attacks from anti-Israel activists and groups over her support for Israel and backing from pro-Israel supporters, Illinois state Sen. Laura Fine, a Democrat running for an open Illinois House seat, unapologetically championed her backing for the Jewish state in a position paper obtained by Jewish Insider.

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DRAWING LINES

D.C. mayoral candidate Janeese Lewis George vows to reject ‘Zionist lobby’ in seeking DSA endorsement

Washington, D.C., mayoral candidate Janeese Lewis George told the Metro D.C. chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America that she will not attend events focused on “promoting Zionism and apartheid,” according to a questionnaire from the group that she filled out prior to earning its endorsement earlier this month, Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch reports.

Candidate commitments: “I will refrain from going on any political junkets to Israel. I will also not attend events focused on obfuscating the realities of occupation or promoting Zionism and apartheid,” Lewis George wrote in her answers on the questionnaire, which the local DSA group posted to its website. Lewis George described herself as “a proud member of Metro DC DSA.” The DSA questionnaire asks candidates to publicly support the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, and to refrain from engaging with “the Israeli government or Zionist lobby groups” — a category that it said includes AIPAC, Democratic Majority for Israel, Christians United for Israel and the more liberal J Street. 

Read the full story here.

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EDUCATION CONSTERNATION

Jewish groups file suit against California for widespread failure to address antisemitism in K-12 schools

Jewish legal groups filed a lawsuit on Thursday against the State of California over an alleged failure to address antisemitism — some of which is stemming from teachers’ unions — in K-12 public schools across the state. Filed by the Louis D. Brandeis Center For Human Rights Under Law and StandWithUs, with outside counsel from veteran California plaintiffs’ attorney Michael Sherman, the suit also names the California State Board of Education, the State Department of Education and Superintendent Tony Thurmond, Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen reports. 

Details: It highlights several complaints from Jewish parents and children statewide, in school districts including Berkeley, Los Angeles, Santa Clara, San Francisco, Campbell Union, Fremont, Etiwanda and Oakland. In the Berkeley Unified School District, which has been a hotbed for antisemitic incidents since the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attacks, a ninth grader said his art teacher displayed a Star of David with a fist punching through it. The same teacher promoted a walkout filled with chants that included, “F*ck the Jews,” according to the complaint, which states that when the student’s mother reported the teacher’s conduct, the school’s solution was to separate the Jewish student from his class in the library and health center.

Read the full story here.

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ON THE STAGE

Hollywood stars highlight link between Jews and Israel at Carnegie Hall performance

Call it a mash note to Jewish identity, and to the Jewish homeland. Hollywood heavyweights took to New York City’s world-renowned Carnegie Hall stage on Tuesday night to highlight the link between the Jewish people and the land of Israel, spanning thousands of years, in the form of recounting historic love letters to the Jewish state, Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen reports.  

Letters of legacy: “Letters, Light and Love” made its U.S. premiere in a one-night only performance hosted by UJA-Federation of New York as Jewish celebrities including Amy Schumer, David Schwimmer, Debra Messing, Tovah Feldshuh, Jonah Platt and Michael Aloni read excerpts of letters written about Israel across centuries. The notes came from writers such as Julius Caesar, Maimonides, Golda Meir, Sir Moses Montefiore, Albert Einstein, Harry Truman, John Adams, Winston Churchill and Leonard Bernstein.  

Read the full story here.

On the air: The first episode of “David: King of Israel,” a new four-part Fox Nation docudrama, premieres on Thursday, offering a dramatic reenactment of the biblical coming-of-age story of King David that provides relevant lessons in a time of conflict, actor Zachary Levi, the series’ host, told Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen.

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Worthy Reads

The Brown-Bag Candidate: The Atlantic’s Mark Leibovich interviews former Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) as Brown aims to flip the seat that he — and Democrats — see as a possible pick-up in the midterms. “I asked Brown why he thought Democrats had lost so much credibility with blue-collar, lower- and middle-income citizens. In a historic flip of party identity, voters are now more likely to view Republicans as better attuned to the concerns of working-class people, whereas Democrats are more associated with affluent, college-educated elites. ‘From your perspective, what has that evolution been like over the years?’ I asked. Brown blew off my question. ‘I don’t spend a lot of time thinking about it,’ he said. ‘This might surprise you.’ … But it is perhaps another element of Brown’s appeal that he tends not to get bogged down in hifalutin theories or sociology (his Yale degree notwithstanding). He prides himself on being an unglamorous advocate, who has earned enough trust with enough voters to defy Ohio’s Republican trend lines. At least until he didn’t.” [TheAtlantic]

Angst Over AIPAC: In The Times of Israel, Rabbi Stuart Weinblatt, the chair of the Zionist Rabbinic Coalition, raises concerns about recent pledges by candidates and elected officials not to take donations affiliated with AIPAC. “This approach feeds stereotypes about Jewish money and political influence that can lead to antisemitic targeting of Jews. No other community is similarly vilified for donating money to candidates who support their policy priorities, nor would it be tolerated. Most candidates have no problem accepting funds from special-interest groups or corporations who have a particular cause to promote, including those who overtly advocate for policies from which they will personally benefit. Perhaps the time has come to pay more attention to candidates who support certain oil-rich countries in the Middle East who have sought to buy influence and the source of their funding, rather than American Jews.” [TOI]

Word on the Street

The NYPD declared before the New York City Council on Wednesday that it has “no objections” to Council Speaker Julie Menin’s proposal compelling the department to develop a policy for establishing “buffer zones” outside houses of worship during protests, Jewish Insider’s Will Bredderman reports…

Protests tied to the San Francisco chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America at an event on tax reform with San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie included chants to “Tax the rich” that morphed into calls to “Tax the Israel” and at least one person shouting “Tax the Jews”; the X account for Gov. Gavin Newsom’s press office called the incident “[d]isgusting,” while former Obama administration advisor David Axelrod called it “really alarming. Echoes of another, very dark time”…

The U.S. Coast Guard is investigating an incident in which a swastika was found at a recruit training facility in Cape May, N.J.; the incident comes months after the Coast Guard temporarily downgraded the image’s designation as a hate symbol…

Attorneys for rapper Kanye West, now known as Ye, are appealing a lower court ruling that rejected his effort to squash a workplace discrimination lawsuit filed by a former employee who alleged she was subject to antisemitism while an employee of West; attorneys for the rapper are arguing that West’s comments, which including describing himself as a “Nazi” and “Hitler,” are protected as artistic expression…

Former Harvard President Larry Summers will resign from teaching at the university following the release of documents that showed a close relationship between Summers, a former Treasury secretary, and Jeffrey Epstein… 

The U.K. is delaying a parliamentary vote on the decision to transfer the Chagos Islands, which houses the U.S.’ Diego Garcia military base that serves as a counterweight to Chinese influence in the region, to the Indian Ocean island nation of Mauritius, following criticism of the deal by President Donald Trump…

The New York Times interviewed dozens of medical professionals in Iran about treating patients who were injured in the recent widespread protests and violently suppressed by the government…

KLM announced a “temporary” suspension of flights between Amsterdam and Israel, effective March 1…

Legislation that would amend Israel’s 1967 Protection of Holy Places Law and effectively criminalize egalitarian prayer at the Western Wall in Jerusalem passed its first legislative reading, eJewishPhilanthropy’s Judah Ari Gross reports…

The U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem announced it will set up for one day later this week in Efrat, the first time the embassy will offer consular services in a West Bank settlement; an embassy spokesperson said the move did not reflect a change in U.S. policy toward the West Bank…

Right-wing Israeli activists staged a third protest in as many weeks outside the home of Lucy Aharish, stemming from comments the Israeli Arab news anchor made earlier this month criticizing the government’s lack of response to a recent uptick in violence in the Israeli Arab community…

The New York Times spotlights the growing popularity in Australia of the One Nation party and its leader, anti-immigration activist Pauline Hanson, amid shifting public attitudes in the country around immigration that spiked following the December 2025 terror attack at a Sydney Hanukkah celebration…

Former Wall Street Journal reporter Jay Solomon is joining The George Washington University’s Program on Extremism as executive head of investigations…

Book publisher Ann Godoff, who led Random House before moving over to Penguin Press, died at 76…

Pic of the Day

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was honored yesterday by Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana with a medal for his “significant contributions to the State of Israel and the Jewish people.”

Birthdays

Founder and editor-in-chief of Tablet, Alana Newhouse turns 50… 

Professor emeritus of sociology and Jewish studies at Rutgers University, Chaim Isaac Waxman, Ph.D. turns 85… Businessman, art collector and political activist, he is the president of the World Jewish Congress since 2007, Ronald Lauder turns 82… Professor emeritus in the sociology and anthropology school of Tel Aviv University, Yehouda Shenhav turns 74… Grammy Award-winning singer and songwriter in multiple musical genres, he has sold over 75 million records, Michael Bolton turns 73… Former member of the Knesset for the Labor Party, she is now president of Beit Berl College, Yael “Yuli” Tamir turns 72… Julie Levitt Applebaum… Member of the Knesset for over 30 years, he is the former Israeli national security advisor, Tzachi Hanegbi turns 69… Former U.S. attorney for the District of New Jersey, now a partner at Arnold & Porter, Paul J. Fishman turns 69… Professor of sociology and bioethics at Emory University, he is the older brother of Rabbi David Wolpe, Paul Root Wolpe turns 69… CEO and Chairman at Gilgamesh Pharmaceuticals, Jonathan Sporn, M.D. turns 68… U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) turns 68… Partner at Unfiltered Media, Alan Rosenblatt, Ph.D…. Theoretical physicist who works on astrophysics and cosmology, Abraham “Avi” Loeb turns 64… CEO at Rutgers University Hillel, Lisa Harris Glass… President of MLB’s Miami Marlins from 2002-2017, he was a contestant in the 28th season of “Survivor” in 2014, David P. Samson turns 58… Motivational speaker, focused on anti-bullying, Jon Pritikin turns 53… First violin and concertmaster (since she was 26) for the D.C.-based National Symphony Orchestra, Nurit Bar-Josef turns 51… Member of the House of Representatives (D-NY-10), he is an heir to the Levi Strauss & Co. fortune, Daniel Sachs Goldman turns 50… Entrepreneur, she launched “Student of Life, For Life” in 2020, Rebekah Victoria Paltrow Neumann turns 48… Special assistant to the president and director of Jewish engagement in the White House Faith Office, Martin J. Marks turns 45… Brett Michael Kaufman…

At the start of a pivotal campaign cycle, Democratic governors will face a politically high-stakes decision this year on a new education policy that President Donald Trump signed into law last year. 

One provision of Republicans’ sweeping spending package adopted in 2025 — dubbed the “One Big Beautiful Bill” by Trump — was a measure that provides a dollar-for-dollar federal tax credit for people who donate to approved scholarship organizations that can support a range of education expenses, including private school tuition and tutoring. 

Individual states must opt in for taxpayers to be eligible for the credit of up to $1,700 annually. 

So far, the policy has been a no-brainer for Republican governors, who already support school choice programs, to allow parents to receive a federal tax credit to support private schools, including religious schools. Twenty-three states have formally opted in as of last month, and at least two other Republican-led states (Florida and Utah) said they plan to do so. 

Democratic governors, skeptical of school choice programs and wary of powerful teachers’ unions, face a trickier choice. They have to opt in by the end of the year for taxpayers to be eligible for the credit. The National Education Association urged lawmakers to vote against the bill last year, and has said that “voucher-inspired schemes” like the federal tax credit program “erode public education, the foundation of our democracy.” (An NEA spokesperson declined to comment on Wednesday.)

Orthodox Jewish groups have long supported school choice efforts, including vouchers, while most non-Orthodox groups — including umbrella organizations such as the Jewish federations — sat out those matters in the past or opposed them. Now, Orthodox leaders are being joined by the Jewish Federations of North America as the umbrella group urges Democratic governors to support the bill. The Union for Reform Judaism, which opposed an earlier version of the tax credit that was farther-reaching, ultimately did not come out against the measure. 

“We think this should be a priority for the entire Jewish community, to support students, especially in Jewish day schools,” said Rabbi A.D. Motzen, national director of government affairs at Agudath Israel, a major Orthodox organization. “I think it’s very helpful, because in many of those blue states, the more governors see that this is a politically wise idea, and that there is widespread support among different faiths, whether it’s Catholic clergy or Jewish leaders and business leaders, then it will make it easier for them to to opt in.”

Marc Baker, CEO of Combined Jewish Philanthropies, Boston’s Jewish federation, said the tax credit “aligns with CJP’s vision to make day school more affordable and accessible for families in Greater Boston,” and that he plans to discuss it with Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey, a Democrat. 

Part of the pitch that Gil Preuss, CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington, is making to Democratic leaders in Maryland, Virginia and Washington, is to differentiate the tax credit from more controversial voucher programs.

“I know, particularly for Democratic governors, they place significant value in public education, and we as a Jewish community strongly support public education,” said Preuss. “We don’t believe it’s taking away money from public education, but it is a way for individual households to direct some of their federal taxes.”

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis is so far the Democrat who has expressed the most enthusiasm about the tax-credit scholarship program. 

“It supports donors to give more money to our schools,” Polis said in November. “I mean, I would be crazy not to” opt in. A spokesperson for Polis confirmed in December that he plans to add the state to the program. 

North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein, a Democrat, has also said he intends to opt in his state once more information is released from the federal government. “School choice is good for students and parents,” Stein said last year. “I intend to opt North Carolina in so we can invest in the public school students most in need of after school programs, tutoring, and other resources.”

A handful of blue-state governors — in Wisconsin, Oregon, New Mexico and Hawaii — have stated they will opt out of the program. 

Most Democratic governors, including in states with the largest Jewish communities, are taking a wait-and-see approach, saying they need to see formal regulations from the IRS and the Treasury Department outlining what the funds can be used for and how they can be collected. Activists in the Jewish community working on this issue say they are still in conversation with Democratic governors even though the timeline for implementation is not totally clear. 

“The governors that we speak to on a regular basis about this are very clear that they want to see the regulations first, which we don’t hold against them. We think that’s fair. You don’t want to play a game until you see the rules of the game,” said Sydney Altfield, CEO of Teach Coalition, a project of the Orthodox Union that advocates for federal funding for nonpublic schools. “We think that in the long run, it will be a positive outcome, but we understand that there’s no movement yet.” 

Rosie Lapowsky, a spokesperson for Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, said his administration “is awaiting federal guidance to address key questions about how this program would work, including which students will be eligible, how this federal initiative will interact with existing programs, and more. We look forward to reviewing that guidance.”

A spokesperson for Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said he has not yet taken a position. Alana Davidson, director of communications at the Massachusetts Executive Office of Education, told JI that Gov. Healey “is awaiting official guidance from the U.S. Department of Education and Treasury at this time.” 

Jen Goodman, a spokesperson for Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York, took a swipe at the Trump administration while saying Hochul has not yet made up her mind.

“While this proposal doesn’t take effect until 2027, it’s surprising that the federal government continues to fail to share any policy details with states,” Goodman told JI. “Gov. Hochul is supportive of anything that would help students and schools, but given this administration’s record of including poison pills in policies, the state needs to thoroughly review the proposal before making commitments.”

Spokespeople for Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill, Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser and Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger did not respond to requests for comment. 

Spanberger is in a different position from other Democrats, because her predecessor — Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin — already opted Virginia in last month before he left office, so she would have to formally revoke that permission. 

Preuss said his goal at the moment is not necessarily to get area governors in the Washington area to a yes anytime soon, with IRS regulations not likely to come out for a few more months. He just wants to convince them to leave the door open.

“It’s very early on,” Preuss said. “We mostly want to make sure that governors do not come out against it.”

Political activists seeking to push extremist perspectives into the classroom are behind a nationwide acceleration of antisemitic content in K-12 classrooms, with increasingly active movements targeting school boards, district leadership and teacher organizations, according to a report published Monday by the North American Values Institute.  

The group’s 58-page report, “When the Classroom Turns Hostile: A Strategic Response to Extremism and Antisemitism in K-12 Education,” shared exclusively with JI, found that in the aftermath of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terrorist attacks in Israel, what it described as radical ideological frameworks have dominated key education institutions across the country. Ideologies such as “oppressor-oppressed” are common in schools of education, accreditation bodies, teacher unions and district bureaucracies, all of which shape classroom materials. 

The paper highlights teachers’ unions and activist nonprofits as major sources of embedding radical views and ready-made anti-American content into professional development, much of which is able to bypass traditional oversight. It also raises concerns about “substantial” foreign funding flowing into Western education institutions to influence ciriculums by the Qatar Foundation International and Confucius Institutes in China.  

The North American Values Institute, formerly the Jewish Institute for Liberal Values, is a nonprofit that monitors antisemitism in K-12 schools. It was founded by David Bernstein, a longtime Jewish nonprofit official who led the Jewish Council for Public Affairs from 2016-2021.

“We’re very concerned about the ideological activists taking over union leadership,” NAVI’s chief program officer, Dana Stangel-Plowe, told JI. “While that may not seem new, we’re seeing the DSA [Democratic Socialists of America] in particular taking a much more active role.” According to the report, DSA “urges members to enter the field in order to ‘transform our schools, our unions, and our society.’” 

The report warns that these dynamics contribute not only to rising antisemitism, but also to declining academic outcomes and increasing anti-American views. 

Attempts to combat this framework by promoting Holocaust or Jewish education have failed, the report’s authors argue.  

Rather, the writers offer several suggestions for reforming K-12 education, including changing teacher preparation programs and accreditation standards, confronting politicized teacher unions and advocacy networks, strengthening standards around curricula, addressing foreign funding and influence in education, empowering parents and school boards and building multi-ethnic coalitions. 

NAVI rebranded in February 2025 in an effort to detach from its Jewish roots to expand partnerships in fighting antisemitism with other ethnic communities.

At the time of the rebrand, Bernstein told JI that the Jewish community “has been reluctant to fight at the ideological level.”  

A year later, Stangel-Plowe said that while there is still room for improvement, NAVI has increasingly been partnering with leading Jewish organizations.

The report comes two months after the House Committee on Education and the Workforce opened investigations into public school systems in Fairfax County, Va.; Berkeley, Calif.; and Philadelphia over alleged failures to address antisemitic incidents. 

Federal investigations are “a good start but certainly not enough,” said Stangel-Plowe. “School districts are used to functioning without much accountability. We need more federal and state oversight.”

Still, she emphasized a need to address the root cause, rather than responding after incidents occur. 

“K-12 education is being treated as a vehicle for social change and an oppressor-oppressed framework is dangerous to Jewish students, Jewish teachers, and teaches hostility towards Israel and more broadly Western values,” Stangel-Plowe continued. 

We’re seeing active networks, [including] in New York City and Philadelphia,” she added. “We’re seeing radical political actors taking over union leadership and that has an influence on teachers unions which influences school board elections. The problem is embedded not just in the unions but the entire education system from teacher training, licensing and programs.” 

“We can’t fix an institutional problem with more lessons or programs,” she said. “As important as education about the Holocaust and Jewish life is, institutional problems persist unless we have a real allocation of investments in a comprehensive solution across the ecosystem. 

Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), the chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, announced on Thursday that he’s launching an investigation into New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, prompted by the mayor’s rescission last month of executive orders from the prior administration related to Israel and antisemitism.

“Has antisemitism decreased in New York City? I haven’t seen any evidence of that. Academic institutions have, of recent, been places where Jewish students have felt quite threatened,” Cassidy told Jewish Insider, referring to Mamdani’s repeal of an executive order implementing the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism that came as part of a broader revocation of executive orders issued by former Mayor Eric Adams following his indictment in September 2024 on federal bribery and wire fraud charges. 

“I think Mayor Adams did a good job in signaling that the city had an interest in making sure that students, no matter how they identified themselves, were safe from harassment,” Cassidy continued. “The rescinding of the antisemitism and Israel orders doesn’t seem to be conducive with a lowering instance of antisemitism, so why did Mamdani rescind them? That’s the point.”

Among his first actions in office, Mamdani also repealed an anti-Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions order.

Cassidy said in a letter to Mamdani that “strong leadership against antisemitism and discrimination is essential to the safety and security of Jewish New Yorkers.”

“It is my job to ensure every student feels safe, and at a time when Jewish students feel scared, I am concerned your actions will only exacerbate their fears,” Cassidy continued. “Decisions by your administration that weaken established safeguards for Jewish students in New York and are out of alignment with federal executive orders warrant careful scrutiny. Jewish students deserve clear assurance that their safety and civil rights will not be compromised by your administration’s actions. 

He warned that repealing the IHRA order puts New York City out of alignment with federal antisemitism executive orders “and may hinder the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights’ enforcement of Title VI.” He warned that the $2.2 billion in federal funding allocated to New York City public schools could be at risk depending on “compliance with federal civil rights laws and applicable executive orders designed to protect students.”

Cassidy asked Mamdani to explain his administration’s plans to adopt an alternative antisemitism definition, its plans to combat antisemitism on campuses, whether it has consulted with the federal government about the “potential funding implications” of withdrawing the IHRA order, whether it has issued guidance to New York City schools about antisemitism and whether he believes BDS is antisemitic.

“Whatever somebody’s ideological background, if they’re in a position of responsibility, they must protect their citizens,” Cassidy said in a post on X. “Clearly, antisemitism has been on the rise. We must respond to real dangers directed at Jewish students.”

Rabbi Yehuda Kaploun, the newly confirmed U.S. special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism, was interrupted three times during a Thursday afternoon think tank event about his new role.

The first was a phone call from Harmeet Dhillon, the Justice Department’s assistant attorney general for civil rights, which he sent to voicemail. The next two were protesters who had somehow made it through security at the conservative Hudson Institute to loudly chant “free Palestine” in the midst of Kaploun’s remarks before being escorted out. 

Those unexpected interruptions framed Kaploun’s pitch as he settles into his new role at the State Department: First, that he will be successful because he is working on behalf of an administration that is committed to fighting antisemitism (“If you want to know how the administration works together, that was Harmeet Dhillon,” he said as he silenced his phone). And second, that education — and pushing back on false narratives about Israel and the Holocaust — is the most important way to combat antisemitism. 

“The hardest job that I have is how you effect a change in education across the board, by teaching people not to hate, and that’s the battle,” Kaploun said in a conversation moderated by Hudson senior fellow Michael Doran. 

Kaploun, a businessman and Chabad-trained rabbi, was confirmed by the Senate in December, must now build out a staff at the State Department and figure out how to make an impact diplomatically.

“The task is a daunting task, but we are blessed that this administration has really made antisemitism a priority, and how to combat and deal with antisemitism is something that the president and the secretary of state have made it perfectly clear that this is one of the priorities of the administration, is holding people accountable,” said Kaploun.

He said most countries in the world have a problem with antisemitism, and his message to leaders in those countries comes back to President Donald Trump: “You start with the concrete policy that antisemitism isn’t tolerated by this administration, period,” said Kaploun. Then, he said you turn to “quiet diplomacy to get results.”

