We would have hoped that Congressional Democrats would have thought longer and harder before letting their ideological “anti-Trumpism” get in the way of their supporting President Trump’s common-sense, “power of the purse” route of fighting antisemitism. It is not only that there are increasing signs that the schools are getting the President’s message and finally, actually doing something about the dangers their Jewish students face on campus.
It is also because the issue is a fraught one for the Jewish community and must be handled with great skill and subtlety by opponents of the Trump approach. Indeed, as we see it, we Jews, as the intended beneficiaries of the leveraging of federal funding, are now seen as enemies of free speech, academic freedom, and medical research.
Surely, those members of Congress who routinely tout their pro-Jewish credentials should have been expected to resist letting their animus toward Trump get the better of them and to emphasize that the controversy was about incentivizing university administrators to meet their obligations to provide a safe place for threatened Jewish students while carrying out their other duties.
Yet, all we got from Congressman Jerry Nadler, the most senior Jewish member of the House of Representatives was hyperbole, vituperation and irrelevancy. Thus, in a statement last week, Nadler said this:
I strongly condemn President Trump’s latest attacks on higher education cloaked under the guise of fighting anti-Semitism. Once again, the President is weaponizing the real pain American Jews face to advance his desire to wield control over the truth-seeking academic institutions that stand as a bulwark against authoritarianism.
Withholding funding from Columbia and… Harvard will not make Jewish students safer. Cutting funding to programs that work to cure cancer and make other groundbreaking discoveries will not make Jewish students safer. Trump’s [plan] is part of a larger effort to silence universities and intimidate those who challenge the MAGA agenda. It is a dangerous and politically motivated move that risks stifling free thought and academic inquiry….
Let’s also not forget that Trump’s record is stained by praise for neo-Nazis, Holocaust denier, and white nationalists – groups that openly express their disdain for the Jewish people.
We cannot allow Trump’s authoritarian tactics to prevail – this is not the America we want to live in, nor is it the America we need.
I call on our nation’s universities to reject President Trump’s demands and to fight back against these hostile acts. If necessary, these issues must be litigated in federal court to put an end to the illegal and unconstitutional actions taken by the Trump Administration.
Right out of the anti-Trump playbook!
So, let’s make sure we keep our eyes on the prize. For the first time ever, we have a pathway to make meaningful progress in addressing antisemitism on our college and university campuses and we should not permit those with their own political agendas to muddy the waters. Protecting Jewish students from illegal harassment, free speech, academic freedom, and funding for medical research are not mutually exclusive.
And we should not listen to those who say they are.
