According To The Anti-Defamation League, Antisemitic Incidents In the U.S. Have Surged Nearly 400% Compared To The Same Period Of Time Last Year

November 1, 2023 - WASHINGTON, D.C. – On Tuesday, U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV), co-founder and co-chair of the Senate Bipartisan Task Force for Combating Antisemitism, called on the U.S. Department of Education to take further action to address the dangerous rise of antisemitism on college and university campuses following the October 7 Hamas terrorist attack on Israel. In her letter, Senator Rosen stresses the legal obligation that schools have to protect students and urges the Department to take immediate and concrete steps to ensure the safety of Jewish Americans on campuses and hold colleges and universities accountable for keeping their students safe.

“I am deeply disturbed by the increase in antisemitic incidents, including hate speech and intimidation, on college and university campuses across the United States following Hamas’s brutal terrorist attack on Israel on October 7,” wrote Senator Rosen. “Schools have a legal responsibility to protect their students from discrimination, yet many university presidents and administrators have failed to forcefully condemn antisemitic speech and incidents on campuses in the wake of Hamas’s terrorist attack.”

“No student should have to fear for their safety or ability to study in a safe environment, regardless of their ethnicity, religion, or race,” Senator Rosen’s letter continued. “I, therefore, strongly urge you to take immediate action to keep Jewish students safe, including by forming a task force within the Department of Education dedicated to countering campus antisemitism and led by a designated senior official, issuing updated guidance to college and university administrators making clear the consequences of failing to ensure the safety of Jewish students, and convening a high-level meeting to develop actionable strategies.”

The text of Senator Rosen’s letter can be found here.

Senator Rosen has been a leader in fighting antisemitism and working to increase resources to protect communities. Senator Rosen helped launch the first-ever Senate Bipartisan Task Force for Combating Antisemitism. She led the push to create the first-ever national strategy to counter antisemitism released earlier this year. Last week, Senator Rosen also helped introduce a bipartisan resolution denouncing antisemitism at institutions of higher education, which passed the Senate unanimously. Earlier this month, Senator Rosen also successfully helped lead a push to call for increased funding for the Nonprofit Security Grant Program to protect synagogues and Jewish community centers from targeted violence, which was included in the President’s supplemental funding request to Congress.
Source: Senator Jacky Rosen