For instance, he said Armenia has indicated to his office that its leaders are willing to join the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, an international organization that drafted a working definition of antisemitism that has been adopted by dozens of nations, including the U.S.. Kaploun also said he worked with U.S. Ambassador to Belgium Bill White to pressure Brussels to reverse its decision to end a federal police security presence in Antwerp’s Jewish quarter. 

Kaploun identified Hungary, Romania, Albania and Armenia as countries that are “making sincere efforts in dealing with antisemitism.” He said Turkey and Pakistan both leave “a lot to be desired currently,” and that “England is a particular concern” because of “the rise of mass migration.” 

The ambassador-level position has a global remit, but Kaploun was not afraid to weigh in on domestic antisemitism, too. 

“I think the best argument right now in this country to combat antisemitism and combat Holocaust denial is, you’re treading on the memories of every American soldier who fought tyranny, fought to liberate Europe from the Nazis and liberated the death camps,” said Kaploun, who also argued that ignorance about American Jewish history contributes to antisemitism — and called for people to argue that anti-Jewish hate is anti-American.

“It really is a lack of knowledge about the contributions of Jewish Americans to America, that people fled here for religious freedom,” Kaploun said. “That’s something that this country stands for. So when you are going against the same groups that have the same values, Judeo-Christian values, you are anti-American, because you’re going against what our founding fathers wanted for us.”

Kaploun has not yet announced any international trips. But his goal for all countries, he said, is a “basic human morality.”

“We’re far from getting every country on board,” said Kaploun.

Good Thursday afternoon!

This P.M. edition is reserved for our premium subscribers — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next.

It’s me again — Danielle Cohen-Kanik, U.S. editor at Jewish Insider and curator, along with assists from my colleagues, of the Daily Overtime. Please don’t hesitate to share your thoughts and feedback by replying to this email.

📡On Our Radar

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), the chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, wrote to New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani today voicing “serious concerns” about Mamdani’s “rescission of executive orders related to antisemitism and boycotts of Israel.” 

Cassidy said the New York City Department of Education’s $2.2 billion in federal funding could be rescinded “contingent on compliance with federal civil rights laws and applicable executive orders designed to protect students”…

New York City councilmembers on both sides of the aisle denounced a new working group established by employees of the city’s Department of Health on “global oppression,” Jewish Insider’s Will Bredderman reports, which a presenter at its first meeting on Tuesday acknowledged was “really developed in response to the ongoing genocide in Palestine.”

City Council Speaker Julie Menin called for a probe into the working group at DOH, which operates under Mamdani’s administration, telling the New York Post, “Our health care officials should be fighting infectious diseases and addressing skyrocketing health care costs instead of spending public time debating geopolitics”…

Moshe Davis, the former executive director of the Mayor’s Office to Combat Antisemitism in New York City, told The Free Press upon being ousted from the role by Mamdani, “I don’t think the priority of the administration has been to combat antisemitism.”

Davis, who was a political appointee of former Mayor Eric Adams, said a Mamdani staffer told him they were “looking to go in a different direction” in replacing him with Phylisa Wisdom, a progressive Jewish activist. “Look, I’m a loud, proud Jewish person with a kippah on my head, a proud Zionist. This administration maybe felt that was too much for them,” Davis said. He noted that his requests to meet with the mayor and the memos he produced on rising antisemitism in the city had gone ignored…

Mamdani officially endorsed New York Gov. Kathy Hochul in an anticipated move, boosting her reelection prospects while also dealing a blow to her lieutenant governor, Antonio Delgado, who is running to oust Hochul from her left…

Rep. Andy Barr (R-KY) and businessman Nate Morris, two of the leading Republican candidates for Kentucky’s Senate seat, today endorsed Ed Gallrein, the GOP challenger to Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), one of the leading Republican critics of Israel in Congress, JI’s Marc Rod reports.

“Ed will never side with AOC or the radical-left against President Trump. He is exactly the kind of conservative warrior we need in Congress, and I’m proud to endorse him,” Barr said in a statement, referencing Massie’s pattern of breaking with various elements of Trump’s agenda, which has included voting against support for Israel.

The endorsements came amid an ongoing series of attacks by Trump on Massie, which included calling Massie a “moron” in remarks at the National Prayer Breakfast this morning, as well as attacks on Truth Social this week targeting Massie’s wife…

Daniel Flesch, a senior policy analyst at the Heritage Foundation who led the drafting of the organization’s Project Esther report on combating left-wing antisemitism, has parted ways with the conservative think tank, according to Heritage’s website.

Flesch had raised the alarm on right-wing antisemitism after Heritage President Kevin Roberts released a video defending Tucker Carlson for hosting neo-Nazi Nick Fuentes on his podcast, telling the Young Jewish Conservatives in December that, “Now, in some ways, the call is coming from inside the house.” Flesch had also been Heritage’s point person for the National Task Force to Combat Antisemitism, a coalition of conservative groups that disaffiliated from the think tank after the incident…

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed today that Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will be traveling to Oman for negotiations with Iran tomorrow, saying at a press conference this afternoon that the president is “standing by for an update from them.”

“The president has obviously been quite clear in his demands of the Iranian regime — zero nuclear capability is something he’s been very explicit about and he wants to see if a deal can be struck. And while these negotiations are taking place, I would remind the Iranian regime that the president has many options at his disposal aside from diplomacy as the commander-in-chief of the most powerful military in the history of the world,” Leavitt added…

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told lawmakers at a closed-door meeting of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee that U.S.-Israel coordination is “as high and as close as possible” ahead of the nuclear talks tomorrow, Israeli media reports, but that he still doesn’t know if President Donald Trump will choose to take military action…

Middle East countries that were originally meant to participate in the talks, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt, Oman, the UAE and Pakistan, drafted a potential agreement for the U.S. and Iran, including a nonaggression pact, diplomats told The Times of Israel…

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps seized two foreign oil tankers in the Persian Gulf today, Iranian state media reported, days after attempting to stop and board a U.S.-flagged oil tanker. Reports did not provide the country of origin of the tankers seized today…

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) expressed frustration with the Lebanese government’s stance toward Hezbollah amid struggling disarmament efforts, describing on X a meeting he’d had with Gen. Rodolphe Haykal, the commander of the Lebanese Armed Forces. “I asked him point blank if he believes Hezbollah is a terrorist organization. He said, ‘No, not in the context of Lebanon.’ With that, I ended the meeting.”

“They have been designated as a foreign terrorist organization by both Republican and Democrat administrations since 1997 — for good reason. As long as this attitude exists from the Lebanese Armed Forces, I don’t think we have a reliable partner in them,” Graham continued. The U.S. has provided over $3 billion to shore up the LAF in the last 20 years, including $230 million approved by the Trump administration as recently as October…

⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today

An early look at tomorrow’s storylines and schedule to keep you a step ahead

Keep an eye out in Jewish Insider for whether AIPAC’s active role in the New Jersey 11th Congressional District Democratic primary — opposing former Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-NJ) — paid off. Polls in the district close at 8 p.m.  

We’ll be watching for readouts from the meeting between White House Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, advisor Jared Kushner and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Oman at 10 a.m. local time tomorrow, including whether issues beyond Tehran’s nuclear program are discussed.

We’ll be back in your inbox with the Daily Overtime on Monday. Shabbat Shalom!

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Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), the chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, sent a letter on Thursday to the National Education Association accusing the largest teachers’ union in the country of a “deeply troubling” pattern of antisemitism within its ranks.

“The Jewish people have suffered assaults on their identity, religion, culture, and lives for millennia. Disturbingly, we are witnessing a rise in antisemitic sentiment across the Western world, including in the United States,” Cassidy wrote. “Let me put it plainly: antisemitism in all its forms is abhorrent and has no place within our society, especially at our K-12 schools, higher institutions of learning, workplaces, and within unions.”

Cassidy said that the NEA has “lost sight” of its congressionally chartered purpose, adopting a “misplaced” focus on “political activism, foreign policy, and environmental and social justice causes” and becoming “hostile” to Jewish NEA members.

The letter lists out a litany of incidents including a map sent in a mass email to three million NEA members describing the entire land of Israel as “indigenous” Palestinian territory and linking to resources from Hamas-supporting organizations, an attempted boycott of the Anti-Defamation League and reported harassment of Jewish delegates at the NEA’s national conference.

It also raises concerns about a series of provisions included in the 2025 NEA handbook, including language about Holocaust Remembrance Day that “significantly glossed over and failed to mention the attempted annihilation of the Jewish people under the Nazi regime”; one-sided language on the “Palestinian Nakba” that fails to acknowledge Arab attacks on Jews or the United Nations’ role in Israel’s founding; and language that aims to separate anti-Zionism from antisemitism.

Cassidy said that Jewish NEA members have informed the committee that they “are feeling increasingly threatened and ostracized” by the NEA’s “seeming indifference” to them, have been blocked from leaving the national NEA and have had no recourse to address these issues.

NEA representatives at schools have been “increasingly hostile” to Jewish teachers as well, Cassidy said, targeting them for supporting Israel, denying the Oct. 7 attacks and downplaying and denying antisemitism.

Cassidy said the NEA has repeatedly failed to properly and fulsomely apologize for these incidents. In one case, he said, “the NEA’s retroactive statement appears to be a sloppy, insincere, and reactionary attempt [to] move on from its unacceptable behavior.”

Cassidy put forward dozens of questions to the organization, including the process that allowed for the anti-Israel map to be sent out and whether those involved had been held accountable, the NEA’s response to Jewish members who were harassed and the approval process for the handbook language, and how and why it has responded — or not responded — to antisemitism, among various others.

The public school systems in Fairfax County, Va.; Berkeley, Calif.; and Philadelphia became the latest targets of the federal government’s crackdown on antisemitism in the classroom when the House Committee on Education and the Workforce announced on Monday it would open investigations into the districts. 

Jewish leaders and parents in all three cities welcomed the probes with cautious optimism and said that they were long overdue, referencing high-profile incidents that have roiled each district, especially in the aftermath of the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attacks in Israel and the ensuing war in Gaza. While much of the federal government’s attention has been on the historic levels of antisemitism on college campuses, focus has recently shifted to addressing anti-Israel sentiments creeping into the classrooms at some public K-12 schools. 

All three districts under investigation have ties to the “Teaching Palestine” curriculum, which was created by textbook publisher Rethinking Schools. “There are fair-minded ways to look at complicated problems in the Middle East. Rethinking Schools materials aren’t that,” said Clifford Smith, government affairs director of the North American Values Institute, which published a report exposing anti-Israel bias within Rethinking Schools. “They are propaganda masquerading as educational resources,” Smith told Jewish Insider. He called on Congress to “take a hard look at the role groups like Rethinking Schools are playing in the recent explosion of antisemitism.”  

Letters to the three school districts from the House committee’s chairman, Rep. Tim Walberg (R-MI), warned that failing to “end any harassment, eliminate any hostile environment and its effects, and prevent any harassment from recurring” against Jewish students and staff would violate Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and could jeopardize their federal funding. The committee requested “an anonymized chart of all complaints” of antisemitic incidents, along with any documents, communications, or contracts related to “Jews, Judaism, Israel, Palestine, Zionism, or antisemitism” to be sent to the government by Dec. 8. 

Fairfax County Public Schools, which is located outside of Washington and serves over 180,000 students, most recently faced scrutiny after two of its high schools’ Muslim Student Association chapters last month published social media videos that imitate hostage-taking and depict violence as part of a recruitment pitch to attract participants to their programming. Several of the participating students were suspended. Guila Franklin Siegel, the COO of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington, told JI at the time that the school system’s response to several recent antisemitic incidents was “slow and nontransparent,” and urged FCPS to “do more to properly address such behavior.”

The district has also faced anti-Israel walkouts on campuses. Several FCPS MSA chapters planned “Keffiyeh Week” protests timed to the second anniversary of the Oct. 7 attacks, in which students encouraged classmates to wear the scarf associated with the Palestinian movement. The House committee’s letter also references incidents in the district that occurred before the Oct. 7 attacks, alleging that one school “for years allegedly refused to remove a hallway display that included painted tiles, 40 percent of which featured swastikas and Nazi flags [and that] just prior to the October 7th attacks, one high school’s Muslim Student Association hosted a speaker who had made grotesque antisemitic statements. For example, he had tweeted, ‘I’m not racist I love everyone. Except the yahood [Jews],’ and ‘Never met a Jew who didn’t have a huge nose.'”

“Members of Congress are in a unique position to not just condemn antisemitism, but also to provide schools with the necessary resources and support to fight it,” Franklin Siegel told JI on Tuesday. 

“That’s the approach JCRC has taken in our yearslong effort to push Fairfax County officials to confront their long and troubling history of school-based antisemitism. We have partnered with FCPS on extensive teacher trainings, Holocaust speaker events and opportunities for Jewish students to share their personal stories with their school communities,” continued Franklin Siegel. “FCPS’ recent swift response to a series of disturbing videos made by students on school property demonstrates their ongoing commitment to getting this right. If FCPS continues building on these meaningful strides, all Jewish children will ultimately have the safe learning environment they need to thrive.” 

A spokesperson for FCPS told JI that it “has received a letter from Congressman Walberg requesting information about potential antisemitic incidents occurring within FCPS schools since 2022. FCPS intends to fully cooperate with Congressman Walberg’s inquiry. FCPS continues to partner with all families to provide a safe, supportive, and inclusive school environment for all students and staff members.”

The Berkeley Unified School District in California, which has 9,400 students, has already previously been placed under federal investigation for an alleged failure to address antisemitism. The House committee wrote on Monday that “since October 7th, BUSD teachers, staff, and administrators have allegedly urged students to join walkouts and demonstrations during school hours that isolate and alienate Jewish students. At one such walkout, students were allegedly chanting ‘Kill the Jews.’ Antisemitism has also infected the classroom, with a teacher at Berkeley High School displaying an image of a fist destroying the Star of David and allegedly describing it as ‘standing up for social justice.'” 

In February 2024, the Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law and the Anti-Defamation League jointly filed a Title VI complaint with the Office for Civil Rights that states Berkeley administrators have ignored parent reports, including a letter signed by 1,370 Berkeley community members to the Berkeley superintendent and Board of Education, while knowingly allowing its public schools to become hostile environments for Jewish and Israeli students.

A spokesperson for BUSD told JI that Monday’s letter from the House committee “concerns allegations raised almost 18 months ago, which our superintendent addressed when she appeared before Congress in May of 2024. The information sought in the current letter from the committee concerns those old allegations. The district will, of course, respond appropriately to the committee’s letter.”

“I feel gratified that this is getting proper attention,” Yossi Fendel, the parent of an 11th grader in the BUSD who is currently suing the school district over antisemitism in classroom materials, told JI. 

“It shouldn’t be surprising that Congress is taking steps to intervene,” Fendel continued. “When Superintendent [Enikia] Ford Morthel got up before Congress, she was the only one there who was unwilling to acknowledge the depth of the problem. Other superintendents acknowledged they have a problem.”  

In the House committee’s letter to the School District of Philadelphia, which has nearly 200,000 students, lawmakers said the district employs “numerous educators who allegedly promote antisemitic content in their classrooms.”  

“SDP employs a senior administrator — its director of social studies curriculum — who has been widely condemned by Jewish advocacy groups in light of his ‘pattern of denying the Jewish connection to the Land of Israel, refusing to speak about peace or coexistence, and downplaying the lived experiences of Jewish people in the face of violence,’” the letter states. “In a recent example, after the murder of two Israeli embassy workers and the antisemitic firebombing attack in Colorado, the senior administrator wrote, ‘The groups who align themselves with American savageness should not be surprised when the savageness is turned on you[.]'”

In addition to “failing to exercise oversight of antisemitic materials in the classroom,” the letter continues, “SDP’s partnerships with external organizations raise concerns about whether antisemitic ideology is being taught in Philadelphia schools.” 

“For example, in August, the Council on American Islamic Relations’ (CAIR) Philadelphia chapter announced that it would be partnering with Philadelphia schools. CAIR Philadelphia’s website promoted a workshop that invoked the antisemitic trope of Jewish ‘political power,’ promising to study ‘the controversial topic if [sic] Jewish political power in the U.S,’” the letter states. 

The ADL also filed a Title VI complaint against SDP in 2024, which was settled in December. SDP agreed to undertake a series of initiatives to ensure its compliance with Title VI when responding to allegations of harassment based on shared ancestry.  

“Since Oct. 7, 2023, the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia has received numerous reports indicating that the School District of Philadelphia may have allowed conditions that create a hostile environment for Jewish students and educators,” Jason Holtzman, chief of the Jewish Community Relations Council of the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia, told JI.

“These reports include, but are not limited to, antisemitic bullying of Jewish students; drawings of swastikas and other hateful graffiti; and public social media posts by staff that appear to justify the violence of Oct. 7 or promote antisemitic rhetoric,” Holtzman continued. “For nearly two years, the Jewish federation and its partners have engaged the district in good faith, offering education, resources and clear recommendations. Despite this outreach, meaningful action has largely not materialized.”

Holtzman expressed hope that the House investigation “will prompt the district to take immediate, concrete steps to ensure Jewish students and educators are protected, that all incidents are addressed with transparency, and that staff who espouse violence or extremist views are held fully accountable.”

SDP did not respond to a request for comment from JI. 

On Tuesday, the ADL called the House committee investigations “an important step in exposing and confronting the rising tide of antisemitic harassment, intimidation and exclusion that Jewish students face in our nation’s classrooms.”  

Conservative Jewish legal and education experts in Virginia are voicing concern over a request made by Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger, a Democrat, for the University of Virginia to pause its presidential search until she takes office in January — and how such a move could impact campus climate for Jewish students. 

The issue of selecting board members at the state’s leading public universities has been a politically charged one since Gov. Glenn Youngkin took office in 2021. Several board seats remain unfilled at George Mason University after Democrats in the state legislature blocked Youngkin’s nominees, including Ken Marcus, founder of the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, whom Youngkin appointed in 2024.  

Earlier this week, the Supreme Court of Virginia upheld the ruling in favor of Virginia Senate Democrats blocking more than 20 of Youngkin’s university board appointments at several schools, including UVA and GMU. 

Spanberger has spoken out against government interference at the University of Virginia over several of the Trump administration’s civil rights investigations into the university’s diversity, equity and inclusion program and over its alleged failure to address antisemitism. The university reached a deal with the federal government in October to pause the investigations, which led its president, Jim Ryan, to resign under pressure. 

Youngkin, in turn, attacked Spanberger for getting involved in university governance before she assumes office in January, criticizing a letter she wrote to the board as “riddled with hyperbole and factual errors and impugns both the Board of Visitors and the presidential search underway.” There are currently five vacancies on the UVa Board of Visitors, which Spanberger is looking to fill in order to put her own stamp on the school’s academic future.

Historically, such intraparty skirmishing over university governance and board appointments wouldn’t have a major impact on the Jewish community.  But at a time when dealing with antisemitism has become tinged with partisanship — with Democrats accused of being less aggressive in dealing with some prominent antisemitic incidents —  the makeup of these key leadership roles and appointments carries high stakes.

As a gubernatorial candidate, Spanberger’s campaign declined to comment when asked by Jewish Insider last year about reaction to news of a GMU student arrested for plotting a terror attack against the Israeli consulate in New York City.

“Democrats [may be] less interested in addressing campus antisemitism and associate allegations of it with the Trump administration’s so-called ‘assault on higher education’ and feel like acknowledging antisemitism may be playing into Trump’s hands,” David Bernstein, a law professor at George Mason University’s Antonin Scalia Law School, told Jewish Insider.

“Democratic-elected prosecutors in Albemarle County [where UVA is located] told universities that even if students violate the state’s anti-mask law, which is a felony, they’re not going to prosecute them. That’s evidence of Democrats in general not taking campus antisemitism seriously,” continued Bernstein, referencing the tendency of anti-Israel activists to wear masks to conceal their identities at protests. 

Marcus told JI his expectations for new UVA leadership include “moving forward with stronger policies to address antisemitism, [for example] more forceful use of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism. I’d like to see that be followed at UVA as it has been at George Mason [University].”

“But that’s now in question,” continued Marcus. “It certainly will make a difference whether the current board selects the president or whether they wait for Gov.-elect Spanberger to have a say in the matter. Issues driving selection of the president are unlikely to focus on antisemitism, but they certainly might include adjacent issues like DEI.”  

Jason Torchinsky, a partner at Holtzman Vogel who has filed several lawsuits on behalf of Jewish students alleging campus antisemitism, also expressed worry that “if new board members that the governor-elect appoints are not committed to combating antisemitism on campus, the tide is going to turn and it will get worse at UVA.” 

In Virginia, state university board appointees are typically former legislators of the governor’s party or an alum who donates to the school. Torchinsky said he “suspects Spanberger will follow that pattern.”  

Torchinsky represented Matan Goldstein, a Jewish UVA student who sued the school in 2024 over allegations that he was “a victim of hate-based, intentional discrimination, severe harassment and abuse and illegal retaliation.” As a result of the lawsuit and an anti-Israel encampment that spring, “UVA made a lot of good changes at that time,” including enforcing an anti-mask law at protests, Torchinsky told JI. 

“If the board reverses those policies or fails to enforce them, it could be bad for Jewish students,” continued Torchinsky. “I’m just hoping those don’t get reversed.” 

Rabbi Yehuda Kaploun, the Trump administration’s nominee to be the State Department’s special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism, emphasized the importance of education as the critical tool to combat antisemitism during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday.

“Together with bipartisan support, we must educate the world to respect one another. Lofty goals, perhaps, but a lesson that I learned from the Grand Rabbi of Lubavitch, as well as from my grandparents and my parents, is to do my best to impact and make the world a better place,” Kaploun said. “We do this by building bridges through education and friendships and dialogue. We must learn from the past to protect and educate the living.”

“We must, educate, educate, educate about the history of the Jewish community in America and the Judeo-Christian values our country was founded on,” he continued. “I pledge to all of you here, I will not waver and I will not rest. I will commit to you to do my very best, if confirmed, to fight antisemitism everywhere and to make this world a better arena for God to dwell and spread his blessings upon us all.”

Kaploun also emphasized the importance of understanding the history of the Holocaust, describing the U.S. veterans who liberated Nazi death camps as men who “saw the worst of humanity” and became “the best advocates in the world” against antisemitism. He also said he urges people to visit the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.

“People don’t know the history, people don’t understand that we have to respect one another,” Kaploun said. “The problem is that people don’t want to listen to [WWII veterans] and hear their stories. … In America, we believe in freedom of expression and freedom of speech, but at the same time, we have to educate people as to what the facts truly are. … We’re missing that boat.”

Asked by Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) about President Donald Trump’s response to Tucker Carlson hosting neo-Nazi influencer Nick Fuentes on his podcast — Trump said that Carlson has “said good things about me over the years” and that “people have to decide” how they feel about Fuentes — Kaploun emphasized freedom of speech, as well as the administration’s work to combat antisemitism.

