As anti-Israel protesters return to campus with “renewed energy,” Rep. Rudy Yakym (R-IN) is taking action to combat the hostile environment many Jewish students face while trying to obtain an education .
Yakym sent a letter to 136 presidents of colleges and universities of schools that played host to anti-Israel encampments last semester to “press” them on what steps they are taking to ensure no encampments are established on their campuses in the fall.
“I met with students who testified to their personal experiences with these encampments,” Yakym wrote in the letter. “They feared for their safety and felt the need to hide their religious beliefs. They also felt completely abandoned by their institution’s leadership, who opted to allow the encampments to grow and negotiate with them.”
Studies and polls have shown that Jewish students feel unsafe on campus, and many are hiding their Jewish or Zionist identity from their peers following the rise of anti-Israel protests and skyrocketing reports of antisemitic incidents.
“As students return to campus for the 2024-2025 academic year,” Yakym continued, “we should not tolerate a repeat of the worst aspects of this past spring’s encampments. As such, I would like [to] understand your institution’s policies with respect to encampments, encampment participants, and student safety, as well as any changes therein.”
The freshman House Republican asked a series of eight questions in his letter, inquiring about rules on establishing encampments and wearing face coverings, what steps schools have taken to prevent and investigate incidents, and how the schools plan to ensure the safety of Jewish students. In addition, he asked about the schools’s policies on negotiating with encampment members and on individuals unaffiliated with the university participating in encampments.
He requested the university presidents respond to his letter by Sept. 26.
On the legislative side, Yakym introduced two bills to combat campus antisemitism in the spring. The PROTECT Jewish Students and Faculty Act , which was introduced in March, would require universities to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism as a condition of receiving Title IV federal funds for financial aid.
In May, he introduced the No Debt Forgiveness for SPOILED Students Act , which would prevent students and faculty expelled or fired due to their involvement in “pro-Hamas, anti-American protests on college campuses” from having their student loans forgiven.
Seven anti-Israel campus groups shared their plans with the Washington Examiner to demonstrate in the fall semester. One group said it does not “currently” have plans to set up an encampment because it felt its time, energy, and resources could be spent more efficiently elsewhere.
Other groups described the disciplinary challenges they faced for their part in last semester’s unrest but declared that “repression of pro-Palestine students only breeds resistance” and that crackdowns on protests only lead to “more violence.”
The groups vowed to continue their efforts until their demands are met.
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“The administration will have no peace until they divest all holdings from weapons manufacturers and the Zionist entity,” while Colorado State University’s chapter said it will “continue to engage in actions until Palestine is free and the genocide ends,” said the University of Chicago’s Students for Justice in Palestine chapter.
On the first day of classes at Columbia University, two protesters were arrested after an anti-Israel group vandalized a historic statue during a large demonstration. The University of Michigan's first week of the semester featured a protest that resulted in four being arrested, including three who were unaffiliated with the school. In addition, Jewish students were attacked with a glass bottle at the University of Pittsburgh last Friday, leaving two injured.
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