Trump Intensifies Efforts Against Antisemitism on College Campuses

The pace and extent of initiatives from Donald Trump’s administration are truly striking.

On Friday, the 46th day of his presidency, among several noteworthy announcements, he expressed he was “strongly considering” imposing sanctions and tariffs on Russia until it agrees to a peace accord regarding Ukraine.

Additionally, he proclaimed that the United States would provide a fast track to citizenship for South African farmers whose government is threatening to seize their land.

Trump further disclosed that he had reached out to the Iranian government with proposals to negotiate a deal aimed at preventing Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.

Other remarks included discussions on the fluctuating tariff programs and a stern warning to Hamas to release all hostages “or there would be serious repercussions.”

While all these matters are of significant importance, I believe the most crucial announcement on Friday does not pertain to any of the aforementioned topics.

The administration revealed it was canceling $400 million in federal grants and contracts awarded to Columbia University due to its inadequate response to widespread antisemitism on its Manhattan campus.

This decision came just one day after the State Department announced it had revoked the first visa of a foreign student tied to “Hamas-supporting disruptions.”

While neither the student nor the university was named, it’s certain these events are sending tremors through colleges and universities nationwide — and that is precisely the intention.

These actions target campus radicals, including professors, who support the terrorist organization and the negligent university administrators who have done little to curb such behavior.

Reports suggest that grant cancellations for other institutions will be forthcoming, as officials from the Department of Education have stated that they are investigating five universities that have experienced repeated incidents of antisemitic harassment.

Columbia was among those five, alongside Northwestern University, Portland State University, the University of California, Berkeley, and the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities.

“Educational institutions must adhere to all federal antidiscrimination regulations to receive federal funding,” Education Secretary Linda McMahon remarked on Friday.

“Columbia has neglected that duty to Jewish students on its campus.”

There are indications that Yale, another Ivy League institution, could also be scrutinized.

Yale received a “D” in a recent Anti-Defamation League report card for distributing antisemitic flyers on campus and for an anti-Israel rally where protesters chanted, “Free our prisoners, free them all, Zionism must fall.”

Potential Penalty Expansion

The action against Columbia comes on the heels of officials citing “a surge of antisemitism on American campuses following the Hamas massacre of Israeli civilians on October 7, 2023.”

They emphasized that the Civil Rights Act safeguards individuals against discrimination based on national origin, extending protection to educational institutions receiving federal funding.

McMahon hinted that penalties for Columbia might increase.

Overall, the university, a major research entity, has approximately $5 billion in federal commitments over several years, with around a quarter of its annual budget reportedly sourced from the federal government.

Columbia, my alma mater, has only itself to blame for its situation.

Like many elite institutions, it seemingly believed it could evade government penalties despite its tolerance of misconduct.

The inaction of Democrats and the Biden administration against antisemitism likely contributed to that misplaced confidence.

Clearly, the best and brightest have forgotten that elections yield consequences.

Recall it was in December 2023 that House Republicans famously interrogated the presidents of Harvard, Penn, and MIT regarding their failures to protect Jewish students from antisemitic threats on their campuses.

Though Democrats typically remained silent or even praised them, the presidents of Harvard and Penn were subsequently ousted largely due to alumni withholding donations.

Yet here we are, 15 months later, and open support for Hamas, as well as calls to eliminate Israel, continue unabated.

Indeed, such abhorrent activities appear to be increasing both in frequency and on various campuses.

At Barnard College, affiliated with Columbia, radicals have occupied buildings on two separate occasions and disrupted classes, with one incident occurring just last week.

If history is any guide, as the weather warms, the number and severity of campus disturbances are set to escalate sharply.

Trump’s initiatives, which build on the 2023 GOP hearings, offer a much-needed counter to the indifferent stance of the Biden administration.

By remaining passive amidst the rising domestic support for Hamas terrorists who brutalized Israeli civilians, including children, and treated many hostages atrociously, the former president seemingly condoned the campus turmoil.

Indeed, some of his administration’s public critiques of Israel’s military actions in Gaza closely mirrored those made by Hamas and domestic radicals.

The outcome was an implicit federal endorsement of the harassment faced by Jewish students and widespread manifestations of antisemitism.

The overt anti-Jewish sentiment, which continues to fuel protests and disturbances in New York and other cities, is unlike anything this country has witnessed since the Holocaust.

In most instances, it does not revolve around issues of free speech.

Most Pro-Israel President

History demonstrates that if left unchecked, this plague will proliferate and incite further violence, which is why the new administration merits accolades for its swift and robust measures to contain it.

Trump, often recognized as the most pro-Israel president ever, is extending the same concern for Jewish safety within America.

It is noteworthy that he proposed Rep. Elise Stefanik, a New York Republican who effectively challenged the attempts made by the Penn and Harvard presidents to justify their inaction through claims of free speech, as America’s ambassador to the United Nations, where anti-Jewish sentiment is ingrained in its fabric.

“The antisemites at the United Nations better prepare themselves because I am coming,” Stefanik proclaimed in a recent address.

“The university presidents were merely a practice round.”

The new campus crackdown must also prioritize legal actions.

Despite radicals establishing makeshift camps, intimidating their peers, and illegally entering university facilities, few, if any, students faced suspension or expulsion.

Even more troubling, overly lenient prosecutors in New York and elsewhere have dismissed most charges.

At some juncture, Trump might have to contemplate whether the Department of Justice should assume control over cases involving transgressions of federal laws.

Additionally, the cancellation of visas for any foreign student involved should continue.

Nevertheless, such measures do not absolve the universities of their responsibility to uphold non-discriminatory practices, which they have evidently violated by failing to confront the supporters of terrorism and ensuring a safe environment for Jewish students.

In response, Columbia has now committed “to collaborate with the federal government,” according to a statement released on Friday.

It asserts that it is “dedicated to fighting antisemitism and ensuring the safety and wellbeing of our students, faculty, and staff.”

However, this was Columbia’s obligation from the outset, and the fact that officials only appear to acknowledge it after facing repercussions highlights the crucial nature of Trump reclaiming taxpayer funds.

Who will be next on the list?