“I think the president and the secretary of state have made it perfectly clear that any type of antisemitism [does not have] a place in America. … That’s something that guides the administration’s policy,” Kaploun said, adding that the administration’s policy is that “antisemitism is to be condemned everywhere.”

He said that antisemitism is a “global problem” that stems from “ignorance” and a lack of education.

“But freedom of speech is something that’s a right, and freedom of expression globally is an important part of what the administration’s policy is,” he continued.“You have a right to hate, but we have a right to explain and stand up and abhor everything that you say. I believe very strongly that we can condemn remarks whenever they need to be condemned and educate people.”

The friendly interview between Carlson and Fuentes has touched off a reckoning in conservative circles about antisemitism on the right, though the administration has largely stayed out of the fray on the issue.

Pressed on the line between criticism of Israel and antisemitism, Kaploun pointed to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism, which has been used by the State Department for years.

He said that anyone has a right to criticize Israel, but that when individuals single out Israel without offering criticisms of any other countries, that can cross the line into antisemitism.

In his opening statement, Kaploun detailed the ways that antisemitism has impacted him throughout his life: he heard shouts of “dirty Jew” while walking to synagogue as a child; he grew up during the Crown Heights riots, hearing cries of “kill the Jews” in the streets; and his sister died of 9/11 related cancer and his cousin was killed on Oct. 7 protecting her children who are now orphans.

He said he also had the opportunity to sit with former hostage Yarden Bibas, whose family was killed by terrorists in Gaza after being taken captive, the night before the funeral of Bibas’ wife and children.

“Yes, I have seen the worst that humanity can do. When asked to serve my country by our president in a role that I truly wished did not need to exist there was no hesitation,” Kaploun said. “I sit before you humbled by the opportunity to serve my country. It is a daunting task.”

Kaploun also emphasized that antisemitism is a “symbol of a larger hatred” and that “when a country starts allowing antisemitism, the results are not kind to that country.”

“That is why President Trump and Secretary Rubio have stated there can be no compromise with antisemitism,” he said. “Antisemitism is anti-American. Those who chant ‘death to the Jews’ all too often chant ‘death to America.’ We cannot allow anyone to teach children from infancy to kill and to be a martyr.”

Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-NV), co-chair of the Senate antisemitism task force and a member of the committee, told Jewish Insider in a statement, “I’ve worked closely with Special Envoys under both Republican and Democratic Administrations. Maintaining this bipartisan tradition will be critical to the success of this role. If confirmed, I look forward to working with Rabbi Kaploun to achieve our shared priorities.”

In a letter to the committee, the Orthodox Union Advocacy Center’s Nathan Diament and Isaac Pretter — while not directly endorsing Kaploun — emphasized the importance of filling the role quickly and noted Kaploun’s qualifications.

“As an easily identifiable member of the Jewish community, and longtime activist, Rabbi Kaploun is familiar with the issues facing Jews around the world,” the OU Advocacy leaders wrote. “As a member of the Orthodox community, we are familiar with Rabbi Kaploun and his commitment to combatting antisemitism.”

The also noted that he had “shown a willingness to cross the partisan divide” to issue a joint op-ed with predecessors Ambassador Deborah Lipstadt and Elan Carr in response to the Capital Jewish Museum shooting.

“In short, Rabbi Kaploun has proven an eager and capable ally in the fight against antisemitism,” Diament and Pretter said.

Ted Deutch, the CEO of the American Jewish Committee, urged the “swift confirmation of Rabbi Kaploun to help the United States continue to lead the fight against antisemitism across the globe,” in a post on X.

Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY), a co-chair of the House Jewish Caucus, and 17 other House Democrats wrote to committee leaders in opposition to Kaploun’s nomination, calling it “partisan and controversial.” 

They criticized him for past comments accusing Democrats of failing to condemn the Oct. 7 attackers as terrorists or call out antisemitism, saying that the comments raise concerns about his “judgement, temperament” and capacity to work with Democrats, and that a vote to support him would be an endorsement of those sentiments and an insult to committee Democrats.

They also condemned him for failing to condemn antisemitic comments by Trump and members of his administration, and highlighted past reporting on a lawsuit relating to an alleged extramarital affair.

“Ultimately, Mr. Kaploun, when confronted by antisemitic rhetoric, did not speak out against it and himself engaged in speech that was deeply damaging to the Jewish community at a time of peak antisemitism,” the letter reads. “We must demand better.”

Other signatories to the letter included Jewish Reps. Jamie Raskin (D-MD), Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), Becca Balint (D-VT) and Steve Cohen (D-TN), as well as Reps. Adam Smith (D-WA), Jim McGovern (D-MA), Andre Carson (D-IN), Joaquin Castro (D-TX), Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), Sylvia Garcia (D-TX), Cleo Fields (D-LA), Mark Takano (D-CA), Madeleine Dean (D-PA), Betty McCollum (D-MN), Troy Carter (D-LA), Emily Randall (D-WA) and Joe Courtney (D-CT).

State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce, nominated to be deputy U.S. representative to the United Nations, testified alongside Kaploun. She affirmed that the administration is committed to preventing the U.N. Relief and Works Agency from having any role in the future of Gaza.

“Other nations, other entities, NGOs know that this is something now, it is a new way forward, it is something they can work forward with,” she said, praising the Trump administration’s Gaza peace plan, recently approved by the U.N. Security Council. “The World Food Program, other entities associated with the U.N. and other nations and their assistance will make the difference. We will pick up the difference of whatever UNRWA claimed that they were doing.”

She also highlighted concerns about UNRWA’s educational programs radicalizing young generations of Palestinians through antisemitic and anti-Israel school curricula and said these issues must end.

Bruce also committed to pursuing “bold reform” at the U.N. and pursuing an end to its anti-Israel bias.

In the wake of a global rise in antisemitism not seen in generations, World Jewish Congress President Ronald Lauder told some 250 attendees at the organization’s annual gala dinner on Monday that the “only” solutions are “creating more Jewish schools” and “taking the high ground in public relations.” 

“The entire education system — K-12 to college — must be retaught. Laws must be passed that will focus on no racism, no antisemitism and no anti-Western civilization being taught,” said Lauder. “It’s [also] time we fight back with stronger PR to tell the truth about [antisemitism and Israel]. If Israel doesn’t want to do this, we in the Diaspora will help.

“I don’t blame Jewish organizations for not being prepared” for the Oct. 7 terror attacks in Israel and their aftermath, continued Lauder. “[But] all of these groups don’t know how to [combat antisemitism]. Frankly, they’re wasting a lot of money. Education and public relations are the only [answers].” 

The event, held at the Museum of Modern Art in Manhattan, honored Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) and Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) with WJC’s Theodor Herzl Award for the lawmakers’ pro-Israel advocacy and opposition to antisemitism. 

Stefanik, who announced earlier this week she is running for governor of New York in the 2026 election, told the audience she plans to continue “exposing the truth about how antisemitism is normalized and institutionalized in American higher education.” 

“I will not stop until accountability is real and until every Jewish student in this country can walk across campus without fear,” she said.   

“As I look around my beloved home state, I know there is another battle that now demands our focus,” continued Stefanik, speaking nearly a week after the election of democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani as mayor of New York City. “Today, New York is not just a city and state in crisis, it is the epicenter in the fight for democracy, capitalism and dignity of work.” 

Bernadette Breslin, spokesperson for Stefanik, told Jewish Insider after the event that, if elected governor, “Stefanik will enforce and strengthen New York’s anti-BDS law.”

“Our office works with Jewish schools in New York State to provide increased Nonprofit Security Grant Program funding from DHS as well as state funding for protecting the safety and security of Jewish students,” she told JI. “[Stefanik] is also a proud co-sponsor of the Countering Hate Against Israel by Federal Contractors Act which would prohibit the federal government from contracting with entities that boycott Israel. We will institute this at the state level. She will continue to fight against the antisemitic BDS movement in New York State like she has done in Congress.”

Lauder voiced support for Stefanik’s campaign launch. “Our hearts are with you as our next governor in New York,” he said to applause. 

Fetterman gave virtual remarks from Washington, where he remained to vote on an effort to end the government shutdown. “The proudest thing I’ve done in my entire Senate career is to stand with Israel and the Jewish community worldwide through this horrible war in Gaza. My voice is going to follow Israel,” he said.

Good Thursday morning.

In today’s Daily Kickoff, we report on the evolving situation in the Gaza Strip, where Hamas forces are violently attacking rival clans following the implementation of the first phase of the Trump administration’s ceasefire plan, and look at how the White House’s moves to address campus antisemitism have morphed into broader efforts to regulate bias in academia. We report on the passing of the Orthodox Union’s Rabbi Moshe Hauer, and cover Gov. Josh Shapiro’s comments this week that antisemitism was a “motivating factor” in the Passover arson attack at the governor’s residence. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Joshua Kushner, Joel Mokyr and Amb. Sammy Revel.

Today’s Daily Kickoff was curated by Jewish Insider Executive Editor Melissa Weiss and Tamara Zieve with assists from Marc Rod and Danielle Cohen-Kanik. Have a tip? Email us here.

What We’re Watching

• White House Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, former Israeli hostage Almog Meir Jan and Yehuda Kaploun, the Trump administration’s nominee to serve as antisemitism envoy, are slated to speak tonight at an event at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington commemorating the second anniversary of the Oct. 7 attacks.
• In New York City, the Consul General of Israel is hosting its own commemoration ceremony this evening.
• Elsewhere in New York City, mayoral candidates Zohran Mamdani, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Curtis Sliwa will participate in a debate hosted by Politico, NBC 4 New York/WNBC and Telemundo 47/WNJU.
• In Israel, we’re monitoring the implementation of the Trump administration’s 20-point ceasefire plan, amid violations by Hamas over the release of bodies of deceased captives. Last night, Hamas returned the bodies of Inbar Haiman, the last remaining female hostage, and Muhammad el-Atrash, who was killed on Oct. 7 while serving in the Gaza Division’s Northern Brigade.
• The Jewish Democratic Council of America is hosting a meet-the-candidate event tonight with New Jersey gubernatorial candidate Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ).

What You Should Know

A QUICK WORD WITH JI’S LAHAV HARKOV

Following the joy in Israel over the return of the remaining living hostages on Monday and President Donald Trump’s declaration that “the long and painful nightmare is finally over” came the letdown: Hamas, as of this morning, had returned only nine out of 28 bodies of the deceased hostages and started to execute rivals and reestablish itself in the areas of Gaza from which the IDF withdrew. 

While Trump has repeatedly said the war in Gaza is over, when asked by CBS News if that’s the case, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel “agreed to give peace a chance,” and later in the interview said it still needs to “finish the war as speedily as possible.”

The future of Gaza remains unclear, despite Israel agreeing to Trump’s 20-point plan for the region. Hamas only agreed to the immediate steps in the plan: stopping the war, freeing the hostages in exchange for 1,950 prisoners, including those who killed Israelis in terrorist attacks, and Israel withdrawing to a specified line within Gaza. 

Trump posted on Truth Social on Wednesday that the plan’s second phase, which entails Hamas’ disarmament and demilitarization of the Gaza Strip, “begins right NOW!!!” Yet, an Israeli official confirmed to Jewish Insider a report that, with Hamas withholding most of the remaining hostages’ bodies, negotiations to continue to the next phase of the plan are on hold.

Disarming Hamas and the demilitarization of Gaza are meant to take place “under the supervision of independent monitors,” but those monitors have yet to be selected and sent to the region. The Peace Board announced — and led — by Trump, with the involvement of former U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair that is meant to oversee Gaza’s administration by Palestinian technocrats has not yet been formed, nor has the temporary International Stabilization Force meant to train Palestinian police and be part of the “long-term internal security solution” for Gaza and Israel. 

Meanwhile, Hamas has entered the vacuum and, in recent days, has tried to consolidate its power by killing members of clans that it accused of collaborating with Israel. 

Read the rest of ‘What You Should Know’ here.

EDUCATION CONSTERNATION

With new higher ed compact, Trump’s antisemitism crusade broadens to fight academic bias

As the Trump administration ratchets up its efforts to influence higher education, the latest White House proposal for colleges and universities is being met with skepticism from academics — even as its authors say its implementation should be a no-brainer. That’s in reference to a White House document called the “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education,” a 10-point plan that the federal government is asking universities to sign in order to get preferential treatment for the federal funds upon which research universities rely. If they don’t agree to the terms in the compact — which include commitments to end race-based hiring and admissions, limits on foreign enrollment and a pledge to foster greater ideological diversity — they risk losing billions of dollars. Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch talked to professors from across the country about the compact, which says next to nothing about antisemitism.

Missing link: The compact reflects an evolution of a familiar Trump administration argument: that America’s preeminent educational institutions have strayed from their mission, letting politics interfere with their raison d’etre as centers of academic excellence. Combating antisemitism on college campuses — a cause the Trump administration has prioritized this year — provided President Donald Trump a foray into greater oversight of higher education. But there appears to be no direct line from that fight against antisemitism to the broad ideological framework in this compact, which makes only a passing reference to antisemitism.

Read the full story here.

Bonus: More than 450 employees of the Department of Education were laid off on Friday as part of the Trump administration’s crackdown on the agency; among the offices most affected was the Office for Civil Rights, which has investigated dozens of antisemitic discrimination complaints.

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MASSACHUSETTS MATCHUP

Seth Moulton challenging Markey, one of Israel’s leading Senate critics, in high-stakes Dem primary

Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA) announced Wednesday that he plans to challenge Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) for his Senate seat, grounding his campaign in an argument for generational change, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.

Differences: But unlike many of the younger challengers taking on older Democratic incumbents in the current election cycle, Moulton is generally more moderate, including on foreign policy issues, than Markey, an outspoken progressive. While Moulton has been strongly critical of Israeli operations in Gaza, his record as a whole leans more pro-Israel than Markey’s.

Read the full story here.

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MTG MOMENTUM

As she emerges as populist GOP critic, Marjorie Taylor Greene amplifies antisemitic rhetoric

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) first became a household name for her embrace of a range of wild conspiracy theories — including antisemitic claims about the Rothschild family like the idea that space-based weapons controlled by the Jewish banking family were the cause of California wildfires. But as the congresswoman has emerged as an unlikely star in liberal circles and mainstream media after breaking with her party on the government shutdown, health-care funding and the Jeffrey Epstein files, her erstwhile critics have all but ignored her increasingly frequent use of antisemitic tropes and embrace of conspiracy theories targeting Jews, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.

What she’s saying: Earlier this week, the controversial Georgia congresswoman vowed on X, “No bar codes on me. I’ll never take 30 shekels. I’m America only! And Christ is King!” She has also repeatedly boosted claims that Israel and Jewish people were involved in last month’s killing of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk and are seeking to co-opt his organization. And she has accused Israel of “meddling in campaigns and elections” and of “meddling in government policy — government of the United States policy — as well as dictating what America does in foreign wars.”

Read the full story here.

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GUILTY PLEA

Gov. Josh Shapiro now says antisemitism a ‘motivating factor’ in arson attack at residence

Hours after the man accused of an arson attack on the Pennsylvania governor’s mansion in April pled guilty to the attempted murder of Gov. Josh Shapiro, the governor appeared to publicly acknowledge for the first time that the attacker targeted him for his faith, Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch reports. Cody Balmer was sentenced to 25-50 years in prison for the attack, which took place hours after Shapiro and his family hosted a Passover Seder at the governor’s residence in Harrisburg. Balmer said after his arrest that he was motivated by the war in Gaza, and that he wanted Shapiro to know that Balmer “will not take part in his plans for what he wants to do to the Palestinian people.” Shapiro has avoided calling the attack a hate crime. 

What he said: In a CNN interview on Tuesday, Shapiro was asked by anchor Jake Tapper if he believed he was “targeted just because you’re Jewish.” Shapiro responded: “Look, obviously, as governor of Pennsylvania I don’t have foreign policy in my job description. But clearly, the district attorney thought that this was a material fact. “Clearly this was a motivating factor.” Balmer did not face hate crime charges in the case. “Whatever is motivating this political violence in this country, it needs to stop. Whether it’s targeting me because of my faith, whether it’s targeting someone else because of their ideology, it is not OK,” Shapiro said on CNN. 

Read the full story here.

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IN MEMORIAM

Congressman blames ‘vandalism’ after swastika flag spotted at staffer’s desk

Rep. Dave Taylor (R-OH) blamed “vandalism” and requested a Capitol Police investigation after a flag showing a swastika overlaid onto the American flag was spotted in a staff member’s cubicle during a virtual meeting, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.

What happened: The flag was pinned up on the wall of the staffer’s cubicle alongside various other memorabilia including a copy of the U.S. Constitution and a congressional calendar. The incident was first reported by a local outlet. “I am aware of an image that appears to depict a vile and deeply inappropriate symbol near an employee in my office,” Taylor said in a statement issued Wednesday. “The content of that image does not reflect the values or standards of this office, my staff, or myself, and I condemn it in the strongest terms. Upon learning of this matter, I immediately directed a thorough investigation alongside Capitol Police, which remains ongoing. No further comment will be provided until it has been completed.”

Read the full story here.

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in memoriam

Orthodox Union’s Rabbi Moshe Hauer remembered as ‘master teacher’ and ‘voice of Torah’

Rabbi Moshe Hauer, the executive vice president of the Orthodox Union, died suddenly on Monday evening after suffering a heart attack, his organization said, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports. He was 60. Jewish communal leaders remembered Hauer as a friend, a faithful and committed leader and a source of wise counsel.

Remembering: “Rabbi Hauer was a true talmid chacham, a master teacher and communicator, the voice of Torah to the Orthodox community and the voice of Orthodoxy to the world. He personified what it means to be a Torah Jew and took nothing more seriously than his role of sharing the joy of Jewish life with our community and beyond,” OU President Mitchel Aeder and Chief Operating Officer Rabbi Josh Joseph said in a joint statement.

Read the full obituary here.

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Education Secretary Linda McMahon said on Wednesday that the Trump administration’s goal is not to engage in a prolonged legal battle with Harvard University and expressed hope that the federal government would be able to reach a settlement that delivers meaningful reforms to the elite campus. 

McMahon made the comments while appearing at the Federalist Society and the Defense of Freedom Institute’s annual Education Law & Policy Conference on Wednesday morning, after being asked during a moderated conversation with Washington Examiner news editor Marisa Schultz where negotiations between Harvard and the administration stand. 

“I’m certainly hopeful on the settlement. I have spoken to Alan Garber, their very good president, at the very beginning of this. I haven’t spoken to him since, but I do think that with the idea that Harvard has already started to take certain measures to change what they were doing, I certainly hope that there will be an agreement,” McMahon said. “It’s not our goal to have to go to court to make people abide by the law, to make universities abide by the law.”

Getting specific, the education secretary explained that, “Harvard has already started to put in place some of the things we wanted them to do. They reassessed their Middle East policies. They actually fired a couple of their professors. They are looking at having safe measures on campus, and so without even admitting any guilt in any way, they have started to change their policies, and that is the ultimate goal of our investigation, of making sure that things are proper on campus.”

Asked by Schultz about the ongoing negotiations with the University of California, Los Angeles and other schools, and how the settlements fit into the Trump administration’s “big picture mission for elite universities and colleges in America,” McMahon said that their “goal is really not to be punitive necessarily, but to have universities, I think, return to what we all believe that universities started out to be.”

“It’s not to be punitive. That’s really not the goal. The goal is to make them change their policies and practices, and if they are not in compliance with the law, then surely we’re going to insist they are, or they won’t receive federal funding,” she said.

The education secretary said she believed it was in the best interest of all parties to reach settlements rather than risk upending the more than $2 billion in research grants that Harvard receives from the federal government. “The federal funding for Harvard, not only for students who attend, for their tuition, but also the amazing amount of research funding — they get over $2 billion, almost $3 billion — is very significant to those scientists and professors who were there, who have grants and who are working on their own projects,” McMahon said. 

“They can take that grant money and go somewhere else, if it’s a grant directly to them, so I think it’s in Harvard’s interest to continue to negotiate. I think it’s in all of our interests for Harvard and for all of the other universities that we are sending letters to, that we are investigating, and there are others. Hopefully there will be these settlements with all of them, because basically, we just want them to do right,” she explained.

McMahon made a similar remark about the importance of protecting research grants while discussing the administration’s settlement with Columbia University reached over the summer, which followed a protracted legal battle.

“We eventually reached an agreement with Columbia,” McMahon said. “They will pay a fine back to the United States government. Their funding will be released again, and it’s primarily research funding. I believe our universities do some of the most incredible research in the country. We want them to be able to do that, but they have to abide by the law. They have to abide by Title VI, they have to abide by Title IX. They have to be worthy to receive the funds that they are receiving from the United States government.”

The comments mark the first time McMahon has publicly shared her thoughts on what outcome she would like to see from the federal government’s negotiations with Harvard University amid an ongoing dispute between different factions within the Trump administration over the effectiveness of the ongoing negotiations and settlements with universities. 

While some officials are focused on any deal that would secure strong reforms to address antisemitism and other civil rights issues, others are looking for securing large payouts to appease President Donald Trump. 

“There’s growing dissatisfaction with the White House letting universities buy their way out of accountability with no meaningful change. It’s clear they’ve been totally out-negotiated,” one source familiar with the negotiations told JI earlier this month of the situation.

Trump said late last month that he expected Harvard to pay at least $500 million to restore its more than $2 billion in federal funding. “We want nothing less than $500 million from Harvard. Don’t negotiate, Linda. They’ve been very bad. Don’t negotiate,” Trump said while addressing McMahon at a Cabinet meeting. (McMahon acknowledged Trump’s remarks in the moment but did not respond further.)

Pressed on Wednesday about Trump’s comments and the fact that a federal judge in Boston blocked the administration’s freeze on Harvard’s research grants earlier this month, McMahon noted that they plan to appeal the ruling and said the government was in a strong position in its fight against the university.

“We’re still in the throes of negotiating with Harvard. They filed a lawsuit, they won the first round, and one of the things they were claiming was that the steps that we were asking of them would violate First Amendment rights, and that’s just not true. I think that we have a really good case against Harvard,” McMahon said.

Charlie Kirk, the 31-year-old Trump ally and conservative campus advocacy leader who was fatally shot at an event at Utah Valley University on Wednesday, was seen as a crucial bulwark against rising antisemitism and anti-Israel antagonism on the far right, friends and acquaintances told Jewish Insider.

While he was best known as a fierce and unyielding critic of what he assailed as the excesses of left-wing culture, Kirk, the founder of the youth activist group Turning Point USA, also cautioned against the risks of young conservatives embracing antisemitism and online conspiracy theories about Jews and Israel.   

“There is a corner of the internet, of people that want to point and blame the Jews for all their problems,” he said at a recent event. “Everybody, this is demonic and it’s from the pit of hell and it should not be tolerated.”

Jewish conservatives who were close with Kirk both personally and professionally lamented his death as a major loss for the long-term standing of pro-Israel sentiment in the MAGA movement, citing his continued defense of Israel and recent commentary warning against the embrace of antisemitism on the far right while visiting college campuses nationwide with TPUSA.

