By Ted Deutch
American Jewish Committee
WASHINGTON, D.C.– The battle for our Jewish future requires taking bold action.
That’s exactly what I – along with my dedicated American Jewish Committee (AJC) colleagues – did this past week to help ensure Jewish and pro-Israel students can embrace their identity, and feel safe, supported, and empowered on their campuses.
I told Congress: Antisemitism cannot be normalized on college campuses.
Last Thursday, I testified at the House Ways and Means Committee hearing, “Crisis on Campus: Antisemitism, Radical Faculty, and the Failure of University Leadership.” I told lawmakers that antisemitism cannot be normalized on college campuses and urged university leaders to take immediate action: “University leaders must use these summer months to confront this problem that risks permanently staining the reputations of our country’s top academic institutions – and they must disabuse themselves of the notion that everything will return to normal in the coming year.” Watch my testimony.
AJC launched our Center for Education Advocacy to ensure thriving Jewish communities on campus. At AJC Global Forum 2024, the premier global Jewish advocacy conference, I announced the establishment of AJC’s Center for Education Advocacy. This new initiative will prepare Jewish students to be leaders, work with university leadership to fight antisemitism, and empower parents to advocate for their children. The Center will dramatically scale our efforts to ensure that Jews and Zionists are equipped to stand up for Israel and the Jewish people without fear of harassment. Watch my remarks from the AJC Global Forum 2024.I welcomed the U.S. Department of Education’s efforts to address campus antisemitism. Earlier this week, the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights (OCR) announced it reached an agreement to hold the City University of New York (CUNY) accountable regarding woefully inadequate efforts to protect Jewish students, faculty, and staff, from discrimination, intimidation, and harassment, and to hold my alma mater, the University of Michigan, accountable for inadequate efforts to protect Jewish students, faculty, and staff from discrimination, intimidation, and harassment.
The agreement is a positive step forward. Under this blueprint, the Jewish community can hold the university accountable as it works to counter the antisemitism that has grown pervasive since Hamas’ massacre on October 7 and create a more welcoming and safe space for all. I urge other universities to adopt this model. I welcomed this agreement just days after my conversation with Michigan President Santa Ono at AJC Global Forum 2024, where he affirmed his commitment to standing in solidarity with Jewish students, combating Jew-hatred, and countering the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement. Read my statement.
I refuse to let antisemitism on college campuses go unchecked.
As the global advocacy organization for the Jewish people, AJC is working around the clock to transform the climate on campus, one where we can shape a new, brighter future, where every Jewish student can be safe, secure, and proud of who they are.
Shabbat Shalom and Am Yisrael Chai.
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Former Congressman Ted Deutch is the Chief Executive Officer of the American Jewish Committee.