CAM Commends the Trump Administration For Its Unprecedented Support of Jewish College Students

New York, NY (December 11, 2019) – The Combat Anti-Semitism (CAS) Movement commends and supports the Trump Administration for offering protections under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act to Jewish students encountering anti-Semitism on college campuses.

With anti-Semitism on the rise across the world and with college campuses being a prominent battleground for anti-Semitic rhetoric and actions, the Combat Anti-Semitism Movement believes this step will go far in ensuring college and university campuses are a safe place for Jewish students. We call upon Congress to pass the bipartisan Anti-Semitism Awareness Act without delay to further enshrine this executive action into federal law.

Zionism, the yearning and desire of Jews to exercise their right to self-determination and to re-establish a Jewish homeland in the Land of Israel, is an inherent ancestral and ethnic Jewish characteristic. The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) Definition of anti-Semitism (which has been adopted by 33 nations, the Department of Education, the State Department, as well as many British universities) includes as an example of anti-Semitism “Denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination, e.g. by claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavor.”

A recent bipartisan US House of Representatives resolution noted BDS “leads to the intimidation and harassment of Jewish students and others who support Israel.” Pro-BDS activists across the country are demanding that Jewish students shed their Zionism, which is an important part of their Jewish identity. Today, for the first time, Jewish students will be offered the same legal protections as every other minority on college campuses.

In just the last month, swastikas and Neo-Nazi propaganda have appeared on countless campuses across the country, BDS activists called for an “intifada in every classroom,” and Jewish students have been threatened, intimidated and ostracized for their Jewish identity and support for the world’s largest Jewish community, in the State of Israel.

Combat Anti-Semitism Movement Director Sacha Roytman-Dratwa: “College and University administrations need to make sure that their Jewish students’ identity is protected. Jewish students are entitled to participate in the academic process free of fear and intimidation. We call upon universities across the nation to adopt the IHRA definition of anti-Semitism on their campuses and to incorporate trainings and educational materials on all manifestations of anti-Semitism for faculty, students and staff. This would send a clear signal that groups and individuals that perpetuate anti-Jewish discrimination will not be tolerated on American campuses.”