Kirk’s impact on the online right’s discourse was significant, and his views on Israel were closely watched as other right-wing podcasters turned more critical of the Jewish state. In the runup to the U.S. strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities, Kirk drew outsized attention for cautioning the Trump administration against attacking Iran, citing the fallout from young conservatives, who supported the president over his promise to end foreign wars.

But after the attack was successful, Kirk praised Trump’s decision after the strikes degraded Iran’s nuclear threat without the U.S. getting involved in a wider war.

Rabbi Pesach Wolicki, executive director of Israel365 Action, a subset of Israel365, the advocacy group that describes itself as an “Orthodox Jewish institution that believes that Jews and Christians must respect one another,” spoke to Kirk on Tuesday evening for what he referred to as a “work meeting.” Wolicki said he could not get into details of the call, but noted that the two began communicating regularly as Kirk began facing pushback from the far right for refusing to abandon his support for Israel. 

“The fact is, Charlie didn’t agree with every decision that the Israeli government made, but he was one of the most avid defenders of Israel out there,” Wolicki told JI. “Most people’s exposure to Charlie visiting campuses is those viral clips they would release, but 40 to 50% of the questions Charlie would get on campuses for the last year and a half were about Israel. He didn’t go to those campuses to talk about Israel, but that’s where the students would always bring it to. Half the time he was on those campuses, he was defending Israel.”

While he and Kirk did not always align in their conversations about Israel, the GOP activist “was always wanting to learn, wanting to know what the truth is and what are the right ways to answer these questions,” Wolicki said. 

“All I saw in every conversation was sincerity and concern and just a love for Israel, even when he disagreed with Israel, even when Israel frustrated him,” he told JI. 

Even as Kirk faced criticism for defending Elon Musk after the billionaire tech mogul came under scrutiny for amplifying an antisemitic conspiracy theory, his allies said he had a strong connection to Israel and the Jewish community that motivated his advocacy.

Josh Hammer, a conservative political commentator and a personal friend of Kirk’s, argued that Kirk’s affinity for the Jewish people was grounded in his evangelical Christian faith and the fact that some of his earliest professional mentors were conservative pro-Israel champions like David Horowitz and Dennis Prager. 

Hammer said he and Kirk engaged regularly on the best ways to address rising antisemitism within the GOP, and that he was concerned about how Kirk’s absence going forward would impact that surge.

“He was a young conservative leader, and he very much had his thumb on the pulse of the fact that Gen Z is trending in a not so healthy direction on the Israel issue and on antisemitism in general,” he told JI. 

“We would talk about how to turn back the tide against that,” Hammer added. “He was really holding back some really nasty stuff in some very young, far-right online circles. He was doing more than maybe anyone in the country to fight that. Part of me kind of worries, frankly, about what that energy does from here in his absence.”

Kirk, an evangelical Christian, had been working on a book about the Sabbath that is set to be published in December, called Stop, in the Name of God: Why Honoring the Sabbath Will Transform Your Life. 

“He would turn his phone off and generally disconnect for 24 to 25 hours,” Hammer told JI. “He was someone who genuinely believed not just in the New Testament and part of the Christian Bible, but he genuinely believed in the Hebrew Bible as well. He had a very special place in his heart for those who were called upon to be God’s chosen people in this world. He was of genuine conviction that the land of Israel was promised to the Jewish people.”

Jewish American and Israeli leaders expressed appreciation on Wednesday for Kirk’s support for the Jewish community and Israel, which he visited at least twice on trips he recounted as personally meaningful.

“Charlie Kirk was murdered for speaking truth and defending freedom,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on social media. “A lion-hearted friend of Israel, he fought the lies and stood tall for Judeo-Christian civilization.”

Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and a former White House advisor, called Kirk “a close friend and a special human being,” saying he “represented the best of MAGA. Firm in his beliefs, compassionate, curious, and respectful.”

The Republican Jewish Coalition, in a statement on Wednesday, said that Kirk had been “a shining light in these troubled times for the American Jewish community, and we are deeply saddened at his passing.”

“Charlie was a fearless advocate for freedom, a supporter of Israel and the Jewish people, and a friend,” the RJC said. “He was cut down while doing what he loved to do, communicating with the next generation of American leaders on college campuses about the issues that affect us all.”

Halie Soifer, CEO of the Jewish Democratic Council of America, said she was “devastated by the horrific, unconscionable, depraved murder of Charlie Kirk,” adding: “Political violence should have no place in this country, and it’s incumbent on political leaders on both sides of the aisle to make that clear.”

Shabbos Kestenbaum, a Jewish pro-Trump activist and outspoken opponent of campus antisemitism, said that Kirk’s death leaves a vacuum on the right as antisemitic figures including Tucker Carlson and Nick Fuentes find growing audiences. 

“Charlie repeatedly referred to antisemitism as ‘demonic’” and “hated it viscerally,” Kestenbaum told JI.

“Behind the scenes, Charlie was working with prominent Jewish individuals here in America to change the narrative surrounding Israel,” he said. “He was a mentor to me and millions all over this country. I fear for the future of the conservative movements’ attitudes towards Israel without Charlie.”

Over the weekend, The New York Times published a story contending that the momentum for settlements with elite universities was stalling amid divisions between those in the Trump administration looking to make a deal and those looking for more meaningful reforms in combating antisemitism. 

The story glossed over the related development we’ve been hearing from officials involved in the negotiating process: that a zeal for dealmaking from some officials is overshadowing the main reason the Trump administration was playing hardball with these schools in the first place — the rampant antisemitism that has been festering on campus.

In fact, the word “antisemitism” was hardly mentioned in the lengthy NYT story, a sign in itself of the administration’s flagging focus.

Indeed, many of the deals struck — along with the outlines of potential future deals — have focused on the dollar amounts in the settlement, without requiring many significant reforms that would deal with antisemitism at the elite schools.

Columbia University agreed in July, following a lengthy legal battle, to pay a $200 million settlement over three years to the federal government. In addition to the legal penalty, the Ivy League school — which did not admit to wrongdoing in the resolution agreement — pledged to implement a series of commitments aimed at protecting Jewish students. 

These include further incorporating the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism by requiring its Office of Institutional Equity to embrace the definition; appointing a Title VI coordinator to review alleged violations of the Civil Rights Act; requiring antisemitism training for all students, faculty and staff; and refusing to recognize or meet with anti-Israel student coalition Columbia University Apartheid Divest.

On Columbia’s campus, some pro-Israel students expressed disappointment over those “largely symbolic” commitments, which diverged from a list of reforms initially demanded by the Trump administration. 

Soon after Columbia, Brown University entered into an agreement with the Trump administration to restore hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding. The settlement also primarily focused on money rather than reform, although unlike Columbia, Brown was not required to pay a fine directly to the federal government. The university instead agreed to pay $50 million over 10 years to workforce development organizations in Rhode Island. It also agreed to launch a third-party campus climate survey in an effort to protect Jewish students. 

Meanwhile, the conversation surrounding a possible settlement with Harvard has increasingly centered on the significant size of the potential payment — a whopping half-billion dollars — over any of the institutional changes the university will need to make. Sources familiar with the dealmaking confirm to Jewish Insider that President Donald Trump himself is increasingly enamored with the size of the payment, which has led some of his advisors to focus less on reforms and more on the money.

“There’s growing dissatisfaction with the White House letting universities buy their way out of accountability with no meaningful change. It’s clear they’ve been totally out-negotiated,” said one source familiar with the negotiations. 

Reading the Times story, the administration officials working to fight against the universities’ harassment of their Jewish students were caricatured as “ideologically driven aides,” whereas those looking to cut lucrative financial deals were portrayed as the pragmatists. 

The reality is the opposite. Securing government payouts as the primary achievement for using state power to freeze a private university’s funds makes the whole enterprise seem like extortion. Putting in the work to make sure these abuses don’t happen again is what would make the exertion of government power more justifiable.

Indeed, the outcome of this showdown with elite universities — with negotiations with Cornell and Northwestern taking place now — will be a test of whether many of the systemic abuses that led to the extraordinary freeze on research funding will be rolled back, or whether the tolerance of anti-Jewish discrimination on campus could become the new normal.

Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-OH) is asking the presidents of the largest colleges and universities in Ohio to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism and ensure that their respective institutions have plans in place to combat campus antisemitism during the upcoming school year, Jewish Insider has learned.

Moreno sent letters on Tuesday to the presidents of The Ohio State University, Miami University, Kent State University, Cleveland State University, Youngstown State University, the University of Cincinnati, Central State University, the University of Toledo, Bowling Green State University, Akron University, Ohio University, Wright State University, Northeast Ohio Medical University and Shawnee State University. 

In the letters, the Ohio senator requested information on how each school was responding to “the unacceptable and disgusting rise in antisemitism” and the ways each plans to “protect students’ safety while on campus from antisemitism and/or other religiously motivated crimes.”

Moreno also urged the schools to adopt the IHRA definition, which he argued “provides clarity on what constitutes antisemitism and can serve as a tool on campus to help combat hate crimes and foster a safer environment for Jewish students.”

“I want to make sure that university leaders are doing all they can to ensure students are free not only to learn on college campuses but also to feel safe while doing so, regardless of their religion,” Moreno wrote.

Moreno praised the Trump administration’s efforts to combat antisemitism in the letters, writing that the White House was “taking strong and necessary action” on the matter.

“Jewish Americans are under attack in this country. Americans have witnessed the manifestation of rampant antisemitism on college campuses all over the country,” Moreno wrote. “Horrifyingly, hate crimes and domestic terrorism have plagued the Jewish community. Recently, in this country, Jewish Americans have been murdered in cold blood and burned alive. These attacks are reminiscent of 1939. It is 2025 – the violence against Jews must stop.”

The first day of the new school year on Tuesday at Columbia University was met with a wary sense of relief from Jewish students and faculty, who returned to campus unsure whether recent reforms aimed at combating campus antisemitism would make any difference. 

Scenes that have become commonplace on Columbia’s campus over the past two years — masked anti-Israel demonstrators barging into classrooms and the library banging on drums and chanting “Free Palestine” or hourslong demonstrations in the center of campus of more than 100 students calling for an “intifada revolution” — were nowhere to be seen. 

Still, in quieter ways, there were moments behind the tall iron entrance gates reminiscent of the antisemitic turbulence that grew commonplace on the Morningside Heights campus since Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attacks. 

Three members of Columbia University Apartheid Divest, a coalition of over 80 university student groups that Instagram banned earlier this year for promoting violence, protested Columbia Hillel’s club fair, distributing fliers urging Jewish students to “drop Hillel” because it “supports genocide.” 

Elsewhere on campus, an organizer of the 2024 anti-Israel encampment movement, Cameron Jones, paraded a sign that read, “some of your classmates were IOF [Israeli Occupation Forces] criminals committing genocide in Palestine.” 

Within hours, Columbia announced it had “initiated investigations into incidents that involve potential violations of the University’s Student Anti-Discrimination and Discriminatory Harassment Policies and University Rules.”

“The individuals involved are being notified that the University will immediately pursue its process for disciplinary action regarding their conduct,” the school said.

Jewish students and faculty praised Columbia’s swift response, which some attributed to the recent reforms, part of a deal made in July between the university and the Trump administration to restore the school’s federal funding that was slashed over the school’s alleged failure to address antisemitism. 

Tal Zussman, a third year PhD student in computer science, called the quick investigation a “significant change from a year ago.” 

“Last year’s first day of classes was marked by a protest that completely blocked the campus entrance and vandalism of [the sculpture] Alma Mater,” Zussman told Jewish Insider. “There were a few isolated instances [on Tuesday] that the university seems to be handling, but they were minor compared to last year’s drama. Hopefully things remain calm, but the university’s clear communication and quick response is a significant change from a year ago.” He said he felt that the change was “absolutely” due to the reforms. 

Civil engineering professor Jacob Fish similarly described a “situation in and around campus [that] is much better compared to previous fall and spring.” Fish, the director of Kalaniyot, the university’s new initiative to bring Israeli researchers to the Columbia campus, lauded the program as a way to further “make a difference on campus,” he told JI. 

“More than 200 first-year students participated in joyful and welcoming on campus activities,” Columbia’s Hillel director Brian Cohen told JI. “Three students disrupted these activities. We will continue to work with Columbia University’s rules process and hope that students who violate University rules continue to be held accountable.”

Columbia’s settlement with the federal government to restore some $400 million in federal funding that was slashed in March was met at the time with cautious optimism from Jewish leaders. 

Some expressed hope that the settlement could lead to a safer environment for Jewish students following nearly two years of antisemitic protests and disruptions on campus in the aftermath of Oct. 7. Others, however, raised concerns that the settlement did not include key structural reforms to protect Jewish students. 

Lishi Baker, a senior studying Middle East history and co-chair of the pro-Israel campus group Aryeh, told JI he is “optimistic” that Columbia’s recent changes, “particularly around discipline and policymaking, will make a big difference in improving life on campus for Jewish students and in preventing campus chaos.” 

The House Appropriations Committee’s proposed funding bill for the Department of Education includes sweeping new provisions cutting off funding for colleges and universities that fail to address campus antisemitism, but would also cut $49 million in funding for the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights in 2026.

New language included in the bill states that no federal funding may be provided to institutions of higher education “unless and until such institution adopts a prohibition on antisemitic conduct that creates a hostile environment in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 in all documents relating to student or employee conduct.”

The bill also bans funding to schools that have “failed to take administrative action against any student, staff member, or student group that commits acts of antisemitism while utilizing the facilities, grounds, or resources of such institution.”

The former provision would require schools to specifically implement anti-discrimination policies regarding antisemitism as a precondition of federal funding, while the latter could give the Department of Education additional latitude to cut funding to schools that have allowed antisemitic conduct to go unaddressed or unpunished.

At the same time, the bill would provide $91 million in funding for the Office for Civil Rights, down from $140 million provided in several previous years. The Trump administration, in its budget request to Congress, requested the same cut, as it looks to slash the size of the Department of Education while winding down the department.

The Appropriations Committee’s subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Programs voted along party lines to advance the bill to the full committee on Tuesday evening.

The funding proposal sets up a clash with the Senate, which proposed consistent funding at $140 million for the office in its own appropriations legislation, which the Senate Appropriations Committee passed at the end of July. The Senate bill does not include the new language relating to antisemitism.

A large coalition of Jewish community groups across the ideological spectrum previously urged the “highest possible funding” for the Office for Civil Rights, though others in the Jewish community have argued that the office does not require additional funding, instead needing only to better-prioritize resolving antisemitism cases.

House Democrats have frequently pointed to Republicans’ efforts to cut funding for the office as evidence that Republicans are not serious about confronting campus antisemitism. Key Republicans expressed support for the Trump administration’s proposal to cut funding for the office earlier this year.

“The Office for Civil Rights is on the front lines of the fight against rising antisemitism at universities and K-12 schools. It’s absurd to cut their budget when complaints are at an all-time high,” Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) said in a statement to Jewish Insider. “Republicans have no interest in the hard work of enforcing protections for Jewish students on campus.”

Lauren Wolman, the senior director of government relations and strategy for the Anti-Defamation League, expressed support for the new provisions on campus antisemitism while warning about the OCR cuts.

“We appreciate the committee’s focus on the crisis of antisemitism in education and commitment to ensuring there are consequences when antisemitism occurs. The Appropriations Committee underscores this point forcefully and urgently,” Wolman said. “But if Congress simultaneously defunds the very office charged with investigating and enforcing Title VI, those consequences may never be realized. Jewish students need real accountability, backed by resources, enforcement, and monitoring.”

A spokesperson for the Jewish Federations of North America said, “This is the first step in a long process of appropriations, and we look forward to working with Congress to ensure that OCR has the resources necessary to effectively fulfill its mission.”

Responding to heightened campus antisemitism, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul will sign legislation on Tuesday afternoon that requires all colleges in the state to designate anti-discrimination coordinators to enforce Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, her office confirmed to Jewish Insider.

The new bill, which passed the New York State Legislature unanimously in June, was introduced by Assemblywoman Nily Rozic and state Sen. Toby Ann Stavisky, both Democrats from Queens, amid an uptick in antisemitism on college campuses in the aftermath of Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attacks.

“By placing Title VI coordinators on all college campuses, New York is combating antisemitism and all forms of discrimination head-on,” Hochul, a Democrat, told JI. “No one should fear for their safety while trying to get an education. It’s my top priority to ensure every New York student feels safe at school, and I will continue to take action against campus discrimination and use every tool at my disposal to eliminate hate and bias from our school communities.”

The legislation centralizes colleges’ enforcement of Title VI, which prohibits discrimination in federally funded programs based on race, color and national origin, by mandating a designated Title VI coordinator to address student complaints and directing the New York State Division of Human Rights to develop training to support such efforts.

It was backed by several Jewish groups including the Anti-Defamation League, UJA-Federation of New York and the American Jewish Committee. 

Ted Deutch, chief executive of the AJC, called the legislation “a significant step in protecting Jewish students across the state.”

“This bipartisan legislation signed by Gov. Hochul will combat the alarming rise of antisemitism and ensure Jewish students’ concerns are heard and taken seriously,” he said in a statement. “By requiring every college and university in the state to have a properly trained Title VI Coordinator, this law is a meaningful tool to make our campuses places where students can learn without fear of discrimination.”

The bill comes as Democrats have faced criticism nationally from Republicans over their approach to countering antisemitism and supporting Israel amid its war in Gaza. It also comes as President Donald Trump has moved to dismantle the Department of Education — an effort that has raised questions among Jewish leaders over the government’s ability to investigate Title VI complaints and to hold schools accountable for incidents of antisemitism.

In anticipation of the bill and amid the Trump administration’s ongoing crackdown on campus antisemitism, some schools in the state, including Columbia University, New York University and the State University of New York system, have already announced commitments to hire designated Title VI coordinators.

Hochul, who is facing a potentially competitive reelection campaign as she seeks a second full term, has tackled the issue of rising campus antisemitism during her time in office, meeting with hundreds of college officials last year to address the matter, among other efforts.

Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), a Republican whose viral questioning of university leaders over their handling of campus antisemitism seized the national spotlight, is mulling a challenge to Hochul in next year’s election.

The head of the American Association of University Professors said in a recent interview that the United States should not send defensive weapons to Israel amid its war against Hamas, which he called a genocide in Gaza. 

“We believe strongly that no weapons should be sent to Israel, at all. Not defensive or offensive, nothing,” Todd Wolfson, the president of AAUP, told Inside Higher Ed. 

“First and foremost, our job is to safeguard ourselves at home and to set a vision that aligns with what we’re trying to do in the United States,” Wolfson, who was elected president in June 2024, continued. “We need to stand up for academic freedom, for freedom of speech, for freedom of assembly for our students so they can protest the war — the genocide, excuse me — that’s taking place in Gaza.”

Wolfson, who is on leave from his position as a Rutgers University associate professor of journalism and media studies until 2027, has a history of making hostile comments towards Israel. 

In response to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s condemnation of the anti-Israel encampments and building occupations that overtook dozens of campuses around the U.S. in the spring of 2024, Wolfson wrote on X that Netanyahu is a “fascist” who has “no right to talk about peaceful protests in the U.S. as he murders thousands in Gaza.” In July 2024, Wolfson tweeted a petition urging the New Jersey Senate to vote against adopting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism. “Anti-Zionism is not antisemitism,” he wrote. 

Under Wolfson’s leadership, AAUP dropped its longtime opposition to academic boycotts in August 2024. Although the policy does not mention Israel, the move led to faculty members on several campuses implementing non-official boycotts of Israel by not assigning articles written by Israeli scholars, refusing to invite Israeli academics to conferences and declining to write study abroad letters for students wishing to spend a semester in Israel. 

The American Association of Geographers became the latest professional association to face pressure to adopt a boycott of Israel after a recent member petition urged the association “to endorse the campaign for an academic boycott of Israeli academic institutions.”

The campaign also calls for “financial disclosure and divestment of any AAG funds invested in corporations or state institutions profiting from the ongoing oppression of the Palestinian people.” 

A special member meeting is scheduled for Oct. 3 to move toward a vote on the resolution after the group behind the petition succeeded in reaching the required 10% of member signatures. An AAG spokesperson told Jewish Insider that the organization has “no statement or resolution about Israel-Palestine.” AAG did not respond to a follow-up inquiry asking which Israeli institutions the association currently invests in.  

“I was absolutely shocked,” Liora Sahar, an Israeli-American member of AAG, told JI.

Sahar, a geospatial expert with a PhD from Georgia Tech, said that she first noticed anti-Israel rhetoric within the association at this year’s annual meeting, held in Detroit in March. 

“I was deeply disturbed by the inclusion and promotion of sessions that allowed for inflammatory, biased and harmful rhetoric, far removed from academic rigor or geographic inquiry,” said Sahar. 

“Sessions, organized by a group calling itself ‘Geographers for Justice in Palestine,’ centered not on scholarly exploration, but on academic boycott and divestment campaigns. These are political actions, not scientific ones, and they directly undermine the values of academic freedom and open discourse.” 

Sahar, who attended the conference virtually, said that she came across a session titled “Dismantling the Palestine Exception” as well as six other “related abstracts [that] accused Israel of ‘ethnic cleansing’ and a ‘U.S.-enabled genocidal war.’”

“It had nothing to do with geography,” she said. Geographers for Justice in Palestine’s “entire goal was to get 10% of the AAG membership to sign the petition.” 

The Anti-Defamation League urged the AAG to reject the resolution in a statement, highlighting “its divisive impact on academic communities and violations of AAG’s own ethical guidelines. We have previously expressed concerns about similar issues at AAG meetings and are ready to help AAG understand the potential harm of this resolution before the meeting.”

The campaign comes as members of other professional associations have also called for the adoption of academic boycotts of the Jewish state, a movement that has gained momentum in the aftermath of the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attacks and the ensuing Israel-Hamas war. 

Last September, for example, the American Association of University Professors reversed course and dropped its longtime opposition to academic boycotts. Faculty members on several campuses soon after started implementing non-official boycotts of Israel by not assigning articles written by Israeli scholars, refusing to invite Israeli academics to conferences and declining to write study abroad letters for students wishing to spend a semester in Israel. 

George Washington University became the latest target of the Trump administration’s crackdown on campus antisemitism on Tuesday when the Department of Justice notified the D.C. private school that it is in violation of federal civil rights law. 

In a letter addressed to GW President Ellen Granberg, the DOJ described the university administration as “deliberately indifferent” to antisemitism on campus and claimed that it took “no meaningful action” to combat increased antisemitism since the Oct. 7, 2023 terrorist attacks. More than 25% of the undergraduate students on GW’s campus identify as Jewish. 

The letter called the anti-Israel encampment that overtook the center of GW’s campus for nearly two weeks in 2024 a “hostile environment” where “Jewish students [were] being harassed, abused, intimidated and assaulted by protesters.” The encampment, which began on April 25, was cleared on May 8 just hours before a planned Capitol Hill hearing on the D.C. government’s handling of the protest, after repeated public requests for assistance from GW’s administration. 

