Divided Response to Campus Antisemitism

The Trump administration has put antisemitism on college campuses in the spotlight. But lawmakers appear divided on a concrete clear path forward to protect Jewish students.

During a House hearing, lawmakers questioned university leaders about antisemitism and protests on their campuses over the war in Gaza.

A growing concern is that antisemitism is on the rise in the U.S., with a 5% increase from 2023 to 2024 according to the Anti-Defamation League. One in five antisemitic incidents took place on college campuses last year.

The Trump administration has highlighted this as one reason it's targeting universities and pulling federal funding.

“Republicans have called this hearing on antisemitism, but they've cut back our ability to fight hate crimes, cut back our ability to protect synagogues, cut back our ability to protect students from discrimination,” said Texas Rep. Greg Casar.

The Trump administration's new budget proposal includes major cuts to the Office of Civil Rights, which investigates discrimination on campuses. American Council on Education President Ted Mitchell calls this ironic, saying that if there's no one to answer the phone at the Office of Civil Rights, complaints of antisemitism will clog the system.