Lawmakers in New York Are Looking to Establish Monitors for Antisemitism on College Campuses

Rep. Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y., and Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., are advocating for increased federal intervention to combat antisemitism on college campuses in response to a rise in anti-Israel protests.

Torres and Lawler plan to introduce the College Oversight and Legal Updates Mandating Bias Investigations and Accountability (COLUMBIA) Act. This legislation would empower the Department of Education to appoint a third-party monitor to oversee and address antisemitic incidents at federally funded campuses, as reported by Jewish Insider.

The proposed act comes as anti-Israel demonstrations have intensified at Columbia University, resulting in multiple arrests and the cancellation of in-person classes. Similar protests have also erupted at other universities such as Emory University, the University of Southern California, and the University of Texas-Austin.

Schools that fail to comply with the monitoring requirements could risk losing their federal funding, according to Jewish Insider.

The appointed monitor would issue quarterly public reports on the progress made by schools in addressing antisemitism, as well as provide recommendations to lawmakers and officials. These monitors would be selected by the Department of Education and funded by the institutions under surveillance, Jewish Insider noted.

“Campus antisemitism is at an all-time high, and American universities are not equipped to address it independently,” Torres stated in a comment to Jewish Insider. “The federal government must intervene to prevent this unchecked behavior.”

Torres also expressed concerns that Jewish students feel neglected by university administrators.

The House is set to vote on the Antisemitism Awareness Act of 2023 next week, another initiative proposed by Lawler aimed at tackling the escalating presence of antisemitism on educational campuses.

A key component of the House bill is the incorporation of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of antisemitism by the Department of Education for enforcement in combating discrimination across universities nationwide.