“Based on its investigation, the Department has concluded that GW took no meaningful action and instead was deliberately indifferent to the hostile educational environment on its campus in violation of Title VI,” the letter said.   

“We have received the letter and are currently reviewing its contents to respond in a timely manner,” Shannon McClendon, a GW spokesperson, told Jewish Insider. 

“GW condemns antisemitism, which has absolutely no place on our campuses or in a civil and humane society. Moreover, our actions clearly demonstrate our commitment to addressing antisemitic actions and promoting an inclusive campus environment by upholding a safe, respectful, and accountable environment. We have taken appropriate action under university policy and the law to hold individuals or organizations accountable, including during the encampment, and we do not tolerate behavior that threatens our community or undermines meaningful dialogue.”

Teddy Schneiderman, a rising junior at GW who is president of the campus chapter of Alpha Epsilon Pi, told JI that if the university makes changes in light of the government crackdown, he would like to see it provide a campus police presence at Jewish events and institutions, such as Shabbat dinners. 

“This would offer visible reassurance and protection at a time when safety is a significant concern for the Jewish community, especially following the tragic murder of two Israeli Embassy staff earlier this year in Washington, D.C. Taking such action would send a clear message that GW is committed to safeguarding all students, including the Jewish community and allow us to continue to safely demonstrate our Jewish pride,” said Schneiderman. 

Rabbi Levi Shemtov, the executive vice president of American Friends of Lubavitch (Chabad), which oversees Chabad’s national and local activities, including on GW’s campus, told JI that during the encampment, he would have agreed with the government’s allegation of GW’s indifference. “I’ll never forget what I saw with my own eyes for weeks,” Shemtov said. “But I do believe things have slightly improved, given President Granberg’s increased focus on the problem.” 

“If the university wants to resolve this without prosecution, they are being given a very generous chance by the DOJ to do so,” said Shemtov. 

“We expect that the steps taken to resolve this matter will result in a GW that is safe and welcoming for Jewish students and faculty, and where teaching and research can thrive,” Abbey Frank, interim executive director of GW Hillel, said in a statement. 

The DOJ wrote that it seeks “immediate remediation” with the university, giving campus administration until Aug. 22 to indicate whether it would like to engage in dialogue. Similar investigations earlier this year at schools including Harvard and Columbia resulted in the Trump administration pulling millions of dollars in federal funding. It restored Columbia’s funding in July, following months of negotiations and a $200 million settlement. 

Seven months into the second Trump term, it’s clear that many of the country’s top universities are scared of President Donald Trump. 

The schools rely on federal funding to power much of the research that has made them into academic powerhouses, so if that funding dries up — a punishment, the Trump administration says, for universities’ failure to deal with antisemitism — their work will be imperiled.

As a result, some universities have taken proactive steps to address antisemitism in the hopes of fending off the ire of the Trump administration. But the White House does not view these actions as good-faith gestures. Instead, the administration is increasingly taking advantage of schools’ acknowledgments of past failings as an admission of guilt — and it is responding in a correspondingly punitive way. 

The new chancellor of UCLA took office this year with the stated mission of fighting antisemitism and improving the campus climate following the disastrous 2023-2024 school year that saw violent clashes on the campus. Last month, the university agreed to pay $6 million to settle a lawsuit filed by Jewish students and faculty members who alleged that UCLA permitted antisemitic conduct during the spring 2024 anti-Israel encampment. The chair of the University of California Board of Regents said the settlement was an important step toward fostering “a safe, secure and inclusive environment.” 

Yet on the same day UCLA announced the settlement, the Justice Department found UCLA to be in violation of federal civil rights law, stating the school “failed to adequately respond to complaints of severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive harassment and abuse” by Jewish and Israeli students after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attacks. And last week, the Trump administration reportedly demanded that UCLA pay an eye-popping $1 billion to settle federal investigations into its handling of antisemitism, race-based admissions policies and transgender issues. 

It leaves little incentive for other schools to make reforms to crack down on antisemitism, and risks further polarizing the debate on the subject.

Indeed, Harvard learned a similar lesson earlier this year. In April, the university released a much-delayed report from the school’s task force on antisemitism and anti-Israeli bias, which outlined dozens of instances of antisemitic activity at the school in the year and a half after Oct. 7. 

Soon after, the Trump administration relied on the findings in that report to cut another $450 million in grants from the Ivy League university, just days after $2.2 billion in grants were cut. The report “lays bare an appalling reality: Jewish students were subjected to pervasive insults, physical assault, and intimidation, with no meaningful response from Harvard’s leadership,” the leader of the Trump administration’s antisemitism task force wrote at the time. 

For the dozens of universities facing federal scrutiny for their handling of antisemitism, it’s not clear whether there is anything they can do to escape the wrath of the White House — except, perhaps, agreeing to pricey settlements with the Trump administration, which Columbia and Brown both did last month. After months of legal maneuvering and negotiating, Harvard may be next: The New York Times reported on Monday that the school is nearing a $500 million agreement with the federal government, to satisfy a demand from Trump that Harvard spend more than double what Columbia agreed to pay. 

Ultimately, the end result of all the campus tumult may be that top schools agree to hefty payments demanded by the Trump administration — which may not necessarily correspond with the needed reforms to combat the antisemitism crisis that led the federal government to get involved in the first place.

Harvard University’s recent decision to cover security costs for Harvard Hillel was celebrated by many Jewish students as a way to alleviate growing security costs amid a surge in campus antisemitism. But for others, it raised questions about why the agreement did not extend to other Jewish groups affiliated with the school, such as Harvard Chabad. 

“Of course, there is a sense that there should be a responsibility” to cover Chabad’s security as well, Harvard Chabad Rabbi Hirschy Zarchi told Jewish Insider, although he said that he has never directly asked the administration to do so.   

Alex Bernat, Harvard Chabad’s outgoing undergraduate student president who graduated in the spring, said it’s “crucial” that Chabad receive the same funding. “If you want to make claims about protecting the Jewish community, you have to protect the whole Jewish community,” he told JI. 

“As an incoming student planning to be active in Chabad, I’m concerned that only funding security for Hillel overlooks the safety needs of the entire Jewish community,” Stella Hiltzik, who is slated to begin her freshman year at Harvard in the fall, told JI. “In today’s climate, all Jewish spaces deserve equal protection.”

While Hillel owns its building structure, that building sits on university property. It also contains a Harvard dining facility and other spaces that are accessible to all students, faculty and staff using Harvard’s ID swipe system. Chabad’s building is located on private property in a Cambridge, Mass. neighborhood. The latter has been guarded by armed security — funded by donors — every day since the Oct. 7, 2023 terrorist attacks and subsequent rise of antisemitism on college campuses. 

A Harvard spokesperson declined to comment to JI regarding the reason Hillel received university-funded security, but Chabad didn’t. 

Since Oct. 7, Harvard Chabad has been a centerpoint of campus security concerns. In a December 2023 speech made on campus during a Hanukkah menorah lighting, Zarchi described an atmosphere of fear for Jewish students and for his own family, who he said had been advised by Harvard’s police department to obtain private security after Harvard Chabad became the first university to screen IDF footage from the Hamas terror attacks in Israel. “Twenty-six years I gave my life to this community. I’ve never felt more alone,” Zarchi said at the time. 

On July 31, following years of lobbying by Harvard Hillel officials and advocates, Harvard agreed to cover all security costs for the university’s Hillel through the rest of Harvard President Alan Garber’s tenure, which is set to conclude at the end of the 2026-27 academic year. The move comes as Harvard faces billions of dollars in federal funding cuts from the Trump administration over its alleged failure to address antisemitism on campus.

“By taking on responsibility for security at Hillel, Harvard University is making a powerful statement: Harvard is committed to the safety of Jewish students,” Rabbi Jason Rubenstein, executive director of Harvard Hillel, told JI when the announcement was made. 

Zarchi called it “misleading” to claim that the university is protecting Jewish students broadly if Chabad is not included. Since last week’s announcement, Zarchi said he has received “floods” of calls and emails from students, parents and alumni who are “deeply concerned” about the university limiting security funding to Hillel. Chabad, according to Zarchi, is attended by nearly 500 students per week. 

“It’s this public misrepresentation and abandonment of the safety of so many that we need to address,” said Zarchi.

 “All Jewish students at Harvard, whether it’s Chabad or Hillel, should have safety and security.” 

This week, the Trump administration demonstrated its endgame in its fight against campus antisemitism: hefty financial settlements. 

Columbia University agreed to pay $221 million to the federal government to settle the administration’s civil rights investigation, and Brown University will pay $50 million to Rhode Island workforce development agencies to put a federal civil rights investigation to rest. Harvard is reportedly willing to spend up to $500 million on a settlement that is in the works. In return, frozen research grants to the tune of billions of dollars from the National Institutes of Health and the Department of Health and Human Services will be reinstated.  

What these early settlements have made clear is that antisemitism is only one small part of President Donald Trump’s fight against elite universities. The agreements offer a window into the other right-wing culture war issues driving his administration’s hard-charging negotiations with America’s top academic institutions. The lengthy documents also have the universities ceding to White House demands on diversity, equity and inclusion programs, race-based hiring standards, transgender issues and international students. 

In its agreement with the White House, Columbia pledged to hire an administrator to “serve as a liaison to students concerning antisemitism issues,” and promised other sought-after changes, such as the hiring of new faculty members in the Israel and Jewish studies department and additional oversight of the school’s Middle East studies program. 

But the propositions agreed to by Columbia go much further. The school pledged not to use racial preferences in admissions and promised to share admissions and hiring data with the federal government. The university also said it will allow any women who want it to have access to “single-sex housing” and “all-female sports, locker rooms and showering facilities,” a reference to Trump’s opposition to the inclusion of transgender women in women’s sports. 

Brown’s settlement agreement is much more overt about the transgender issues — they’re the first issues addressed, above antisemitism. Below, Brown promised to take “significant, proactive, effective steps to combat antisemitism and ensure a campus environment free from harassment and discrimination.” Like Columbia, Brown will provide the federal government with admissions and hiring data. 

A clear template is emerging of what the White House views as the ideal outcome here: deals, deals, deals — in classic Trump fashion. The most important question for Jewish students to consider as they return to campus in the next few weeks, though, is whether these deals will bring meaningful change for them. Some pro-Israel students at Harvard and Columbia told Jewish Insider this week that they’re worried the financial settlements may not do much to create real change. 

Trump can now boast that he’s racked up wins with Columbia and Brown, and maybe even Harvard soon. Whether the deals lead to a calmer campus environment next year free of discrimination against Jewish students remains to be seen. 

Senate Appropriations committee members sparred on Thursday over the Trump administration’s sweeping moves to combat campus antisemitism, including withholding hundreds of millions of dollars from some elite institutions.

The debate was sparked by an amendment proposed by Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) that would prevent the administration from spending any funding on the Office for Civil Rights until the Department of Education inspector general certifies that enforcement actions targeting colleges and universities are being carried out in accordance with law and regulation.

The amendment was voted down along party lines. It’s unclear at this point how much funding the bill — which has not yet been released in full — actually provides for the Office for Civil Rights. The Trump administration had requested substantial cuts to the office’s budget.

Murphy said that the actions taken by the Office for Civil Rights have been undertaken “without going through any of the prescribed processes that we have put in law and previous administrations have put in regulation,” to allow schools and the public to contest and litigate against the decisions before losing federal funding.

“I think the extraordinary ways this administration is ignoring the law or going around the law requires us to do due diligence in making sure that when we appropriate money it gets used for the proper purposes,” Murphy said.

He called the administration’s suspension of funding to Harvard University particularly egregious, specifically highlighting the administration’s demand for greater viewpoint diversity in Harvard’s faculty. 

Murphy argued — as he has previously — that there are no provisions in federal law that give the government any authority to condition funding on the “viewpoint diversity” of the faculty.

Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), the ranking member of the subcommittee responsible for Department of Education funding, pushed back, describing the administration’s actions as necessary and proper to counter “rampant” antisemitism on campuses and address a lack of action by the prior administration.

“Some of those higher education institutions have come to the table with the administration and said, ‘Yes, we’re gonna make changes, and that’s because of the violations of the office of what is under the Office of Civil Rights Under Title VI,’” Capito said. “Your amendment would halt the work of the Office of Civil Rights.”

Capito warned that any pause in Office for Civil Rights activities would likely drag on significantly.

She compared the situation on college campuses to the Nazi regime in World War II.

Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA), who is Jewish, condemned the administration’s actions.

“I utterly reject this administration’s cynical exploitation of this issue, which it uses as a fig leaf to take control of and impose its will on institutions of higher education and other critics,” Ossoff said.

During the committee meeting, Democrats emphasized that the Department of Education funding bill as a whole defied Trump’s wishes to defund and dismantle key parts of the department.

Good Wednesday morning.

In today’s Daily Kickoff, we talk to college students about the Trump administration’s efforts to reach settlements with schools over their handling of antisemitism on campus, and have the scoop on new legislation, introduced by Reps. Virginia Foxx and Josh Gottheimer, that would restrict federal funding to universities that engage in boycotts of Israel. We also report on the death of Blackstone executive and Jewish communal lay leader Wesley LePatner, who was killed in Monday’s shooting at the company’s headquarters, and look at stalled congressional efforts to address antisemitism. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Leonardo DiCaprio, Michel Issa, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Penny Pritzker.

What We’re Watching

• The Senate is expected to vote today on two resolutions from Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) on blocking arms sales to Israel. More below.
• House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) is slated to meet with Democrats in Texas today amid a broader debate over mid-decade redistricting, following President Donald Trump’s call for the Lone Star State to redraw the state’s congressional districts to give Republicans up to five additional seats.

What You Should Know

A QUICK WORD WITH JI’S MARC ROD

It’s been two months since the Capital Jewish Museum shooting in Washington and the Boulder, Colo., firebombing attack.

The two attacks prompted unified condemnation from lawmakers and calls from the Jewish community for Capitol Hill to take aggressive action against the escalating antisemitism crisis in the United States. 

But as Congress heads into its August break, that initial momentum has produced little concrete action.

The House and Senate have passed resolutions condemning the attacks, but key legislation related to antisemitism remains stalled, even as lawmakers individually and in groups continue to press for action.

There are still no clear prospects for passage of the Antisemitism Awareness Act, a key element of congressional efforts to address antisemitism, after a contentious Senate committee hearing in April in which Democrats, joined by Republicans including Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), voted to add amendments that most Republicans supporting the bill view as nonstarters. House leaders have made no public moves to advance the legislation.

And despite calls from Jewish groups for significant increases in nonprofit security funding to as much as $1 billion next year and a push from a bipartisan coalition of lawmakers for $500 million, the funding levels under consideration in the House are little different from those discussed in prior years.

Read more from JI senior congressional correspondent Marc Rod here.

MORE THAN MONEY

Pro-Israel students: University reforms must go beyond cash payments

When hundreds of pro-Israel college students from around the country gathered in Washington earlier this week for the Israel on Campus Coalition’s three-day annual national leadership summit, the rise of antisemitism on campuses sparked by the aftermath of the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks nearly two years ago was still a topic of conversation throughout panels and hallways. This year, however, some students, in conversations with Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen, also said that antisemitism is lessening — though they offered mixed views about what is leading to the improved campus climate. 

Students’ perspectives: Some attributed it to the Trump administration’s ongoing pressure campaign on universities to crack down on antisemitic behavior, which has included federal funding cuts from dozens of schools. Others said their campuses started to take a serious approach to antisemitism, before President Donald Trump was reelected, in the fall semester following the wave of anti-Israel encampments from the previous spring. But many student leaders from universities that have been targeted by the Trump administration — facing billions of dollars in slashed funds — said that if their school enters into negotiations to restore the money, they would like a deal to include structural reforms, unlike the one made last week between the federal government and Columbia University. 

Read the full story here.

Suit settled: The University of California, Los Angeles settled a federal lawsuit this week with Jewish students who alleged that the university permitted antisemitic conduct during the spring 2024 anti-Israel encampments on the campus, according to a settlement agreement shared by the university on Tuesday, Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch reports.

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EXCLUSIVE

Foxx, Gottheimer aim to restrict federal funding to colleges that boycott Israel

Reps. Virginia Foxx (R-NC) and Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) introduced legislation on Tuesday that would make colleges that engage in a “nonexpressive commercial boycott” of Israel ineligible to receive federal student aid funding, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod and Emily Jacobs report.

About the bill: The legislation, the Protect Economic and Academic Freedom Act, would require schools to certify annually that they are not engaged in such boycotts, and would instruct the Department of Education to annually publish a list of schools that fail to submit such certification. The legislation would apply both to boycotts of Israel as a country or companies and other entities operating under Israeli law. 

Read the full story here.

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ELEVATING THE ISSUE

Senate Democrats call out humanitarian crisis in Gaza, say GHF failed

A group of 40 Senate Democrats, nearly all of the caucus, wrote to administration officials on Tuesday raising concerns about the humanitarian situation in Gaza and calling for a significant expansion of aid, describing the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation as a failure, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.

What they said: The letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, led by Sens. Adam Schiff (D-CA), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Jacky Rosen (D-NV), highlights the extent of the concern even among Democratic leaders and pro-Israel stalwarts. The lawmakers called for aid to be significantly expanded through “experienced multilateral bodies and NGOs.” A group of 21 progressive Democrats went further earlier this week, calling for the U.S. to stop all funding for the GHF.

Read the full story here.

Déjà vu: Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) introduced a joint resolution of disapproval on Monday to block an arms transfer to Israel, setting up a Senate floor battle on Wednesday over U.S. aid to Israel — the third since November of last year, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.

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through thick in thin

Rep. Ritchie Torres offers muscular defense of Israel amid flurry of Dem criticism

In comments to a supportive crowd of pro-Israel college students in Washington, Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) said Tuesday that the world needs to be reminded that “Hamas is the central cause of the war in Gaza,” Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen reports.  

What he said: “We have to remind the world that despite the amnesia, Hamas is the central cause of [Israel’s] war in Gaza. The primary responsibility for a war lies with its cause … Hamas is morally responsible, principally responsible for the war in Gaza,” Torres, a pro-Israel Democratic stalwart in Congress, told about 700 attendees gathered in Washington for the Israel on Campus Coalition’s three-day annual national leadership summit.

Read the full story here.

More from Torres: Torres warned, in an interview with The Bulwark on Tuesday, that the war in Gaza appears to be turning into a “quagmire” akin to the Iraq war, without clear objectives or any realistic end point, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.

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IN MEMORIAM

Jewish philanthropist Wesley LePatner killed in Manhattan shooting

Wesley LePatner, a Blackstone executive who was involved with Jewish communal organizations in New York City, was killed in the Monday shooting at the firm’s Midtown headquarters, the company confirmed on Tuesday, Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch reports. LePatner was the global head of Core+ Real Estate at Blackstone and CEO of Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust, according to Blackstone’s website. A Yale graduate, she joined the company in 2014 after more than a decade at Goldman Sachs. She served on the board of trustees at the Abraham Joshua Heschel School, a pluralistic Jewish day school in New York, and she joined the board of directors at UJA-Federation of New York earlier this month.

Legacy: “Wesley was extraordinary in every way — personally, professionally, and philanthropically,” the federation said in a statement. “In the wake of Oct. 7, Wesley led a solidarity mission with UJA to Israel, demonstrating her enduring commitment in Israel’s moment of heartache. She lived with courage and conviction, instilling in her two children a deep love for Judaism and the Jewish people.”

Read the full story here.

More from Blackstone: The company’s president, Jonathan Gray, said that LePatner was well-liked at the firm, where she “just instilled such a sense of confidence in her” and “wanted other people to win.” 

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AMBASSADORIAL ASSESSMENT

Lebanon ambassador nominee: There is a ‘narrow but meaningful window for progress’

Michel Issa, the Lebanese-American businessman nominated by the Trump administration to serve as U.S. ambassador to Lebanon, said Tuesday that the Lebanese government and armed forces must act swiftly and decisively to disarm Hezbollah and remove its influence across Lebanese society, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.

Looking ahead: Issa argued at his Senate Foreign Relations Committee confirmation hearing that the war between Israel and Hezbollah, “while devastating, has opened a narrow but meaningful window for progress,” in combination with the Israel-Lebanon ceasefire deal, the fall of the Assad regime in Syria and recent blows to Iran’s military and nuclear program.  

Read the full story here.

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Worthy Reads

Bibi’s Bind: The Atlantic’s Yair Rosenberg considers the challenge facing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as he attempts to prosecute the war in Gaza and keep his government — which includes far-right members with a different vision for the enclave — from collapsing. “Every step he authorized had to be dual use: ostensibly for a strategic purpose but also capable of potentially advancing the far right’s plan. In practice, pursuing these two goals at the same time is incompatible with a just and successfully prosecuted war: It is impossible to provide aid and also withhold it, to pursue a limited war against Hamas to free hostages and also a war of conquest. The longer the conflict has gone on, the more obvious the compromised nature of Netanyahu’s decision making has become.” [TheAtlantic]

Keir’s Veer: The Wall Street Journal’s editorial board critiques British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s declaration that the U.K. will recognize a Palestinian state unless Israel meets certain conditions before September. “Framing recognition as a threat to Israel — unless it does x, y and z — lays bare the move’s punitive nature. At least this means we can dispense with the usual pabulum that planting a hostile state in the heart of Israel is a gift for which Israelis would be grateful if only they could see their true interests as clearly as they appear from Paris and London. It is also striking to demand that Israel accept a cease-fire when it has done so over and over, only for Hamas to torpedo talks. That was the Biden team’s conclusion and now the Trump team’s as well. When Israel made difficult concessions last week, Hamas reneged on what it had agreed to previously. The U.K. now gives Hamas a reason to reject future cease-fires; if the terrorists hold out, Mr. Starmer will give them a reward.” [WSJ]

Word on the Street

The New York Times published an editor’s note regarding a story about malnutrition in Gaza that failed to note that one of the children featured in the article — whose pictures went viral — suffered from preexisting health conditions affecting his brain and his muscle development…

In a thread on X laying out his positions on the war in Gaza, Rep. Greg Landsman (D-OH) argued that “Qatar should take into custody every Hamas leader in Qatar until every hostage is released and the war is over”…

The Times of Israel published a document signed at this week’s U.N. conference on a two-state solution by 17 countries, including Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Egypt, calling for Hamas to disarm and end its rule over the Gaza Strip…

President Donald Trump said that the U.S. would partner with Israel on “a new aid plan” to open new food distribution sites in the Gaza Strip…

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has reportedly discussed mounting a gubernatorial run in Tennessee next year, when Gov. Bill Lee, a Republican, will be term-limited…

New guidance released this week by the Office of Personnel Management expressed support for religious expression, including proselytization, in federal workplaces…

A new poll from Gallup found record-low U.S. support for Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza since it first polled on the issue in November 2023; 60% of Americans surveyed earlier this month disapprove of Israel’s military actions in Gaza, up from 45% in November 2023…

The Wall Street Journal looks at Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and former Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker’s push to bring quantum computing technology to Chicago…

Italian authorities are investigating as a hate crime an attack on a French Jewish man and his young son that occurred at a rest stop north of Milan; according to video of the incident, the man was assaulted after several individuals, including a cashier at the rest stop, shouted “Free Palestine” at him and his child…

Jewish leaders at the University of Edinburgh are urging the school not to drop its support for the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism, following a report that the school is reconsidering its prior adoption of the definition…

The European Commission proposed barring Israeli participation in the Horizon Europe research program over the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip…

The Tel Aviv District Planning and Building Committee approved construction plans for a new luxury hotel in Herzliya being built by the Hagag Group in partnership with actor Leonardo DiCaprio…

Israeli media reports that the country’s ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, Yossi Shelley, will soon be sent back to Jerusalem following a months-old incident at an Abu Dhabi bar in which Shelley acted in an “undignified” manner; the Prime Minister’s Office denied both the report and that Shelley is being removed from the posting…

Israeli actor Alon Aboutboul, who appeared in such films as “The Dark Knight Rises” and “Munich,” died at 60…

Crown Heights, N.Y., community member Ben “Ziggy” Faulding died at 41…

Pic of the Day

Sen. Dave McCormick (R-PA), addressing attendees on Tuesday at the Israel on Campus Coalition’s three-day annual national leadership summit in Washington, said that Israel’s response to the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attacks “changed the landscape in ways that could be for the good” and lead to the “possibility of a secure region,” Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen reports from the conference. 

