Herzog urges US university heads to crack down on rampant antisemitism on campus

President Isaac Herzog pens an open letter addressing the presidents of American universities and calling on them to take action to protect their Jewish students, amid an uptick in antisemitic incidents since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war.

“I hear of Jewish students harassed at Harvard University. A Jewish student assaulted at Tulane, Jewish students locked in a library at the Cooper Union as a mob shouts outside, signs accusing Israel of genocide, swastikas painted on dorm-room doors, hateful and intimidating demonstrations – too many examples to list,” Herzog writes in the open letter.

“All of this is happening not on the fringes of society but in the very temples of scholarship, in halls meant to be beacons of humanism, progress and rigorous inquiry. And it is happening not in Europe a century ago, but in the United States in 2023,” the president laments.

“Debate is welcome on any topic, including Israel’s actions. This goes without saying. As America has learned in its own wars, the trial of fighting heartless terrorists who hide among civilians is agonizing and offers no easy choices. But the events on campus are not debate but a defilement of the university and its principles. How can anyone endorsing, excusing, or glorifying the Hamas atrocities have a place in any college, or in the civilized world?”

“Moral leadership is vitally important at this fraught moment. It would be of great consequence for you, the presidents, to condemn the barbarous acts of October 7 publicly and unequivocally. Students and faculty, I believe, also need a clear voice saying that free speech is of the highest value, but speech promoting violence against individuals or groups and calls for the elimination of a whole country, Israel, are unacceptable on campus and should not be tolerated,” Herzog adds.