Biden education secretary pressed on defunding universities with rampant antisemitism
Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said Tuesday "it's not acceptable" for Jewish students to face antisemitism on college campuses, saying "we need to do better."
Several Jewish organizations pulled out of a high-level meeting with the Department of Education about antisemitism on campuses on Friday morning after finding out far-left groups were added at the last minute, Fox News Digital has confirmed.
The groups, which "either did not participate in or dropped off the call," the Jewish Insider reported, included the Anti-Defamation League, the Jewish Federations of North America, Hillel International, the Orthodox Union, the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, and the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations.
The decision was made shortly before the 10 a.m. meeting between the Jewish groups and Education Secretary Miguel Cardona, White House Domestic Policy Adviser Neera Tanden and other senior officials.
According to Jewish Insider, government officials sent out a list of participating organizations only 20 minutes prior to the meeting, which "included a number of left-wing groups not usually included in White House convenings," prompting the last-minute withdrawal. The morning meeting with the Department of Education continued as scheduled, but a separate meeting for the objecting organizations took place Friday afternoon.
Miguel Cardona, US education secretary, speaks to members of the media following a Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies hearing in Washington, DC, US, on Tuesday, April 30, 2024. The US Education Department has an open investigation into antisemitism and student safety on Columbia's campus, Cardona told senators on Tuesday. (Tierney L. Cross/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
According to Jewish Insider, the mainstream Jewish organizations took particular issue with the invitation of the Diaspora Alliance, which is "closely aligned with the far-left Jewish activist group IfNotNow."
The group IfNotNow is an anti-Israel Jewish organization that has staged several protests to block highways. Its website accuses Israel of having an "apartheid system" and states that the Jewish nation "massacres Palestinians in Gaza."
IfNotNow also released a letter of support for the anti-Israel agitators at Columbia University and other New York colleges this week, calling them, "brave students [who] have spoken up in solidarity with Palestinians as they face a genocide in which our country and their universities are complicit."
"The groups who had requested the meeting found out at the last minute that the meeting was not going to proceed as planned," one source told Jewish Insider.
The meeting was originally set up last Friday when the groups – including the National Council of Jewish Women and the conservative Rabbinical Assembly – emailed Cardona seeking an audience with him to find ways to protect Jewish students amid the ongoing anti-Israel demonstrations on American college campuses.
Education Secretary Miguel Cardona (Getty Images)
The Jewish organizations wanted to "discuss concrete actions the Department can take to support the restoration of order, compliance with civil rights laws and the protection of Jewish students," the email obtained by Jewish Insider stated.
The email also voiced their complaints that the Department had not taken actions proposed by these groups to protect students, adding, "and now we confront the current crisis."
Jewish Insider reported, "Representatives of the groups that pulled out were frustrated to see the inclusion of some progressive organizations that oppose the use of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism, including T’ruah, the Nexus Leadership Project and Bend the Arc."
The IHRA’s definition of antisemitism was also the basis for the Antisemitism Awareness Act, which was recently passed overwhelmingly in the U.S. House of Representatives in order to crack down on antisemitism on campuses.
However, many lawmakers and commentators have criticized the bill, claiming that basing anti-discrimination laws on the IHRA’s definition would result in crackdowns on free speech in America.
A joint statement was released by the Anti-Defamation League, the Jewish Federations of North America, Hillel International, the Orthodox Union, the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations and the National Council of Jewish Women about the separate afternoon meeting.
The groups said, "We directly raised our urgent concerns surrounding the current climate of antisemitism on campus and the lack thus far of effective response. In this moment of crisis, we asked the Department to be specific in their follow up and implementation of this week’s clear statement made by President Biden and to provide universities with a clear path to effective enforcement of that statement. By sharing specific recommendations, we urged the Administration to do more to protect Jewish students and the broader student community from intimidation, harassment, and violence."
The White House did not immediately reply to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
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