Birthdays

Commissioner emeritus of Major League Baseball, his 2019 memoir is For the Good of the Game, Allan Huber “Bud” Selig turns 91…

Retired attorney from the firm of Hatton, Petrie & Stackler in Aliso Viejo, Calif., Ronald E. Stackler turns 88… Longtime owner and editor-in-chief of The New Republic, he was chairman of the Jerusalem Foundation for 12 years, Martin H. “Marty” Peretz turns 86… The first woman justice on the Nebraska Supreme Court, as a teen she won two gold medals and a silver medal as a swimmer at the Maccabiah Games in Israel, Justice Lindsey Miller-Lerman turns 78… Actor, director and producer, Ken Olin turns 71… Philanthropist and investor, of Uzbek Bukhari background, known as the “King of Diamonds,” Lev Leviev turns 69… Former mayor of Arad, Israel, and then a member of the Knesset for the Kulanu and Likud parties, Tali Ploskov turns 63… President of C&M Transcontinental, he served as COO for the first two Trump campaigns, Michael S. Glassner turns 62… Emmy Award-winning actress, comedian and producer, Lisa Kudrow turns 62… Head coach of men’s tennis and director of tennis operations at Columbia University, Howard Endelman turns 60… Best-selling nonfiction author, contributing editor at Vanity Fair and Rolling Stone magazines, he is a co-creator of the HBO series “Vinyl,” Rich Cohen turns 57… District director for Rep. Jerrold L. Nadler (D-NY), Robert M. Gottheim turns 54… Assistant attorney general for antitrust at the Department of Justice during most of the Biden administration, Jonathan Seth Kanter turns 52… Motivational speaker, author and entrepreneur, he served as a law clerk in 2008 for Justices O’Connor and Ginsburg, the first blind person to clerk for the U.S. Supreme Court, Isaac Lidsky turns 46… President of MSNBC since February, Rebecca M. Kutler… Member of the Knesset for the Otzma Yehudit party, Limor Son Har-Melech turns 46… Senior producer at Vox and host and producer of the podcast of the Association for Jewish Studies, Avishay Artsy… President and founder in 2014 of Dallas-based ECA Strategies, Eric Chaim Axel… Team supervisor at Pittsburgh Mercy Health System, Lewis Sohinki… Author of Jerusalem Drawn and Quartered: One Woman’s Year in the Heart of the Christian, Muslim, Armenian and Jewish Quarters of Old Jerusalem, Sarah Tuttle-Singer turns 44… Former director of policy and public affairs for the Jewish Community of Denmark, now in the renewable energy and offshore wind industry, Jonas Herzberg Karpantschof… Attorney and member of the Los Angeles County GOP Central Committee for Assembly District 42, which includes Pacific Palisades, Elizabeth Barcohana turns 42… Head of digital operations at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Israel until this past April, Tamar Schwarzbard… Managing principal of West Egg Development, Samuel Ezra Eshaghoff turns 33… Director of business development at Israel’s economic mission to the South and Midwest U.S., Joshua Weintraub… Winner of the Miss Israel pageant in 2014, now a businesswoman, Mor Maman turns 30… Actress, as a 10-year-old she starred as Ramona Quimby in the comedy film “Ramona and Beezus,” Joey Lynn King turns 26…

Reps. Virginia Foxx (R-NC) and Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) introduced legislation on Tuesday that would make colleges that engage in a “nonexpressive commercial boycott” of Israel ineligible to receive federal student aid funding.

The legislation, the Protect Economic and Academic Freedom Act, would require schools to certify annually that they are not engaged in such boycotts, and would instruct the Department of Education to annually publish a list of schools that fail to submit such certification.

The legislation would apply both to boycotts of Israel as a country or companies and other entities operating under Israeli law. 

Schools would be required to certify to the Department of Education that they allow students to participate in programs including conferences, study abroad, research and collaborative activities in Israel under the same terms as such programs in other countries, and to allow Israeli students to participate in programs on their campuses as applicable.

The bill defines a “nonexpressive commercial boycott” as “commercial action (including engaging in refusals to deal and terminating business activities) … intended to limit commercial relations with a major strategic partner” and “not based on a valid business reason.” 

“The antisemitic rot that has corroded college campuses must be eradicated — enough is enough. The safety and security of Jewish students, faculty, and staff should never be threatened under any circumstances,” Foxx said in a statement. “If an institution of higher education chooses to capitulate to the caustic BDS movement, there will be consequences — starting with this bipartisan legislation.”

Gottheimer said in a statement that the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement seeks to destroy Israel and that it has no place on college campuses or in the United States.

“At a time when our Jewish students are facing death threats, being physically assaulted, and blocked from going to class simply for who they are, we must do everything possible to ensure they can learn safely, speak freely, and get the education they deserve,” Gottheimer continued. 

“That’s why I’m proud to help introduce the bipartisan Protect Economic and Academic Freedom Act to give the Department of Education a critical new tool to combat the dangerous, hate-fueled, antisemitic BDS movement on college campuses,” he said. “We cannot allow antisemitism to run rampant and endanger Jewish students, staff, and faculty. Now more than ever, we must stand up and protect our Jewish community.”

The legislation also includes language stating that, “limitations on cooperative efforts by institutions of higher education, consortia of such institutions, or partnerships between non-profit educational organizations and institutions of higher education with [Israel] do not serve the security, stability, and economic vitality of the United States.’’

William Bennett, a former U.S. secretary of education under former President Ronald Reagan, registered in early July as an agent for Qatar, to advocate for the country on education-related issues.

The registration comes as Qatar works to fight back against growing concerns among the pro-Israel community and lawmakers on Capitol Hill that the country’s massive funding of elite U.S. colleges and universities is fueling anti-Israel and antisemitic ideology and activism on campuses.

Bennett, according to a Foreign Agents Registration Act filing first highlighted by analyst Eitan Fischberger, will receive a total of $210,000 over seven months to serve as a “senior education advisor” to the Qatari Embassy to “make efforts to publicize the fact that Qatari higher education efforts to do not support radical Islamicist movements or positions, and his engaging in publicized efforts — potentially including communications to U.S. political office holders — would help dispel contrary notions.”

“The purpose of this engagement is to provide [Bennett] with information relating to American universities offering curriculum in Qatar, to allow him to review and understand funding decisions made by the Qatari government relating to these schools, to promote Western understanding of the nature of these expenditures and the nature of the curriculum, and, most broadly, to promote economic and cultural understanding between Qatar and the United States,” the filing reads.

Bennett, after his time as education secretary, served as drug czar in the George H.W. Bush administration. Currently, he hosts a podcast, “The Bill Bennett Show,” and serves as the chairman of Conservative Leaders for Education, a group that describes itself as “a campaign comprised of leading state lawmakers and education chairs focused on ensuring conservative principles gain traction in state policy decisions as states begin to develop accountability plans under the new Every Student Succeeds Act.”

Bennett did not respond to a request for comment submitted through Conservative Leaders for Education.

The Qatari government pays millions to a vast army of lobbyists to advocate for its interests in Washington.

Bennett wrote in a Fox News op-ed last year, also first highlighted by Fischberger, that claims that Qatari or other foreign funding are connected to antisemitic activity on college campuses are “unfounded, conspiratorial speculation,” and downplayed the scope of Qatar’s involvement in U.S. higher education.

He praised Qatari Sheikah Moza Bint Nasser, the mother of Qatar’s emir who is an outspoken opponent of Israel and has praised the mastermind of the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attacks on Israel, as “an impressive Qatari woman.”

“The irony of the false accusations about Qatar’s supposed influence at American universities is that the real foreign influence runs in the opposite direction,” Bennett wrote. “At the Qatari branches of these six American universities there have been no reports of anti-American or antisemitic protests. Some of the main campuses of American universities could learn from their Qatari branches. That would be a better course and a wiser one than denigrating Qatar as it seeks to strengthen its relationship with the United States.”

Recent reporting from the Free Press’ Jay Solomon and Frannie Block concluded that free speech and academic freedom of any kind are suppressed at Qatari campuses of U.S. universities under Qatari law, and that their students have promoted terrorism.

The Free Press also reported that Bennett received two calls from a top Qatari lobbyist days before that op-ed was published.

Bennett has spoken out in the past against antisemitic activity on college campuses, calling it “shameful” that college administrations have failed to adequately respond to antisemitic activity, saying the anti-Israel agitators should be arrested and identified and that colleges should not appease them.

He said that federal funding should be withheld from colleges in response to anti-Israel activity.

The National Education Association, the largest teachers’ union in the country, announced on Friday that it would not cut ties with the Anti-Defamation League, declining to implement a contentious resolution approved by its governing body earlier this month that sought to target the Jewish civil rights organization. 

“After consideration, it was determined that this proposal would not further NEA’s commitment to academic freedom, our membership or our goals,” the union’s board of directors said in a statement. 

The decision came nearly two weeks after the measure was adopted by the NEA’s representative assembly, its annual leadership gathering that drew more than 6,000 union delegates. 

“There is no doubt that antisemitism is on the rise. Without equivocation, NEA stands strongly against antisemitism. We always have and we always will,” the NEA’s board wrote. “In this time of division, fighting antisemitism, anti-Arab racism, and other forms of discrimination will take more resources, not fewer. We are ready.”

ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt cheered the union’s decision to distance itself from the “misguided” measure.

“We are committed to working with the NEA and all teachers’ unions to join the Jewish community in making clear these hateful campaigns cannot succeed. They must redouble efforts to ensure that Jewish educators are not isolated and subjected to antisemitism in their unions and that students are not subjected to it in the classroom,” Greenblatt said in a statement. 

The measure faced fierce backlash from the Jewish world. A letter authored by the ADL expressing opposition to the proposal — which would have discouraged educators from using  teaching materials from the ADL — garnered the support of roughly 400 Jewish organizations across the country, including the leadership of the Reform, Conservative and Orthodox movements.

Other outside Jewish groups, including the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, the American Jewish Committee and Jewish Federations of North America, released a statement welcoming the NEA’s rejection of the anti-ADL resolution.

When the leaders of Georgetown University, the City University of New York and the University of California, Berkeley sat down on Tuesday morning to testify at a congressional hearing about antisemitism, they clearly came prepared, having learned the lessons of the now-infamous December 2023 hearing with the presidents of Harvard, the University of Pennsylvania and MIT, each of whom refused to outright say that calls for genocide violated their schools’ codes of conduct. 

Georgetown interim President Robert Groves, CUNY Chancellor Felix Matos Rodriguez and UC Berkeley Chancellor Rich Lyons were all quick to denounce antisemitism and even anti-Zionism at Tuesday’s House Education and Workforce Committee hearing examining the role of faculty, funding and ideology in campus antisemitism. 

But while the university administrators readily criticized antisemitism broadly, they struggled to apply that commitment directly to their field of academia. 

Lyons in particular offered a revealing look at the gulf between a university’s stated values and its difficulty in carrying them out. 

He was asked to account for the promotion of Ussama Makdisi, a Berkeley history professor who described the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attacks as “resistance” and later wrote on X that he “could have been one of those who broke the siege on October 7.” Why, Lyons was asked by Reps. Randy Fine (R-FL) and Lisa McClain (R-MI), did Berkeley announce last September that Makdisi had been named the university’s inaugural chair of Palestinian and Arab studies? 

Lyons first defended Makdisi: “Ussama Makdisi, Professor Makdisi, is a fine scholar. He was awarded that position from his colleagues based on academic standards,” Lyons said.  

Later, when McClain followed Fine’s line of questioning, Lyons went to great lengths to avoid criticizing Makdisi. 

“I want to separate the phrase from the person. If I heard some other person —” he said, before McClain cut him off. What, McClain asked, did Lyons think Makdisi meant with his tweet?

For five seconds, Lyons sat in silence. 

“I believe it was a celebration of the terrorist attack on Oct. 7,” he replied slowly. 

He shared that he had spoken to Makdisi about the social media post. Pressed to share what the conversation was like, Lyons returned to an earlier line: “He’s a fine scholar,” Lyons said. 

Lyons, like Matos Rodriguez and Groves, acknowledged that antisemitism exists at his campus. But they all struggled to reckon with what Republican lawmakers alleged was an explosion in antisemitism at each of the three schools after Oct. 7. 

“I believe that most Jewish students feel safe on our campus,” Lyons said, though he also said that he knows some do not feel safe. When asked why they may not feel safe, he demurred. 

“Well, I think there are Jewish people that don’t feel safe in lots of parts —” he said, cut off again by McClain, who asked him to speak specifically about UC Berkeley. 

“I think there is antisemitism in society,” Lyons said, before he was cut off again. 

Lyons repeatedly attempted to make the same point: “I do believe that public universities are reflections of society, and I believe the antisemitism in society is present on our campus,” Lyons said. Asked whether the actions that he takes or that his faculty take can influence the campus environment, he said yes. McClain accused him of “avoiding the question,” and asked: Would he commit to act to make sure all Jewish students and all students feel safe?

“I’m committing to striving to reach that goal,” said Lyons.

Each of the university leaders was asked, at different occasions, to account for faculty members who had shared antisemitic or pro-Hamas rhetoric. Matos Rodriguez, the CUNY chancellor, did not deny that the New York City university system employs antisemitic faculty, though he did not specify whether any action would be taken against them.

“We have faculty that might conduct themselves in antisemitic behavior, and we have no tolerance for it, and we’re clear about the expectations to follow all our rules and policies,” Matos Rodriguez said. “If any individual breaks those rules, they will be investigated, and the appropriate disciplinary action will be taken if warranted.” 

Presented with the cases of two faculty members who had shared pro-Hamas content on social media, Matos Rodriguez condemned Hamas, but did not say specifically if their rhetoric violated codes of conduct or led to any consequences.

“I have been very clear that Hamas is a horrible terrorist organization, and we have no tolerance at the City University of New York for anyone who would embrace that support of Hamas,” said Matos Rodriguez. “I clearly condemn the statements, and it’s been my testimony here, and our practice, that if any member of the City University community violates our policies and our code of conduct, we will conduct an investigation, and if discipline is warranted, we will take it, and we will not hesitate to do that, and we have done so.”

Groves, Georgetown’s president, shared early in the hearing that the university had taken action against Jonathan Brown, a tenured professor who faced criticism last month for a tweet calling for Iran to conduct a “symbolic strike” on a U.S. military base after Washington struck Iranian nuclear sites. Brown is no longer the chair of the university’s Arabic and Islamic studies program, Groves said, and he has been placed on leave pending an investigation. 

Groves, who faced several questions about Georgetown’s ties to Qatar, pledged to commit to disclosing every dollar that Georgetown receives from foreign sources. 

At the same time, he stood by Georgetown’s decision to award Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, the mother of the Qatari emir, with the university’s president’s medal in April. Sheikha Moza has a history of incendiary anti-Israel commentary on social media, including several posts praising the Oct. 7 attacks and Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, who orchestrated the violence. Rep. Mark Harris (R-NC) asked Groves why Georgetown gave her a medal, given those posts.

The medal was awarded because of her “decades-long work for educating, getting access to education, to the poorest children around the world,” Groves said. 

“I don’t support that tweet,” he added, when asked if Georgetown’s values include calls for the destruction of Israel. “That tweet is not consistent with Georgetown policy. We honored her for her decades of work in access to education to the poorest children of the world.” Georgetown would not consider revoking the award, he added.

Groves’ stated commitment to transparency about its sources of foreign funding — the university’s 20-year relationship with Qatar is well-documented and oft-criticized — stood in contrast to Lyons’ response to questions about whether he would disclose all foreign funding to Berkeley. 

“As a public university, I am not ready to commit to that on the fly. There are different donors to the university who request anonymity,” Lyons said. “What I’d be very, very happy to be very transparent about is exactly what is our process for vetting those things. We say no to a lot of foreign money. I promise you that.”

He would not give an example of foreign money he had rejected. 

Democrats at the hearing mostly used their time to criticize President Donald Trump’s approach to higher education, and his funding cuts that are affecting scientific and medical research at top universities. They highlighted his administration’s massive cuts to the Education Department, including at the Office for Civil Rights, the division tasked with investigating civil rights violations — including antisemitism — at American schools and universities.

As Georgetown University’s interim president, Robert Groves, is set to be questioned about campus antisemitism on Tuesday morning by the House Education and Workforce Committee, the university is contending with several thorny issues centered around the Jesuit school’s Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, one of the country’s leading centers for Islamic and Middle Eastern studies. 

Until now, Georgetown’s handling of campus antisemitism has been largely overlooked by the federal government, compared to other elite schools that have recently faced slashed grants and accreditation threats. But several studies published in the wake of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terrorist attacks have put a renewed spotlight on Georgetown’s Qatar campus and the more than $1 billion from Qatar the school has received. 

Earlier this year, Georgetown renewed its contract for its Doha campus for another decade. 

Among the unresolved matters that could come up when Groves takes the hot seat is the university’s lack of a disciplinary response to incendiary comments from the center’s chair of Islamic Civilization in the School of Foreign Service, Jonathan Brown, who advocated for Iran to conduct a “symbolic strike” on a U.S. military base. Brown, a tenured professor who has a history of spreading anti-Israel vitriol, is the son-in-law of convicted terror supporter Sami al-Arian.     

One day after the U.S. struck three Iranian nuclear facilities last month, Brown posted on X, “I’m not an expert, but I assume Iran could still get a bomb easily. I hope Iran does some symbolic strike on a base, then everyone stops.” 

A Georgetown University administrator told Jewish Insider at the time that the school was “appalled” by Brown’s since-deleted tweet and said it was “reviewing this matter to see if further action is warranted.” 

On Monday, the administration did not respond to several inquiries from JI asking whether the review is still underway and if further action was taken. 

Georgetown’s administration was already under the microscope following its statements made in March supporting Badar Khan Suri, a professor who was detained by federal authorities and alleged to have ties to Hamas.

Sam Westrop, director of the Middle East Forum’s Islamist Watch project, told JI he wants to see the committee question Georgetown over “why it’s acceptable that such a major, prestigious university should be able to embrace a terror-linked partner.” 

A recent MEF report, written by Westrop, claims that the Safa Network — a Virginia-based group of charities, businesses, and think tanks run by Islamists previously investigated by federal law enforcement agencies over alleged involvement with Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Al-Qaida — established and funded the Alwaleed Center.

“Georgetown in this department, controlled by this network, trains diplomats, civil servants, intelligence agents, law enforcement and other academics who go on to radicalize future generations,” Westrop said. “This is a major failure of higher education to remain impartial and objective. Worst of all, it’s not just domestic. This domestic network is the glue that brought Georgetown into contact with the Qatari, Turkish and Malaysian regimes.” 

The center’s founder, John Esposito, who is a professor of religion and international affairs and of Islamic studies at Georgetown, has a history of defending and collaborating with terrorist groups, the Washington Free Beacon reported. Esposito was previously a member of the advisory board of the United Association for Studies and Research, an American think tank founded by future Hamas leader Mousa Abu Marzook and future Hamas spokesman Ahmed Yousef, according to a report by the George Washington University Program on Extremism.   

In a statement to JI, Rep. Lisa McClain (R-MI), chair of the Republican conference, said that at the hearing she will “hold university presidents accountable for their troubling silence and inaction in the face of rising hate on campus.” 

“It is unacceptable that these institutions have allowed antisemitic incidents to persist without a meaningful response. I will be seeking clear answers on what steps they are taking to ensure intolerance has no place in our universities — including their faculty and student organizations,” McClain said.  

Officials from the University of California, Berkeley and the City University of New York are also expected to be probed over their handling of campus antisemitism at the hearing on Capitol Hill.

School may be out of session for the summer, but officials from Georgetown University, the University of California, Berkeley and the City University of New York will be in the hot seat this week when they testify on Tuesday before the House Education and Workforce Committee.

This is not the first time that university officials have appeared in front of Congress to account for the situations on their campuses, but this week’s hearing aims to focus on more than just the anti-Israel activism that has permeated many campuses since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attacks on Israel and the ensuing war in Gaza to focus on root issues, including foreign funding in higher education as well as faculty anti-Israel organizing efforts.

With that as the backdrop, Georgetown’s interim president, Robert Groves, is likely to face hard-hitting questioning about the school’s donations from authoritarian regimes. 

Nearly a decade ago, Georgetown took a $10 million donation from an organization connected to Beijing’s ruling Chinese Communist Party — more specifically, according to The Washington Post, to “the specific CCP organizations that manage overseas influence operations” — to establish the Initiative for U.S.-China Dialogue on Global Issues.

But that $10 million is a drop in the bucket compared to the amount of money Qatar is alleged to have sent to Georgetown. According to a study by the research institute ISGAP — which primarily focuses on progressive and Islamist antisemitism — Qatar has donated more than $1 billion dollars to the Jesuit school in recent decades. In addition, Qatar has long had a partnership with Georgetown that includes an outpost of the school in Doha. Earlier this year, the school extended its contract with Doha for another decade.

UC Berkeley’s own handling of foreign funding will be under the microscope during Tuesday’s hearing. Earlier this year, the Department Education launched an investigation into the school’s alleged failure to report hundreds of million dollars in foreign funding — including $220 million from China for the creation of a Berkeley-linked campus in the city of Shenzhen.

The CUNY system doesn’t receive foreign funding. But it is likely to face scrutiny for its handling of campus antisemitism issues, which date back long before the Oct. 7 attacks. A decade ago, CUNY’s graduate student union was one of the first to push an anti-Israel vote on Shabbat. 

In the years since, the school has seen a number of issues across its campuses and disciplines. CUNY Law School’s 2022 commencement speaker, Nerdeen Kiswani, said from the lectern that she had been targeted by “well-funded organizations with ties to the Israeli government.”

