A coalition of Jewish groups is criticizing the Trump administration for actions it has taken at U.S. universities, saying the stripping of student visas and cutting of grant funding creates a “false choice between confronting antisemitism and upholding democracy.”
A number of Jewish groups in recent weeks have argued that combating the real problem of antisemitism cannot come at the expense of civil rights.
“In recent weeks, escalating federal actions have used the guise of fighting antisemitism to justify stripping students of due process rights when they face arrest and/or deportation, as well as to threaten billions in academic research and education funding. Students have been arrested at home and on the street with no transparency as to why they are being held or deported, and in certain cases with the implication that they are being punished for their constitutionally-protected speech,” the groups wrote in a join statement spearheaded by the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, a nonpartisan civil rights group.
“Universities have an obligation to protect Jewish students, and the federal government has an important role to play in that effort; however, sweeping draconian funding cuts will weaken the free academic inquiry that strengthens democracy and society, rather than productively counter antisemitism on campus. These actions do not make Jews — or any community — safer. Rather, they only make us less safe.”
The Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, National Council of Jewish Women, American Conference of Cantors, Central Conference of American Rabbis, HIAS, Rabbinical Assembly, Reconstructing Judaism, Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association and the Union for Reform Judaism all signed on to the statement.
The Trump administration has also stripped more than 300 student visas and arrested some who have participated in protests of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. While the administration has asserted those arrested have supported Hamas, critics say lawful First Amendment protests have been mischaracterized as part of a broader crackdown on free speech.
The statement comes the day after the Trump administration said it would withhold more than $2 billion in grant funding for Harvard University after demanding the university change numerous policies, including around protesting and diversity, equity and inclusion programs, to keep federal funding.
Harvard refused.
“No government — regardless of which party is in power — should dictate what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire, and which areas of study and inquiry they can pursue,” Harvard President Alan Garber said in his message.
Fighting antisemitism on campus “will not be achieved by assertions of power, unmoored from the law, to control teaching and learning at Harvard and to dictate how we operate. The work of addressing our shortcomings, fulfilling our commitments, and embodying our values is ours to define and undertake as a community,” he said.
Columbia University, also accused by the administration of failing to protect its students from antisemitism, last month acquiesced to similar demands from the administration, but it has yet to see the return of some $400 million in frozen federal funding.
Meanwhile, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced it would begin to screen the social media accounts of applicants for immigration benefits for antisemitic content.
The Jewish Council for Public Affairs has asked DHS for details about how it plans to do so.
“Make no mistake: the threat of antisemitism is real and rising in the United States and around the globe,” the group’s CEO, Amy Spitalnick, wrote in a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
“At the same time, this new policy raises significant questions as to how it will be applied — particularly as many in the Jewish community have already expressed deep concerns about how our legitimate fears of antisemitism are being used as the pretext to advance policies that undermine rights such as due process and our core democratic norms and values, which ultimately threatens the safety of Jews and all communities.”
