The White House: A “worrying” increase in incidents against Jews in American schools and universities | News

Today, Monday, the White House announced its initiatives to confront what it described as a “worrying increase in anti-Semitic incidents in schools and universities” since October 7.

A senior American official said that a meeting will be held today with representatives of Jewish organizations, which will be attended by Education Minister Miguel Cardona and Doug Emhoff, the husband of Vice President Kamala Harris.

The Minister of Education is also scheduled to go to Cornell University this week to participate in a meeting with Jewish students.

The official confirmed that the Ministries of Justice and Security are maintaining direct contact with the universities.

The White House did not provide accurate numbers about the increase in anti-Semitic incidents in schools and universities since the “Al-Aqsa Flood” attack against Israel and the outbreak of the war on Gaza.

Cornell University (in New York State) announced – yesterday, Sunday – that police were investigating “anti-Semitic threats” posted online against a Jewish center on the university’s campus.

The US administration confirmed that it has facilitated procedures that allow filing complaints of discrimination in American universities – for people who are exposed, for example, to anti-Muslim or anti-Semitic insults.

At Harvard, Stanford, and New York universities, the debate was so heated that disagreements between students, professors, and administrative officials caused a storm on social networks, and in political and media circles, even costing some job offers, and causing others to fear for their safety.

The Israeli war on Gaza caused great tension in the prestigious American universities. Such as: Harvard, where the debate heated up after a statement by groups holding “the Israeli regime fully responsible for the violence” and stressing that the “Al-Aqsa Flood” was a process that “did not come out of nowhere.”

Harvard Student Coalition

In the first days of the war, a coalition of 34 student organizations at Harvard University issued a statement in support of the Palestinians, and called for a coordinated pause to mourn the lives lost, according to a report Previously for Al Jazeera Net.

The students said in a joint statement, “The apartheid regime, that is, the Israeli regime, is the only culprit, and only it is to blame.”

On the other hand, Harvard University issued a statement to contain the division, saying that it “regrets the consequences of the ongoing war between Israel and Palestine, and the death and destruction it has caused, causing emotional losses at the level of the university community – as well -, hoping to take humanitarian steps to resolve the divisions, instead of amplifying them.”

The Harvard organizations’ letter sparked a severe attack on them, and demands for the university to take clear action that sided with Israel. Prominent Harvard alumni denounced the pro-Palestinian statement and urged the university to take action against the signatories.