Kiswani, one of the founders of the far-left anti-Israel Within Our Lifetime organization, was a national leader of Students for Justice in Palestine when she was an undergraduate attending both Hunter College and the College of Staten Island.

We also expect a number of committee members to grill Georgetown and Berkeley leaders on their handling of campus incidents, such as the Georgetown’s support for a professor earlier this year who was alleged to have ties to Hamas, as well as the more recent call last month by the chair of the school’s Islamic studies department to call for “symbolic” Iranian strikes on American bases in the Middle East. 

Past hearings have proven to be significant moments for some of those testifying, as well as members of Congress. Rep. Elise Stefanik’s (R-NY) profile was elevated following her grilling of University of Pennsylvania, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard leaders — two of whom resigned shortly after appearing before the committee.

But they are perhaps most consequential for the Jewish students on those campuses — many of whom matriculated amid the COVID-19 pandemic after having lost out on key adolescent and teenage experiences. For some of these students, their desire to have a “normal” college experience was taken from them by the protests and anti-Israel activity that swept across campuses nearly two years ago. But still, many continue to apply to these schools, hopeful that the worst is in the past.

There’s a saying that has floated around many a conference, Jewish organizational board meeting and Shabbat dinner table in recent years: Jews endow buildings, their enemies endow what happens inside of them. Tomorrow’s hearing will see just how deeply those efforts have permeated.

Earlier this year at a symposium in New York City, Jewish scholars gathered to analyze the recent surge of antisemitism on college campuses and debate whether Jewish students still belong at the country’s elite bastions of higher education. 

“I certainly don’t think that we should abandon great citadels of learning or be chased out of them, although to be there takes fortitude that I don’t think should be asked of every student,” Rabbi David Wolpe, a former visiting scholar at Harvard University Divinity School, said during the event’s opening address. “So I’m going to give a selective answer: it depends who.” 

Over the next two months, college freshmen will embark on new chapters at universities around the country. Many Jewish students have found appeal in other top schools, such as Vanderbilt in Nashville, Tenn., and Washington University in St. Louis, where administrators were quick to enforce university rules amid rising antisemitism in the aftermath of the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attacks, and therefore avoided much of the chaos that played out on other campuses. 

But some Jewish students are still seeking admission to the country’s most prestigious schools. 

Who are these students making the choice to display the fortitude that Wolpe referenced by attending Columbia and Harvard —- two Ivy League campuses that have been beset by nearly two years of controversy over anti-Israel encampments and classroom disruptions, physical assaults of Jewish students and battles with the federal government, including potential loss of accreditation — over an alleged failure to address antisemitism? 

Leah Kreisler, a recent graduate of Winston Churchill High School in Potomac, Md., decided in ninth grade that she wanted to attend Columbia. Kreisler plans to enroll in Columbia’s dual-degree program with the Jewish Theological Seminary and will begin next year, following a gap year in Israel. 

Recent events have only reinforced Kreisler’s dream of attending the storied institution. “Columbia has always had a politically charged environment and I honestly think that fits a part of who I am,” she told Jewish Insider. “I like having those kinds of discussions and engaging with people I disagree with. That spirit drew me to the school.” 

She’s also hopeful that by the time she arrives at Columbia for the 2026-27 school year, “things will get figured out.” The university is in talks with the federal government to restore the institution’s federal funding, which was slashed in March due to the antisemitic demonstrations that have roiled the campus since Oct. 7.

Still, Kreisler admitted she’s “a little bit scared” to face antisemitism, which she hasn’t directly encountered in her tight-knit D.C. suburb with a sizable Jewish community. “There will probably be people in the streets doing antisemitic things,” she said, noting that she often gets “weird looks from Jewish members of the community” when she shares her plans to attend Columbia.

Laura Hosid runs a private business in Potomac guiding high school students through the college admissions process. She works with many students like Kreisler who are “often willing to overlook [antisemitism] at schools like Harvard and Columbia, if they can get in,” Hosid, who is Jewish, told JI.  

“At slightly less selective schools, though, it’s more of a factor,” she said. “Students are willing to look away if there’s too much anti-Israel stuff.” 

“Jewish life at Columbia is Dickens-esque: the best of times and the worst of times,” said a Jewish Columbia alum who requested to remain anonymous. “There are real challenges, but at the same time, you can go to Columbia Hillel, the Kraft Center for Jewish Life, and access the most interesting people in the world. Bob Kraft shows up for events,” he said, referencing the billionaire owner of the New England Patriots for whom the center is named.

“I’m certainly not discouraging students if they are interested in schools like Columbia and Harvard,” Hosid continued. “I’m just making sure that they are well aware of what’s going on there and how it compares to what the climate is like at other schools.”

A Jewish Columbia alum who requested to remain anonymous told JI that he still sees his alma mater as “an amazing New York City school with an incredible alumni network.” So he was supportive when his daughter, an incoming Columbia freshman, committed to the university. 

“Jewish life at Columbia is Dickens-esque: the best of times and the worst of times,” he said. “There are real challenges, but at the same time, you can go to Columbia Hillel, the Kraft Center for Jewish Life, and access the most interesting people in the world. Bob Kraft shows up for events,” he said, referencing the billionaire owner of the New England Patriots for whom the center is named.

In 1967, Columbia’s student body was 40% Jewish, according to a Jewish Telegraphic Agency report at the time. But even as Jewish enrollment at Columbia has declined since then, it still has one of the highest percentages of Jewish undergraduates in the Ivy League, at an estimated 22%. “The numbers for this year’s incoming class are quite strong,” Brian Cohen, executive director of Columbia Hillel, told JI. 

Cohen said that the center’s “top priority is to make sure that every Jewish student feels seen and supported and part of a vibrant Jewish community from the moment they arrive at Columbia University.”

“Everything we hear anecdotally is that the number of applications of Jewishly involved students to Harvard were stable — if not increased — from last year to this year,” said Rabbi Jason Rubenstein, the director of Harvard Hillel.

That’s been Hillel’s goal for years — even before antisemitism reached record highs on campus. But Cohen noted that for the past two academic years, “everything is ramped up.”

“We want to make sure that when we meet students and families face-to-face they already have some idea of who we are and the relationship isn’t starting from square one,” he said, outlining two priorities. “One is that students understand that they are entering into this thriving, diverse Jewish community on campus. [The second is] that, should any problems arise during their time at Columbia, they have trusted resources to go to that are easily accessible and can help support them in navigating the various university processes.” 

Rabbi Jason Rubenstein, the director of Harvard Hillel, is similarly spending the summer preparing for a new class of Jewish students. He’s hearing less concern around antisemitism from incoming students and their parents compared to last year. “I think that’s a combination of all of us adjusting our baselines and knowing what we’re getting into, and that last year was calmer on campus than the year before.” 

Like Columbia, Harvard has had billions of dollars in federal grants and contracts frozen by the Trump administration. The university filed suit against the government in April, claiming that the cuts violate the First Amendment. A 300-page antisemitism report released by the university in April described “severe problems” that Harvard’s Jewish students have faced in the classroom, on social media and through campus protests.

“Everything we hear anecdotally is that the number of applications of Jewishly involved students to Harvard were stable — if not increased — from last year to this year,” Rubenstein said. Ramaz, a Modern Orthodox Jewish day school in Manhattan, for instance, admitted five students to Harvard the past admissions cycle, with four planning to attend. “That’s the highest in living memory,” Rubenstein said.

One of the Ramaz graduates starting at Harvard this fall is Stella Hiltzik, who grew up hearing “incredible stories” from her mother’s time on the Boston campus. “But it wasn’t until I visited Harvard last year that I decided that was the place I wanted to be,” Hiltzik, whose major is undecided, told JI. She was drawn to Harvard “even despite all of the crazy things happening on campus” after seeing “how supportive, warm and comforting Jewish life on campus is — especially the Chabad. It feels like a sense of home,” Hiltzik said. 

“Despite everything going on, when I say I’m going to Harvard, most people are proud of me and supportive,” Hiltzik continued. “But there are some people who ask me, ‘What are you thinking?’ For me, it’s honestly a cool conversation to have, because I get to tell them how I’m excited to be a Jewish voice on campus during these hard times.” 

“Despite everything that has happened at Columbia,” Leah Kreisler, a recent graduate of Winston Churchill High School in Potomac, Md., said, “I don’t think that the solution to antisemitism is to remove ourselves from these institutions. That’s been my mentality throughout the college [application] process.”  

“Jewish students are not being dissuaded,” Rubenstein said. “Which is a great thing because some people are chanting ‘Zionists are not welcome here’ and the one thing they most want is Jewish students to not come here.” 

Students like Hiltzik and Kreisler offer a quiet rebuke to the billionaire alums of the Ivies who have begun to withhold their considerable donations. One Israeli venture capitalist went as far as to try to lure Jewish students attending Ivy League schools to transfer to universities in Israel.

“Despite everything that has happened at Columbia,” Kreisler said, “I don’t think that the solution to antisemitism is to remove ourselves from these institutions. That’s been my mentality throughout the college [application] process.”  

“People shouldn’t be afraid to go to any of these schools,” echoed Hiltzik. “At the end of the day, you’re going to get a good education and you’re going to show everyone how cool it is to be a proud Jew. I feel, in a sense, that this is my version of fighting for my people.” 

As the federal government continues its battles with dozens of colleges over campus antisemitism, the field of Middle East studies has been particularly scrutinized for advancing a one-sided, anti-Israel curriculum contributing to a rise of hostility towards the Jewish state in the classroom and beyond. 

Aiming to address that bias, Pepperdine University’s School of Public Policy will launch a new Middle East Policy Studies master’s program this fall. The tuition-free, fully accredited, two-year master’s program on Pepperdine’s D.C. campus is a partnership with The Washington Institute for Near East Policy. It will be funded solely by American citizens — unlike many similar university programs that take foreign funds. 

The program comes as critics of the field have long alleged that it imparts to students a one-sided history of the Middle East in which Israel is a perpetual villain, particularly since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terrorist attacks. “We wouldn’t be in these conversations had it not been revealed what’s been happening on college campuses since Oct. 7,” Pete Peterson, dean of Pepperdine’s public policy school, told Jewish Insider. 

“It’s evident that there is next to no viewpoint diversity” in the field, Peterson said. “That was revealed publicly in the days following Oct. 7. A lot of the organizing, staffing and in some cases even the funding of [anti-Israel] campus protests came out of centers and institutions in departments of Middle East studies. It wasn’t the engineering department that was going through the barricades.” 

For example, a 2024 report from the Harvard Jewish Alumni Alliance took aim at the school’s Center for Middle Eastern Studies for broadcasting the view that “the Palestinian people are innocent victims of Jewish (white) oppression and that known terrorist groups are simply ‘political movements.’” (Two heads of department were let go from their roles in March after the center came under intense scrutiny from the federal government). 

“We hope to not just bring people away from other schools where they know they will have to endure, in some cases, years of difficult experiences, but also attract new people into the field because they understand they’re not going to get that ideological — and in some cases antisemitic —  approach,” Peterson said. 

Robert Satloff, executive director of The Washington Institute and co-creator of the graduate program, told JI that the program intends to “train the next generation of policy makers, analysts and experts,” adding that it was “born out of Oct. 7, although it was percolating in my mind even before that.” The institute has been following critiques of Middle Eastern studies for at least two decades, according to Satloff. 

“At many of our elite universities, it’s quite clear that what students are getting as academic fare was not preparing them for the sort of public service we’re going to need in Middle Eastern studies,” Satloff said. “Instead of complaining about the sad state, I decided, let’s create an alternative.” 

The program will offer all accepted students this fall full tuition scholarships, which is “our way of saying that merit alone is the sole criterion for admission,” Satloff said, noting the the program’s goal is to be tuition-free in the long term — a decision that will be made after inauguration of the first cohort of students. 

“And it’s our way of offering a bit of incentive for those students who may have other options at other universities.”  

Satloff reached out to “dozens” of universities across the country in search of a partner. He said that Pepperdine, a private Christian research university with its main campus in Los Angeles, was “eager and had the right approach, which was commitment to viewpoint diversity, where students are not going to be indoctrinated.” 

Pepperdine has advertised itself in several fields as a counter to the antisemitism that has increased at universities nationwide since Oct. 7 —  and Jewish students are taking note, despite the school’s Christian affiliation.  

Jewish students comprise nearly 20% of the 1L class of Pepperdine’s Caruso School of Law. 

While Jewish students make up 2% of Pepperdine’s undergraduate population, Jim Gash, the school’s president, wrote in the Jewish Journal last year, “We are a place that is honored by the presence of our Jewish students and faculty — where every year, we have a Sukkah constructed on campus so our observant students can have a place to eat and fellowship on Sukkot; where a Menorah is lit to celebrate the holiday of Hanukkah; and where Jewish students gather together over lunch to discuss the weekly Torah portion.”

The policy school has run a longstanding scholarship for Jewish and Muslim students. “We very much have been committed to being a safe space for people of all faiths,” Peterson said. “Middle East studies in particular have become very secularized and in that secularization you see growing antisemitism.” 

Applications for the master’s program are being accepted on a rolling basis until July 25. In the two weeks since the application portal has opened, Satloff said interest in the program is “overwhelming.” 

He believes that reception has been sparked by increasing awareness that the “Middle East is likely to remain a key focus of American foreign policy.”

“There was a dip of interest in these issues, but certainly over the last couple of years, young people have been reminded that America is deeply committed in this region and there are important policy interests that we have in this region,” Satloff said, adding that the recent U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities “confirm that this region will continue to have a tug on American interests far into the future.”  

A grassroots campaign urging educators to stop using teaching materials from the Anti-Defamation League reached the highest levels of K-12 education over the weekend.

Inside a packed conference hall in Portland, Ore., the thousands of delegates who make up the governing body of the National Education Association — the largest teachers union in the country — passed a measure that bars the union from using, endorsing or publicizing any materials from the ADL. 

In the moments before the vote, several Jewish delegates spoke passionately in opposition of the measure. 

“I stand here and ask you to oppose [the measure] to show that all are truly welcome here,” a teacher from New Jersey said, according to audio of the closed-door meeting obtained by Jewish Insider. 

Another Jewish teacher quoted NEA Executive Director Kim Anderson from her keynote address earlier in the weekend. “This union has your back,” Anderson told the more than 6,000 assembled delegates.

“Does that include stopping Jewish hate, antisemitism? Some of our members don’t feel they are safe,” the Jewish teacher said during Sunday’s debate. 

The vote occurred by voice. The margin was so close that delegates had to vote three times as the chair considered whether the loudest cheers were in support of the measure or in opposition, but, ultimately, it still received the backing of more than half the delegates. It now heads to the NEA’s nine-member executive committee, which gets the final word on whether the measure will be put into effect. (The passage of the anti-ADL measure was first reported by the North American Values Institute.)

The episode garnered criticism from Jewish teachers and allies. NEA’s national leadership has not yet weighed in on the measure. 

“At a time when incidents of hate and bias are on the rise across the country, this action sends a troubling message of exclusion and undermines our shared goal of ensuring every student feels safe and supported,” a spokesperson for the NEA’s Jewish affairs caucus said in a statement to JI. The caucus said its members plan to continue using ADL materials in their classrooms. 

The ADL slammed the vote, calling it “profoundly disturbing that a group of NEA activists would brazenly attempt to further isolate their Jewish colleagues and push a radical, antisemitic agenda on students,” according to an ADL spokesperson. 

Staci Maiers, an NEA spokesperson, declined to comment on the specific measure. “NEA members will continue to educate and organize against antisemitism, anti-Muslim bigotry and all forms of hate and discrimination,” Maiers told JI in a statement. “We will not shy away from difficult or controversial issues that affect our members, our students or our schools.” (The NEA assembly also adopted a measure pledging to highlight Jewish American Heritage Month each May.) 

The NEA’s adoption of a measure targeting the leading Jewish civil rights organization may be an escalation, but it is only the most recent example of antisemitism — and divisive politics surrounding the war in Gaza — spilling into K-12 education, and teachers unions in particular. 

Since the 2023 Hamas attacks, Jewish parents have raised concerns about discrimination against Jewish students and about the increasingly frequent use of anti-Israel materials in classrooms. Last week, for instance, the parents of an 11-year-old sued their child’s Virginia private school, alleging school administrators ignored antisemitic harassment directed against her for months. 

The NEA’s vote on the anti-ADL measure grew out of a campaign called #DropTheADLFromSchools, which began with an online open letter and gradually garnered the support of some of the country’s most powerful local unions, including United Teachers Los Angeles, which represents 35,000 LA teachers. 

In March, UTLA president Cecily Myart-Cruz wrote a letter asking the superintendent of the LA Unified School District and the LAUSD school board to stop using ADL materials and “refuse to contract or partner” with the ADL, because of its “focus on indoctrination rather than education.” (An LAUSD spokesperson said no action had been taken in reference to the letter.)

Last year, the NEA joined a campaign to pressure then-President Joe Biden to halt all U.S. military aid to Israel. The Massachusetts Teachers Association, an NEA affiliate, has encouraged members to introduce anti-Israel materials into classrooms. 

Last week, the largest teachers union in California published a letter urging state senators to vote against a bill focused on fighting and preventing antisemitism. 

“While we share the same overarching goal of the AB 715 author and sponsors of combating antisemitism, we have serious reservations about the proposed methods for achieving it,” wrote Seth Bramble, legislative relations manager of the California Teachers Association, a 300,000-member affiliate of the NEA. “We are also concerned with academic freedom and the ability of educators to ensure that instruction include perspectives and materials that reflect the cultural and ethnic diversity of all of California’s students.” 

In May, the state assembly voted unanimously to approve the bill, which was co-sponsored by the Jewish, Black, Latino, Native American and Asian American and Pacific Islander legislative caucuses. The legislation would create a statewide antisemitism coordinator in the state’s Education Department and strengthen anti-discrimination protections, while providing additional guidelines to keep antisemitism out of teaching materials. 

But the bill’s fate is now in jeopardy as senators face pressure from one of the state’s most powerful unions to reject it. The California Senate’s education committee is set to vote on the bill on Wednesday. State Sen. Sasha Renée Pérez, the Los Angeles-area Democrat who chairs the committee, did not respond to a request for comment about whether she plans to vote for the bill. 

State Sen. Scott Wiener, a Democrat from San Francisco and the co-chair of the legislative Jewish caucus, said it is “frustrating” seeing the CTA oppose the bill instead of collaborating with its authors.

“We need, as a matter of state policy, to be very, very clear that antisemitism will not be tolerated in California public schools,” Wiener told JI. “I was really disappointed to see CTA’s letter which basically says, ‘Oh, we hate antisemitism, but we can’t possibly do anything meaningful about it.’” (A CTA spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.)

More than two dozen California Jewish groups released a statement on Monday slamming the CTA, saying that advocates for the bill have already put its passage on hold for more than a year to try to negotiate with the union. The sponsors pivoted from an earlier version of the bill — which was intended to root out antisemitism in the state’s ethnic studies curriculum — at the urging of the CTA. 

“We call on the legislature to stand firmly in support of California’s Jewish students and move the bill forward,” wrote the Jewish organizations, including the ADL, StandWithUs, American Jewish Committee and the Jewish federations in Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco and several other communities. 

Jewish community activists plan to spend the next two days lobbying for passage of the bill. Jay Goldfischer, a teacher in Los Angeles County, is traveling to Sacramento to urge lawmakers to vote for it. 

“Jewish students across California are being silenced. Many are afraid to walk into their schools, unsure if they’ll be targeted for who they are,” Goldfischer told JI. “As a CTA member, I am personally disappointed that CTA doesn’t feel Jewish students are worth protecting.”

By the time a group of activists attempted to erect an encampment at Washington University in St. Louis in late April 2024, Andrew D. Martin, the chancellor of the university, had already carefully considered how he would respond. It was a benefit, he said recently, of being “in the middle of the country,” far from the national media that ceaselessly covered the anti-Israel encampments at Columbia University and other high-profile campuses. 

Campus police arrested more than 100 people, the vast majority of whom had no ties to the university, and the encampment was shut down. Faculty, staff and student leaders all spoke out against university leadership for bringing in the police. But Martin saw it as an opportunity to enforce university rules and avoid the chaos playing out elsewhere. 

“We take a very strong pro-free speech approach,” Martin, a political scientist, told Jewish Insider in an interview last month. “But we also have restrictions which are based on time, place and manner. And for us, it was really clear, and we made it very clear to the campus community. Look, you can protest all you want. … But you can’t take over our buildings, you can’t deface our property and you also can’t set up an encampment.”  

Since then, Martin has teamed up with Daniel Diermeier, the chancellor of Vanderbilt University, in something of an informal pact — a joint effort to promote principled leadership in higher education, presenting their two schools as a refreshing counterweight to the dysfunction plaguing higher-ranked competitors like Harvard and Columbia. Both campuses largely steered clear of major antisemitic incidents in that intense spring semester in 2024. (The period has not been without criticism for Diermeier, either; he faced pushback from some faculty and students after canceling a vote on an anti-Israel boycott resolution.)

This February, Diermeier and Martin wrote a joint op-ed in The Chronicle of Higher Education calling on other universities to reject “creeping politicization.”

“The universities we oversee have drawn a line against politicization so that we can continue contributing to the nation’s competitiveness and strength abroad, and to stability and prosperity here at home. All American research universities should do the same,” Diermeier and Martin wrote. 

Published just days after President Donald Trump took office with the promise of scrutinizing elite liberal universities, the article was an attempt at setting out a marker, signaling to Trump and potential applicants that Vanderbilt and WashU haven’t lost focus like so many other universities who have found themselves in crisis mode since the Oct. 7 attacks in 2023. 

Both schools were committed to institutional neutrality — a position that has now been adopted by more than 100 American universities, including Harvard, Stanford, Columbia and Syracuse — well before Oct. 7 and its aftermath led other university administrators to conclude it is in their interests to not weigh in on complex political and social causes.  

“Whether it’s fossil fuel divestment or Ukraine or other things, we’re just not going to engage. Our faculty have strong views on those issues, as do our students. It’s their job to be advocates. It’s our job to create a playing field, if you will, for them to have those views,” said Martin. 

Diermeier said universities that had not adopted a stance of principled neutrality were susceptible to “competitive lobbying,” where students demand a response on one side or another.

“We saw this in gory detail after Oct. 7, where you had one group who wanted to say, ‘Well, you need to denounce Israel of genocide,’ and the other one said, ‘No, you have to support Israel,’” Diermeier told JI in June. “It ripped many university campuses apart. And we were very, very clear from the beginning that we are committed to institutional neutrality. We will not divest from companies that have ties to Israel. We will not denounce Israel’s ‘genocide.’ We will not boycott products that are associated with Israel in any way, shape or form.” 

It comes down to the role of a university — and whether it is up to university administrators to pick a side. Doing so, the chancellors argued, undermines trust in their institutions. (Others take a different position, like Ora Pescovitz, president of Oakland University, a small public university in Michigan: “A president’s voice is precious,” she told JI last year.)

