June 13, 2024 — Washington, DC
American Jewish Committee (AJC) CEO Ted Deutch today testified at the House Ways and Means Committee hearing “Crisis on Campus: Antisemitism, Radical Faculty, and the Failure of University Leadership.” Deutch previously served as a Member of Congress from Florida and was the Chair and Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East and was a founding co-chair of the House Bipartisan Task Force for Combating Antisemitism.
During his opening statement, Deutch said, “It should not come as a surprise that this school year shook to the core the Jewish community’s trust in institutions of higher learning. University leaders must use these summer months to confront this problem that risks permanently staining the reputations of our country’s top academic institutions – and they must disabuse themselves of the notion that everything will return to normal in the coming year. Accepting antisemitism as normal is what helped get us to this place. And the news from just the past few days confirms that the threats to the Jewish community are increasing and we know that colleges are not immune.”
Deutch pointed to AJC’s toolkit for university leadership which includes short, medium, and long-term initiatives and urged schools to update their codes of conduct and enforce their own rules; to include antisemitism education and training for their entire communities of students, faculty, and staff; return to centers of fact-based exchange; to ensure the physical safety of Jewish students; and for university presidents to voluntarily announce that they will open Title VI Compliance Offices, much like they have Title IX Offices.
Just two days ago, at AJC’s Global Forum, Deutch announced the creation of AJC’s Center for Education Advocacy, will work to transform educational spaces for Jewish students by preparing young Jews to be leaders in high school, college, and beyond; working with university presidents, trustees, and faculty as well as K-12 administrators to create academic environments where Jews and Zionism can thrive; and by empowering parents to advocate for their children and for the Jewish community.
Other witnesses included Shai Davidai, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Business, Columbia Business School; Dr. Jonathan Pidluzny, Ph. D., Director, Higher Education Reform, America First Policy Institute; Talia Dror, student, Cornell University; and Kenneth L. Marcus, Founder & Chairman, Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law.
AJC is the global advocacy organization for the Jewish people. With headquarters in New York, 25 regional offices across the United States, 15 overseas posts, as well as partnerships with 38 Jewish community organizations worldwide, AJC’s mission is to enhance the well-being of the Jewish people and Israel and to advance human rights and democratic values in the United States and around the world. For more, please visit www.ajc.org.
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