The Biden administration has announced to tighten cybersecurity to combat rising antisemitic threats on US college campuses on Monday.
The Departments of Justice and Homeland Security would collaborate with campus law enforcement to trace antisemitic threats and provide federal resources to schools.
Biden Combats Rising Antisemitism on US Campuses
According to NBC News, the White House has secured dozens of cybersecurity and protective security experts at DHS to safeguard and navigate antisemitic acts in schools.
DHS would focus on assessing the recent alarming antisemitic online threats. Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff and Education Secretary Miguel Cardona would also meet with Jewish communities to discuss and provide solutions to the rising antisemitism at colleges.
The White House has reported that the Education Department's Office for Civil Rights has updated its complaint form. The administration would also update Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to specifically state that this law prohibits certain forms of Antisemitism and Islamophobia.
Cardona and White House domestic policy adviser Neera Tanden plan to visit schools and hold discussions with the Jewish students. Recently, the Education Department has visited schools in San Francisco, St. Louis, and Maine to research antisemitism at schools.
The White House hosted a meeting with Biden and Muslim leaders last week after several days of Hamas attacks. The Biden administration has increased its outreach to Muslim and Arab Americans who suffered from hate crimes.
White House spokesman Andrew Bates said that antisemitism "is the opposite of what we stand for as a country, and they must be forcefully condemned by all Americans who, like President Biden, believe in human dignity."
An administration official said they will continue to inform communities to be free from such discrimination and how to file complaints as part of the administration's new plan.
Antisemitic Threats on US Campuses
Since the Hamas terrorist attacks in Israel on October 7, there has been an increasing pattern of antisemitic messages on college campuses.
George Washington University in Washington, DC, suffered from anti-Israel messages as the messages were projected onto their building. The incident followed an intense pro-Palestinian rally at Cooper Union College in New York.
The incident at Cornell University followed tensions and threats of violence, wherein an online forum received hate messages that scared Jewish students to walk on campuses.
Last Wednesday, more than 100 colleges and universities nationwide had prepared walkouts in support of the Palestinian people, as reported by NBC News.
Anti-Defamation League, an organization that fights antisemitism and extremism, has reported that antisemitic incidents in the US increased to 388%.
Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt commended the White House's new plan to combat antisemitism on college campuses and highlighted that the movement was significant and essential amid the Israel-Hamas war.
Furthermore, Greenblatt said in an interview with CNN's Kasie Hunt on "State of the Race" that Biden has a firm stand on the issue of antisemitism. He said that the government should continue protecting the Jewish kids.
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