10 leading US Jewish groups denounce Trump administration’s campus crackdown
Representatives of Reform, Conservative and Reconstructionist movements say federal effort ‘only makes us less safe’
Luke Tress is The Times of Israel's New York correspondent.
NEW YORK — Ten US Jewish groups, including representatives from the Reform, Conservative and Reconstructionist movements, on Tuesday denounced the Trump administration’s crackdown on non-citizen activists and universities.
The Jewish organizations said the federal actions threaten Jews’ safety, despite the administration’s claim that the effort is in response to antisemitism.
“These actions do not make Jews — or any community — safer. Rather, they only make us less safe,” the joint statement said.
Signatories included the Union for Reform Judaism, the Central Conference of American Rabbis, the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, the National Council of Jewish Women, the American Conference of Cantors, HIAS, the Conservative movement’s Rabbinical Assembly, the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, and the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association.
A swath of American Jewry has been alarmed by President Donald Trump’s crackdown, citing perceived threats to due process and free speech while acknowledging that action is needed to combat rampant antisemitism. The statement released Tuesday appeared to be the most forceful denunciation so far of the federal effort by mainstream Jewish groups.
The statement recognized the need to combat antisemitism, saying that Jews were being held accountable for Israeli actions and that Jewish Americans were being ejected from classrooms and communities for their heritage and connection to Israel. Some have celebrated the murder of Jews and spread dangerous antisemitic tropes in politics and on social media, the statement said.
The Jewish groups said that, amid those threats, “escalating federal actions have used the guise of fighting antisemitism” to deny students due process and threaten academic research.
“There should be no doubt that antisemitism is rising — visible, chilling, and increasingly normalized in our public discourse, politics, and institutions. It requires urgent and consistent action by our nation’s political, academic, religious, and civic leaders,” the statement said.
“At the same time, we firmly reject the false choice between confronting antisemitism and upholding democracy. Our safety as Jews has always been tied to the rule of law, to the safety of others, to the strength of civil society, and to the protection of rights and liberties for all.”
“We reject any policies or actions that foment or take advantage of antisemitism and pit communities against one another; and we unequivocally condemn the exploitation of our community’s real concerns about antisemitism to undermine democratic norms and rights,” the statement said. “It is both possible and necessary to fight antisemitism — on campus, in our communities, and across the country — without abandoning the democratic values that have allowed Jews, and so many other vulnerable minorities, to thrive.”
The Trump administration has revoked the visas of hundreds of non-citizen students around the US. Other activists have been detained for deportation or have fled the country. Many of the administration’s efforts to crack down on the activists have been opaque, raising alarms from political leaders and civil rights groups.
The administration’s most recent moves included slashing more than $2 billion in grants to Harvard after the university defied the administration’s demands, and the detention of a Columbia University activist on Monday.
Campus protests since the October 7 Hamas invasion of Israel have seen students harass their Jewish peers, take over buildings, cause property damage, and clash with police. Protest groups have backed violence against “Zionists,” voiced support for the Hamas attack and expressed outright support for terrorism. Repeated studies have found spiking antisemitism across the US in recent years, especially since October 7.
Previous statements from Jewish groups have also condemned the Trump administration’s crackdown. Last week, 27 Jewish groups filed legal support for an anti-Israel student from Tufts University in Massachusetts who was detained by the government. The statement decried antisemitism, commended efforts to tackle anti-Jewish discrimination, and acknowledged that some of the signers disagreed with the student’s statements but argued that the administration’s policies constitute a threat.
Last month, liberal Jewish groups denounced the Trump administration’s move to dismantle the Department of Education.
Not all Jewish groups are conflicted about the effort, though. The Zionist Organization of America on Tuesday backed Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio for their efforts to deport Columbia University anti-Israel protest leader Mahmoud Khalil.
“As a foreigner non-citizen, Mahmoud Khalil was given an opportunity to come and study in the United States. This is a privilege afforded to some but by no means is a ‘right,’ and it does not come with the rights afforded to US Citizens nor did his visa come with the rights to attack and harass Jewish students and New Yorkers at large,” ZOA President Morton Klein said in a statement.
“Khalil promoted hostility toward Jewish students – US citizens – and violated their rights. Through his actions, Khalil has abdicated the privilege afforded to him of remaining in the US.”
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