StandWithUs led a group of 17 Jewish, Christian and other groups that fight Jew-hatred on campus in penning a letter to 142 colleges and universities, urging them to do more to combat “the alarming impact of antisemitic protests and encampments on your campus” and to reverse any agreements they made with antisemitic protesters.
“Institutions cannot trample on the rights of Jewish and Israeli students in an effort to restore order to their campuses,” Roz Rothstein, co-founder and CEO of StandWithUs, told JNS.
“As we have seen, acquiescing to pro-Hamas campus agitators only incentivizes the agitators to act with more antisemitic bias and unlawful actions,” she added. “Universities must show leadership and demonstrate that they will apply policies equally to protect all their students.”
Signatories included the World Jewish Congress, Jewish National Fund, Zionist Organization of America, Israel on Campus Coalition, Lawfare Project and Philos Action League.
Among the 142 schools that received the letter on Monday are Yale University, the University of Pennsylvania, Columbia University, Barnard College, American University, the City University of New York, Cornell University, Duke University, Emory University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
The signatories told academic institutions that they might be liable for violating federal, state or local laws—under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the “Ku Klux Klan Act” or other legislation—for depriving Jewish or Israeli students of their rights. “While we acknowledge your desire to de-escalate tensions on campus, negotiating with these agitators incentivizes additional campus disruptions and tramples on the rights of other students,” the groups wrote.
“We are horrified by the unabashed bigotry, anti-American and anti-Jewish vitriol, and unlawful activity promoted and conducted by these agitators,” they wrote.
They added that they are “deeply concerned” that schools contributed resources to anti-Israel encampments; allowed faculty to teach in the encampments and offer credit for participation in anti-Israel protests; failed to address vandalism and assault; and invited anti-Israel protesters access to high-level meetings.
The 17 groups are also pushing that the schools reverse any agreements made with anti-Israel protesters “and issue a clear statement that your administration will not agree to such tactics in the future”; pursue legal and disciplinary action against antisemitic protesters; better and more transparently track and report data about Jew-hatred on campus; appoint a coordinator for Title VI complaints alleging Jew-hatred; reject publicly boycotts of Israel; and preserve documents.