Washington (J.T.A.) — Education Secretary Miguel Cardona was preparing a presentation on combating anti-Semitism in schools and universities. The issue has been at the center of intense debate in recent weeks over pro-Palestinian encampments on campuses across the country.
But he had to submit it twice because at least five Jewish groups boycotted the first meeting because they didn't want to share a virtual room with progressive Jewish groups on Friday.
Representatives from the Jewish Federations of North America, the Anti-Defamation League, the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, the Orthodox Union, and the Center for Human Rights Under Brandeis Law joined a Zoom meeting scheduled for 10 a.m. minutes earlier. I left the room. It started as planned.
Participants learned through text messages that the Conference of Presidents was working to get people to leave the call after learning that several progressive groups would be participating in the call. Those groups included Bend the Ark, a social justice activist group; Truer, a rabbinic human rights organization. Nexus, a group that provides resources and opinion pieces on Israel and anti-Semitism. and the Diaspora Alliance, a group that fights anti-Semitism by working with minority communities whose leaders are harshly critical of Israel's actions.
“I was really surprised we didn't get to see them,” Bend the Ark CEO Jamie Beran said in an interview about the missing organization. He noted that many centrist and conservative groups have agreed to join the call, adding: “And we're happy to be with a group that takes student safety seriously and puts politics aside. Thank you,” he added.
Hillel International, an umbrella group for Jewish campuses, was also scheduled to participate, but did not participate, according to people invited to the call, but it was unclear whether Hillel was boycotting.
Cardona agreed to hold another call at 1 p.m. for groups that boycotted the first call. Approximately 20 groups participated in the first call.
The group that boycotted the first call refused to speak on the record with the Jewish Telegraphic Agency until the second call was completed. One official with the group said the Conference of Presidents arranged the call but was blindsided by the participation of progressive groups.
“It is not normal for a coalition to request a meeting and then find out that another group has also been invited,” said the official, who requested anonymity to speak candidly about the issue. Told the terms. sensitive issue.
Another factor is that many progressive groups oppose enacting the general and controversial definition of anti-Semitism (known by the abbreviation IHRA) into law. Anti-Semitism is thought to focus too much on criticism of Israel.
Nexus promotes an alternative definition that expands the scope for criticism of Israel.
“Increasing the number of groups means that each group has less time to speak, which reduces the feel of a real meeting. In contrast, the government just says what it says, and we have no chance to speak. Almost none,” said a boycott group official. “Additionally, there were concerns that the nature of the other groups that were participating would reduce homogeneity between the groups.”
The Ministry of Education did not respond to requests for comment.
Some people involved in the organizations that did participate, including those with good relationships with the boycotting groups, were stunned by their absences for what they viewed as minor objections. They noted that groups considered conservative, including the American Orthodox Agudath Israel, as well as moderates such as the American Jewish Committee, were in attendance. “It wasn't even left versus right. Only some organizations decided not to participate,” said one participant.
Also in attendance were liberal-leaning groups that collaborate with the mainstream, including the Reform Movement, the Conservative Movement, and the Jewish Council for Public Affairs.
In a last-minute battle for the President's Conference to remove people from the meeting, Brandeis Center President Kenneth Marcus logged on for a minute before logging off in chat, writing, “I have to leave.” According to two participants.
Mr. Cardona began the meeting by pointing out the diversity of opinions regarding the conference call. The complaint by department officials said the Office of Civil Rights is overwhelmed with requests to investigate civil rights violations at schools and universities, including allegations of anti-Semitism.
The ministry has previously emphasized that complaints to its office about alleged anti-Semitism on university campuses are a welcome response. An onslaught of complaints followed, many filed by Jewish organizations and advocates.including the Brandeis Center.
Katherine Ramon, assistant secretary in charge of the civil rights division, said staff are working on 50 cases at a time, and each case takes several months to process.
“Anyone who cares about the safety of Jews on campus needs to support more resources for OCR to really overcome the Title VI investigation backlog. “It is a central tool needed to protect the civil rights of our students and all students on campus,” Amy said, JCPA CEO Spitalnick said in an interview.
Kevin Rachlin, Nexus' Washington director, said Congressional Republicans, who are currently pledging to significantly increase oversight of universities as a way to protect Jewish students, also called for up to a 25% cut in funding to the Office of Civil Rights. He said that “They clearly don't like OCR. If they really wanted to combat anti-Semitism on campus right now, they would increase this funding,” he said.
The need to balance freedom of speech on campus with the rights of Jewish students has also been raised, with some Jewish students reporting being targeted and harassed by pro-Palestinian protesters. Some students are suing, Beran said.
“The group was really careful, saying we need to protect free speech and we need to protect students from harassment,” she said of the call participants.
Hours before the call, Cardona sent a “Dear Colleague” letter to university presidents condemning reports of anti-Semitic harassment on campus. “I am particularly concerned by the sharp rise in anti-Semitism targeting Jewish students on some university campuses,” he said.
