Moves by the Trump administration to address rampant antisemitism across American college campuses have finally provided Jews with something the Biden-Harris White House so frustratingly failed to deliver — a sense that Washington is taking this crisis seriously.
The appointment of veteran civil rights lawyer Leo Terrell to lead the Department of Justice’s Task Force to Combat Antisemitism; the freezing of $400 million in federal funds for Columbia University; demands to protect Jewish college students by new Department of Education Secretary Linda McMahon; and the controversial arrest and possible deportation of anti-Israel activist Mahmoud Khalil all point to Trump’s commitment to Jewish security by prosecutorial procedure and the force of law.
Many American Jews have welcomed Trump’s hardline approach, and with good reason. According to a January NYPD report, Jews were targeted in almost 350 hate crime incidents in New York City last year — more than all other minorities combined. (By comparison, there were just 43 reported incidents of Islamophobia over the same time period).
Nationally, antisemitic incidents surged over 200% in the year following Hamas’ invasion of southern Israel in October 2023, according to the Anti-Defamation League.
As certain Jewish groups applaud the Trump crackdown, civil liberty organizations are demanding Khalil’s release and alleging the green card-holder and legal permanent US resident has been detained “unconstitutionally.”
But beyond the current fracas, the White House’s anti-antisemitism push provides a far more meaningful opportunity in this current moment of fear and menace: The opportunity for Jews — both in the US and abroad — to more fully (and finally) stand up and advocate for their own safety.
Indeed, while the post-Oct. 7 period has seen the rise of “accidental activists” committed to tackling antisemitism, many Jews have remained at the sidelines: silent, scared, anxious and uncertain. Others, such as author Peter Beinart and filmmaker Jonathan Glazer, have actually used their public profiles to lash out against Israel — appearing to blame the Jewish nation as the cause of the current antisemitism emergency.
At a moment when Jewish unity has never been needed more, many Jews are fueling divisions exploited by groups who chant for “intifada” and block Jewish college kids from attending classes.
This is not entirely surprising. Few minorities have been more supportive of or invested in left-leading ideologies such as DEI and other racial preference programs than American Jews. Indeed, during the height of the #BlackLivesMatter protests in August 2020, more than 600 Jewish groups signed an open letter published in The New York Times supporting the pro-black social justice movement. And they did so despite the baffling embrace by BLM leadership of anti-Zionist rhetoric in its seminal 2016 manifesto, which declared Israel an “apartheid state” and accused it of “genocide.”
Meanwhile, on college campuses, DEI leaders such as former University of Michigan administrator Rachel Dawson have allegedly framed Jewish students as “wealthy and privileged,” with little need for the institutional support her office provides to most other minority groups.
The result: Jews have been drowned out by an over-reaching identity politics industry that has profited from their philanthropy but failed to stand up for them in return.
Indeed, even during the height of the controversy surrounding author Ta-Nehisi Coates’ recent book, “The Message,” many Jews privately bemoaned its antisemitic tropes, but told me they were too scared of being “canceled” or called “racist” to publicly decry his writing.
Much of this fear is tied to activist judicial systems that have failed to prosecute anti-Jewish and anti-Israel agitators. Nearly all of the Columbia University students arrested during last year’s encampments, for instance, were allowed to return to their classrooms, and nearly all saw their charges dropped by Manhattan prosecutors. This is the type of impunity and lack of accountability the new Trump efforts aim to reverse — along with the silencing and intimidation that have come along with it.
While the fate of Khalil remains uncertain, the White House has made clear the Biden-Harris-era antisemitic tide must be reined in. And they’re providing the muscle to make it happen. But the White House can only do so much; ultimately Jews themselves must demand their needs are heard — their safety guaranteed — just like the other minority groups they’ve championed for so vocally.
There is no more potent a weapon for Hamas and its global band of sycophants and enablers than Jewish silence. Which is why the time for Jewish timidity is over. Love Trump or hate him, if he can commit to defending Jews globally, Jews — even along the sidelines — certainly must too.
dkaufman@nypost.com
