White House announcing plan to tackle antisemitism on campus after outrages

The Biden administration is set to unveil a series of actions meant to combat rising antisemitism at colleges and universities following a series of sickening demonstrations since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel.

Under the reported plan, the departments of Justice and Homeland Security are partnering with campus and local law enforcement to track hate-related rhetoric online and provide federal resources to schools.

The two departments have already “disseminated public safety information to and hosted multiple calls with campus law enforcement, as well as state, local, tribal and territorial officials to address the threat environment and share information about available resources,” an unidentified White House official told CNN.

The reported actions come one day after Cornell University was placed on high alert after threats to rape and kill Jewish students were posted on a public online forum. The vile messages were uncovered days after “F—k Israel” graffiti appeared on campus sidewalks.

President Joe Biden unveiled his plan to combat rising antisemitism on college campuses Monday.AFP via Getty Images

The White House plan also calls for second gentleman Doug Emhoff and Education Secretary Miguel Cardona to meet with leading Jewish organizations to discuss the issue, while Cardona and senior White House policy adviser Neera Tanden will visit college campuses around the country to hold roundtable discussions with Jewish students.

The Education Department has already conducted site visits to gather more information about antisemitism at schools in San Francisco, St. Louis and Maine — and will expand their efforts to New York City and Baltimore this week, NBC News reported Monday.

Last month — two weeks before the terror attack that killed at least 1,400 people in southern Israel, including at least 33 Americans — the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights expedited an update to its complaint form to make clear that Title IV of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits “certain forms of antisemitic, Islamophobia and related forms of discrimination in federally-funded programs and activities.”

Across the United States, Jewish students have reported feeling unsafe amid pro-Palestine protests.rfaraino
Pro-Palestine protesters banged on the door of the Cooper Union library last week demanding to be let inside, as Jewish students barricaded themselves.X / @thislouis

Following the Oct. 7 attack, the White House released a statement expressing its deep concern over “an extremely disturbing pattern of antisemitic messages.”

“The grotesque sentiments and actions shock the conscience and turn the stomach,” spokesman Andrew Bates said.

“They also recall our commitment that can’t be forgotten: ‘Never again.”

The White House previously released a statement expressing its deep concern over “an extremely disturbing pattern of antisemitic messages.”James Keivom

Antisemitic incidents have risen nearly 400% since the terrorist attack in Israel, compared to the same period last year, according to the Anti-Defamation League.

Across the United States, Jewish students have reported feeling unsafe amid pro-Palestine protests.

One girl at the University of Washington was left in tears when hundreds of their peers held a “Day of resistance” rally for Palestinians — advertised with an image of a paraglider like those used by Hamas terrorists in their mass slaughter of Israelis.

Antisemitic incidents have risen nearly 400% since the terrorist attack in Israel, compared to the same period last year, according to the Anti-Defamation League.James Keivom

“They want our people dead. They want us killed,” she could be seen sobbing to a school official, who said there was nothing he could do as hundreds clapped and banged drums in a video posted online.

At Cooper Union, a group of Jewish students barricaded themselves in a library last week as pro-Palestinian protesters blew past security and aggressively pounded on the building’s doors.

At George Washington University, mere blocks from the White House and State Department, student activists projected the words “Glory to our martyrs” and “Free Palestine From the River to the Sea” onto Gelman Library, named after a Jewish couple.

Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo called on the government to cut funding to schools that condone antisemitism on campus.AP

The conflict has exposed rifts among Democrats, with President Biden calling himself a “Zionist” and seeking $14.3 billion in military aid for Israel — backed staunchly by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) — as members of the left-wing “Squad” of House lawmakers, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), demand a ceasefire, which the White House dismissed last week as a would-be boon for Hamas. 

On Monday, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo called on the government to cut funding to schools that condone antisemitism on campus.

“The time for empty statements of condemnation is past,” he said. “It’s time for real action: Alumni nationwide should halt donations to schools who have not adequately addressed this proliferation of hate and state schools should see their funding stopped until universities address this vile activity.”