“There’s a certain arrogance for us, that we think that if, like, Harvard speaks, that somehow an issue is settled,” said Diermeier, a political scientist and management scholar. “What is the purpose of the university? What we’re very clear on is that universities are about the creation and dissemination of knowledge through research and education and related activities. They are not in the business of becoming partisans in any type of political or ideological battle.” 

Many universities are still navigating the post-Oct. 7 maelstrom, trying to handle competing concerns from students, parents, alumni and faculty — all while facing civil rights investigations by the federal government. In March, Education Secretary Linda McMahon wrote a letter to 60 schools under investigation for antisemitic discrimination, including Harvard, Yale, Northwestern, Stanford and Princeton. 

“I think people that visit us see the difference, and they say this is a great place for Jewish families and for Jewish students to thrive, and we’re very proud of that,” said Diermeier. “We want to be a place where every member of our community can thrive. And right now, in the current environment, I think the contrast between what’s happening at other universities and what’s happening at Vanderbilt is visible for people.” 

Vanderbilt and WashU were not on the list. That presents an opening for them to reach Jewish students with concerns about what they’re seeing elsewhere, particularly as the Jewish student populations at many top universities have shrunk. According to Hillel International, just 7% of Harvard’s undergraduates are Jewish, compared to 14% at Vanderbilt and 22% at WashU. 

“The Jewish community at Washington University is very robust. Our students are comfortable and proud living out their Jewish identity on our campus, and have been able to do so for generations. And we’ll make sure that they’re able to do this over generations to come,” said Martin. WashU implemented a new transfer program soon after Oct. 7 to allow students to transfer for the spring semester, rather than waiting until the following fall. Several Jewish students took advantage of it after facing antisemitism on their old campuses. 

WashU’s appeal to Jewish students is not new; it has for years been tagged with the nickname “WashJew.” And more than two decades ago, Vanderbilt’s former chancellor said that targeting Jewish students was an explicit part of the university’s bid to better compete with Ivy League schools. Diermeier seeks to continue that push.

“I think people that visit us see the difference, and they say this is a great place for Jewish families and for Jewish students to thrive, and we’re very proud of that,” said Diermeier. “We want to be a place where every member of our community can thrive. And right now, in the current environment, I think the contrast between what’s happening at other universities and what’s happening at Vanderbilt is visible for people.” 

“It became clear to Daniel [Diermeier] and me that we’re never going to be able to have the sustained federal support or, for that matter, state support of our institutions, without broad support of the American people, and that the American people, in some respect, lost faith in us because of places where we have diverged from those important core principles,” said Martin. “That was amplified by the events of Oct. 7, or what happened after Oct. 7.”

Martin and Diermeier see themselves and their institutions as the stewards of a forward-looking case for higher education at a time when the institution is under attack, both from Washington and from Americans, whose trust in higher education has plummeted. Nearly 6 in 10 Americans said in 2015 that they have a great deal or quite a lot of confidence in U.S. higher education, according to Gallup. In 2024, that number was 36%. Among Republicans, the number dropped from 56% to 20% in nine years. Among Democrats, the decrease was milder — but still present, moving from 68% to 56%.  

Oct. 7 only sharpened that distrust, Martin said. Regaining that confidence, he argued, is imperative to saving the institution of higher education — and staving off federal funding threats from Trump. 

“It became clear to Daniel [Diermeier] and me that we’re never going to be able to have the sustained federal support or, for that matter, state support of our institutions, without broad support of the American people, and that the American people, in some respect, lost faith in us because of places where we have diverged from those important core principles,” said Martin. “That was amplified by the events of Oct. 7, or what happened after Oct. 7.”

It’s not just about values. It’s a savvy political move. After all, both Vanderbilt and WashU would be in trouble if federal research dollars stopped flowing to the schools, or if Trump made the call that they could not admit international students, as is the case with Harvard. 

When asked about his approach to the Trump administration, Diermeier repeatedly declined to answer questions about the matter on the record. 

Martin acknowledged that he is concerned.

“I’m worried about everything coming out of Washington, whether that’s legislative action or actions of the administration, around endowment excise tax, federal research funding, the ability to have federal financial aid, the ability to admit international students. All of those things are up for grabs,” Martin said. 

But what WashU and Vanderbilt are willing to do is acknowledge that there are big problems in American academia. In other words, they’re saying that Trump’s got a point.

“Here are two institutions that are willing to stand in the public square and say, American higher education has lost its way in some respects,” said Martin. “We’re great institutions, and we’re committed to working to ensure that our institutions and higher education writ large will do better in the future.” 

The House Education and Workforce Committee requested additional information about campus antisemitism from DePaul University, California Polytechnic State University (San Luis Obispo) and Haverford College on Thursday, weeks after bringing their presidents before the committee for a hearing on campus antisemitism.

Rep. Tim Walberg’s (R-MI) letter to Haverford President Wendy Raymond — who repeatedly dodged questions from committee members throughout the hearing, refusing to discuss specifics — called out those evasive responses.

“While the Committee appreciates your appearance on May 7th to discuss these concerns, your lack of transparency about how, if at all, Haverford has responded to antisemitic incidents on its campus was very disappointing,” Walberg wrote. “Among other things, despite repeated requests, you failed to share any data, even in the aggregate, on faculty and student disciplinary actions taken in response to antisemitic incidents on your campus.”

The Michigan Republican requested information on the school’s policy against sharing disciplinary information, action taken against a Faculty and Staff for Justice in Palestine group that praised terrorists, details surrounding an alleged boycott of a donut shop, information about a Haverford professor who celebrated the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terrorist attacks on Israel and details about other professors who have made antisemitic and anti-Zionist comments.

In his letter to Cal Poly president Jeffrey Armstrong, Walberg highlighted that anti-Israel activists had recently vandalized a school building, as well as asked for information about how the school is updating its orientation and employee training materials, how it’s putting together an antisemitism task force and the school’s plans to endow a chair in Jewish studies and create an interfaith center.

Writing to DePaul President Robert Manuel, Walberg asked about the status of a college disciplinary process regarding Students for Justice in Palestine, including the status of a hearing on the group’s conduct and any recent communications regarding disciplinary action taken.

Walberg also asked for information about security improvements and changes to DePaul’s campus that Manuel had discussed during the hearing.

Kimberly Richey, the nominee to be the assistant secretary of education for civil rights, said that the Department of Education should look at amending Title VI regulations and issuing new guidance to address the surge of antisemitism on campuses nationwide since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel.

Richey, speaking at a confirmation hearing on Thursday before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, said that regulations could be amended “to specifically address antisemitism,” and the Department of Education could issue new guidance “in a post-Oct. 7 world. The climate is very different than what it was five years ago, four years ago, three years ago.”

Currently, antisemitic discrimination is considered a violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act as a form of discrimination based on shared ancestry, under an executive order from the first Trump administration. Enacting a formal regulation would give further force of law to the issue.

The Biden administration had been expected to issue a regulation providing further guidance around that executive order by December 2024.

Richey said she would also partner with other offices within the Department of Education to enforce civil rights laws to further protect Jewish students.

The nominee described the recent antisemitic terror attacks in Boulder, Colo., and Washington as “emblematic of the horrific acts that the Jewish students are facing across the country,” and praised the actions the Trump administration has taken thus far.

She said that she believes the antisemitic environment on campus has gotten worse than it was when she first served in the Office for Civil Rights in the early 2000s, during the George W. Bush administration, having evolved into threats, violence and exclusion targeting Jewish students.

Richey, pressed by Democrats about the administration’s decision to cut half of OCR’s staff and more than half of its regional offices, said she couldn’t speak to the decisions previously and currently being made but said she is “always going to advocate for OCR to have the resources that it needs to do its job.”

“I’m going to have to be really strategic … helping to come up with a plan where we can address these challenges,” Richey said.

Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) said the Department of Education recently informed the committee that, as of earlier this year, OCR had a backlog of 25,000 cases.

Asked about efforts to reorganize and shut down the Department of Education, including transferring OCR to the Department of Justice, Richey said that “the current structure is not meeting the needs of students … so what I appreciate and what I agree with is the conversation for us to stop and look at, how can we better meet the needs of students? How can we better serve families?”

She emphasized that she has a long history in OCR, having served in the office for almost seven years under previous administrations, and said that she understands “the vital role it plays for so many students and families across our great nation. Students cannot gain the knowledge and skills they need to be successful in life if they can’t access educational programs and activities.”

In addition to her service in the Bush administration, Richey served as acting assistant secretary of education for civil rights in 2020 and 2021.

“If I’m confirmed, the department will not stand idly by while Jewish students are attacked and discriminated against,” Richey said.

Kenneth Marcus, the founder of the Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law who served as assistant secretary of education for civil rights under the first Trump administration, said he was pleased that Richey had raised the prospect of formal and informal guidance, as well as a Title VI regulation, which he noted would be “the first ever formal Title VI regulation on antisemitism.”

He explained that a Title VI regulation would “be important for giving durability, not only to the government’s use of [the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism], but also to the fundamental notion that Jewish civil rights are protected under Title VI. That’s something that doesn’t yet have the status of a formal regulation, which is why federal agencies have been promising for the last several years to issue a regulation.”

He said that a regulation might go further than the original executive order issued in the first Trump administration declaring that antisemitism is a prohibited form of discrimination, and could cover issues like masking, encampments and the ways that Zionism has been used as a euphemism for Jews.

“Kim Richey was passionate and eloquent in describing how the world has changed since Oct. 7, 2023 in ways that need to be addressed by the federal government,” Marcus said. “She appropriately noted the forcefulness of the Trump administration’s response to date, but it also candidly indicated that more needs to be done, and I think that she was 100% right about that.”

Sydney Altfield, a champion of STEM education, has been tapped as national director of Teach Coalition, an Orthodox Union-run organization that advocates for government funding and resources for yeshivas and Jewish day schools, Jewish Insider has learned. She succeeds Maury Litwack, who founded the coalition in 2013 and served as its national director since. 

Altfield, who has held various roles with Teach Coalition for the past seven years, most recently served as executive director of its New York state chapter. In that position, she spearheaded STEM funding for private schools in the state and helped establish state security funding programs — two areas she intends to expand on a national level in the new role, which encompasses seven states: New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Florida, Pennsylvania, California and Nevada. 

“We’re at a very pivotal moment in Jewish day schools where the continuity of the Jewish people relies on Jewish education and having access to such. That also has to come at a quality education,” Altfield told JI in her first interview since being selected for the position. “It’s so important to understand that it’s not just about STEM but it’s about the entire Jewish education being high quality, something that’s accessible for everyone.” 

Amid rising concerns about security in Jewish schools, Altfield said she looks forward to taking “the wins we’ve had in places like Florida,” referring to universal tax credit scholarships, to ensure that funds are effectively used to protect Jewish students and staff. 

Soon after the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attacks, Teach Coalition launched Project Protect to write and implement federal- and state-level security grants. 

“A lot of people thought that after Oct. 7 the rise in hate crimes and antisemitism, and specifically the rise in security threats, would go down but we’re seeing just the opposite,” Altfield said. “It’s very important for us to realize what is ahead and what is needed … to ensure that the financial burden of an antisemitism tax is halted as soon as possible.” 

According to a Teach Coalition survey published in April, security spending among 63 of the coalition’s member schools in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Florida increased a staggering 84% for the 2024-2025 school year, with these schools now spending $360 per student more on security than before Oct. 7. The costs ultimately get passed on to families in the form of security fees or increased tuition. 

Altfield credits herself with building “very strong” multifaith coalitions while overseeing the New York chapter. 

“I feel that New York is just scratching the surface,” she told JI. “I really do believe that our struggles as a Jewish community in ensuring a quality Jewish education is the same when it comes to Islamic education or Catholic schools, and if we have a united voice we can work together and move the needle faster. It makes our voice that much louder.” 

Under Litwack’s leadership, Teach Coalition ran several successful voter mobilization initiatives in Westchester and Long Island elections. Altfield said that while she plans to work with Litwack on some initiatives, “Teach will be going back to the basics of quality, affordable education.” 

Meanwhile, “there’s a new wave of needing a Jewish voting voice across the nation,” Altfield said, noting that the transition will allow Litwack to continue that effort in a separate organization he has formed, Jewish Voters Unite. 

“It has been a privilege founding and building Teach Coalition into the powerhouse organization that it is today,” Litwack told JI. “I’ve had the privilege of working alongside Sydney for years — someone whose vision, integrity, and dedication have helped shape what the organization has become.”

“The Orthodox Union community — along with other faith communities — is committed to educate its students in our day schools and yeshiva, where their faith and values are nurtured while they receive a well-rounded education. Especially as our community faces record antisemitism, that high-quality Jewish education needs to be made more accessible,” Rabbi Moshe Hauer, executive vice president of the Orthodox Union, said in a statement, adding that Altfield’s promotion “represents the redoubling of our commitment to helping Jewish Day School and Yeshiva families and those that aspire to attend these schools.” 

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and New York City Mayor Eric Adams also took note of the work Altfield has done locally. “Governor Hochul has forged a close partnership with Teach NYS throughout years of advocacy and collaboration, continuing this administration’s ironclad commitment to fighting antisemitism and supporting Jewish New Yorkers,” a spokesperson for Hochul said in a statement.

“Sydney is a true bridge-builder and her leadership at Teach NYS helped deliver real results for our families,” Adams said. 

Altfield said she takes the helm of the organization at a time when it is “becoming even more important and more visible” than ever.

On a federal level, for instance, “it’s very interesting to see where the Trump administration is going when it comes to education funding,” she said.

“They are very supportive of educational freedom and choice and that’s what we’re about so we’re very excited to see the changes that are coming, whether that be through the administration or even through a federal tax credit program that’s currently being discussed in Congress,” Altfield continued. 

Last week, the topic of Jewish education was brought to an international stage when podcast host and author Dan Senor said that Jewish day schools are one of the strongest contributors of a strong Jewish identity — one that provides the tools that are needed at this precarious moment to “rebuild American Jewish life” — as he delivered the 45th annual State of World Jewry address at the 92NY. 

“I’ve been saying this for so long and Dan gets the credit for it — as he should,” Altfield said with a laugh. 

“People always ask me why I do what I do,” she continued. “Even before Oct. 7, I said I believe that the continuity of the Jewish people lies within Jewish education. You cannot stress that any more than what has been seen after Oct. 7.”

Altfield pointed to increased enrollment in Jewish day schools nationwide. “A lot of what the Jewish community is going through is under a microscope,” she said. “Now that microscope is blowing up the understanding that Jewish education is basically the savior of what’s going to help us through these next few years.”

A group of Jewish Senate Democrats accused President Donald Trump of weaponizing antisemitism as a pretext to withhold funding from and punish colleges and universities, moves they said in a letter on Thursday “undermine the work of combating antisemitism” and ultimately make Jewish students “less safe.”

“We are extremely troubled and disturbed by your broad and extra-legal attacks against universities and higher education institutions as well as members of their communities, which seem to go far beyond combatting antisemitism, using what is a real crisis as a pretext to attack people and institutions who do not agree with you,” the lawmakers, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), antisemitism task force co-chair Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-NV) and Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Brian Schatz (D-HI) wrote to the president.

“It has become abundantly clear that for this administration, the stated goal of fighting antisemitism — which is needed now more than ever, and for which we stand ready to work in a bipartisan way on real solution — is simply a means to an end to attack our nation’s universities and public schools and their ability to function as multifaceted and vital institutions of higher learning and to protect free speech and the civil liberties of their students and employees,” they continued.

The letter points to Trump’s attacks on Harvard University, including the freezing of billions of dollars in funding and threats to revoke its tax-exempt status, as the most prominent examples of the administration’s efforts, which they say “go far beyond constructive and necessary efforts” to support Jewish students.

They said the administration instead appears to be trying to change “the way the university functions” and impose significant penalties “in ways wholly unrelated to combating antisemitism.” The lawmakers instead accused Trump of trying to undermine or destroy these colleges under the “guise” of antisemitism.

“We strongly support efforts to ensure universities uphold their duty to protect students from unlawful discrimination and harassment, but we reject your administration’s policies of defunding and punishing universities out of spite, as they actually undermine the work of combating antisemitism,” the letter continues, “ultimately only making Jews less safe by pitting Jewish safety against other communities and undermining the freedoms and democratic norms that have allowed Jewish communities, and so many others, to thrive in the United States.”

The letter poses a series of questions to the administration, requesting answers by the end of April, including how the administration has chosen the institutions it has targeted, the specific charges made against Harvard, how the “totally disproportionate” penalties are being assessed, how the administration is deciding what funding to cut and what its legal basis is for threatening Harvard’s tax-exempt status.

The lawmakers particularly raised concerns about the impact of cuts to medical research funding, which they say will affect all students, including Jewish students, and why Harvard’s medical school has been targeted.

They also asked why the administration has significantly cut funding and resources for the Department of Education’s Office for Civil rights and how it plans to work with schools to implement reforms and protections for Jewish students going forward, in light of those cuts.

The letter further asks whether the administration has consulted “a broad range” of Jewish students and organizations on remedies for antisemitism and how it will ensure that funding cuts don’t hurt Jewish students or those uninvolved in or victimized by antisemitic activity.

They additionally inquired about the revocation of visas of foreign students and deportation proceedings and whether such actions are being taken based “solely on their expressed views and speech, which the administration has identified as antisemitic.” They asked whether the administration believes that the First Amendment applies to non-citizens and whether any deported or detained students have been charged with any crimes.

The Trump administration’s moves to cut billions in federal funding from colleges and universities and detain and deport foreign students have sparked fierce debate in the Jewish community in recent months, and opened fault lines among some who see the actions as necessary to fight antisemitism and others who argue that they’re an overreach.

The American Jewish Committee is trying to take a more nuanced approach, the organization’s CEO Ted Deutch told Jewish Insider in an interview at AJC’s Washington office this week ahead of the group’s annual Global Forum conference, which starts this weekend.

Deutch emphasized that AJC is a “fiercely nonpartisan organization,” which means it must sometimes “hold competing thoughts” so that it can “speak with clarity about what we believe is in the best interests of the Jewish community” and represent “the vast middle of the Jewish community.”

He called that approach not only proper, but necessary.

“There are campuses [where] so many of the challenges should have been addressed by universities, and weren’t. We’ve been clear that it’s really important that the administration, that the president, is making this a priority,” Deutch said. “At the same time, as we’ve said, due process matters and obviously our democratic principles matter as well, we have to be able to both express appreciation and, when necessary, express concern.”

He said that AJC does not and has never taken an all-or-nothing approach to any administration — being either fully supportive or fully opposed to all actions it takes — and that it is continuing to hold fast to that principle: “We are working with the administration and giving them credit where due and we are offering our thoughtful criticism also, when necessary.”

Deutch cited examples from both the Reagan and Obama administrations that he said demonstrated this principle.

“We’re not willing to give up on the idea that, in advocating for the Jewish community, we can continue to leave partisanship out of it, focus on the concerns and needs of the Jewish community and work with an administration as closely as we can to help them succeed in ways that are beneficial to the entirety of the Jewish community,” he said.

In both the revocation of federal funding from universities and the deportation of alleged anti-Israel agitators, Deutch said that due process must be “front and center.” 

On federal funding, Deutch noted that there are provisions in federal law that allow for the revocation of funding and said that the prior administration also expressed willingness to slash funding, but that such moves have not actually occurred for decades.

“It’s really important that the funding cuts be done in a way that will have the most impact in addressing the challenges of antisemitism and that other issues not be conflated,” he said. 

He added that funding cuts should be used as a tool to ensure that schools make necessary changes to protect Jewish students, such as changes to their protest and student conduct policies, and that funds should be cut in the context of negotiations with universities if they fail to take action.

“When the hammer is dropped before those conversations take place, then people go to their corners,” Deutch said. “What we are advocating for is for every university to do everything that it can to help keep Jewish students safe … It’s how we get them to do it, and making sure that when they make a commitment to act, that they follow through on it — from our perspective, that’s always the focus.”

He also warned that funding cuts motivated by antisemitism could have significant effects in other ways, and potentially take away from discussions about antisemitism.

“When the hammer [of funding cuts] is dropped in a way which winds up cutting life-saving cancer research, that’s when we have concern, which we’ve expressed,” Deutch said. 

“When you announce unilaterally that you’re cutting all of the funding, including funding that can help find cures and treatments for disease and funding that has contributed to the global preeminence of American universities in scientific research, then, unfortunately, that becomes the conversation, instead of the necessary conversation that the administration rightfully wants to have about the university’s need to adequately protect Jewish students and all students.”

Deutch also noted that some in the Jewish community are worried that cuts to life-saving research may ultimately produce backlash against the Jewish community.

“It is a concern that can absolutely be ameliorated. This is exactly how we are trying to address this,” Deutch said. “AJC is not jumping in and declaring that we’re on one side or another.”

On the deportations issue, Deutch said, “If [foreign students’] behavior is illegal and they have due process, then they should be deported. But it’s not either-or. All of this matters as we’re tackling these really serious challenges.” He emphasized the need to protect First Amendment free speech rights.

“It’s not, ‘the administration should be as committed as it is to fighting antisemitism’ or ‘should also be committed to ensuring due process and adherence to the Constitution,’” Deutch said. “Both of those things can and have to happen together, and that’s why we’ve been working so hard to make sure that they are.”

The administration has repeatedly made clear that it is not alleging criminal conduct in high-profile deportation cases, instead citing authorities allowing deportations of those deemed to be damaging to U.S. foreign policy interests.

Pressed on that subject, Deutch emphasized that “due process [and] constitutional protections matter here,” and that every individual should have a fair hearing in court.

At the same time, he said that the rhetoric used by some of those facing deportation has been “horrific” and that universities themselves should have stepped in, but did not, “which is why we’re now at this point where the administration has stepped in, rightfully so.”

Deutch and AJC have previously called for additional funding and resources for the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, which the Trump administration has instead slashed. Deutch said that the Trump administration seems to be pursuing a strategy of “fewer cases” being investigated nationwide while “going after universities for bigger remedies.”

AJC is also closely watching the Trump administration’s nuclear talks with Iran. Both AJC and Deutch, who was a Democratic member of Congress at the time, opposed the original 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, and Deutch voted against it in the House.

Deutch said that he doesn’t want to make assumptions about what a new Iran deal might entail based on the varying public comments from members of the administration, but said that “the world must agree” on a basic premise Trump has expressed, that “Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon.”

As the negotiations between the U.S. and Iran continue, Deutch said AJC wants to make sure that there is a proper understanding of the current status of Iran’s nuclear program, which Deutch described as geared toward producing a nuclear weapon.

He added that the nuclear talks cannot be divorced from Iran’s support for terrorist proxies that continue to threaten the Jewish community worldwide.

“We’ve all said 1,000 times, but it just feels like it always needs repeating, [and] I know the administration understands this: When a country says that their goal is the destruction of another country … we have to take them at their word in the way that we approach this,” Deutch said. “That’s the message that we’re giving to those who are working on this issue.”