Senator Joni Ernst, a Republican from Iowa, has called on the Department of Education to strengthen protections for Jewish students on college campuses across the United States.
In a letter sent on Thursday, Ernst expressed her concern about the rise of antisemitism and questioned the department's enforcement of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination based on race, color, or national origin in federally funded programs and activities.
Ernst's letter comes in the wake of a series of pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses following a terrorist attack by Hamas in Israel. The attack, which occurred on October 7 and resulted in the deaths of 1,400 people and the injury of thousands more, has sparked a wave of demonstrations in support of Hamas. Ernst condemned these events, stating, "These events attempted to justify the recent mass murder of Jews the most in a single day since the Holocaust."
The senator also highlighted several incidents involving Jewish students, including a student's dorm room door being set on fire. She cited examples such as a professor at Stanford University encouraging Jewish students to stand alone in a corner as an "academic" exercise to demonstrate how Israel treats Palestinians, and a professor at the University of California Davis who wrote a social media post seemingly calling for the murder of Zionist journalists and their children.
Ernst's letter requested a briefing from the Department of Education by November 9, 2023, to discuss the department's strategy for addressing the escalating antisemitism in educational institutions and to provide data on antisemitic-related complaints to the Office of Civil Rights. The letter also sought clarification on whether the Office of Civil Rights had initiated any compliance reviews or directed investigations in response to complaints of antisemitic harassment.
Senator Bill Cassidy, a Republican from Louisiana and co-sponsor of the letter, expressed his support, stating, "The threats and violence against Jewish and Israeli students on college campuses is despicable. The Biden Department of Education needs to fulfill their legal responsibility to ensure federally funded colleges are providing a safe learning environment free of antisemitism and violence."
The letter was signed by several other Republican senators, including Jim Risch of Ohio, Ted Cruz of Texas, Tim Scott of South Carolina, Chuck Grassley of Iowa, Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia, Roger Wicker of Mississippi, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Mike Crapo of Idaho, Ted Budd of North Carolina, John Cornyn of Texas, Kevin Cramer of North Dakota, Katie Britt of Alabama, and Deb Fischer of Nebraska.
This call for action comes after Maryland Democrat Senator Chris Van Hollen blocked a resolution introduced by Senator Josh Hawley, a Republican from Missouri, to condemn antisemitism on college campuses. Hawley has also requested that the Department of Justice investigate whether pro-Palestinian student groups involved in protests have any financial ties to Hamas.
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