Root Out Campus Antisemitism

Political leaders from President Biden to Gov. Hochul to Mayor Adams have rightly deplored the sudden spike in antisemitism, especially on campus. Yet the crisis calls for more than words and gestures: America needs a serious crackdown on this cancer.

Antisemitic threats are “reaching historic levels,” FBI chief Christopher Wray testified Tuesday. Jews, just 2.4% of the population, “account for something like 60% of all religious-faith hate crimes.”

Antisemitic protests have broken out in major cities; Jewish students endure outright physical threats. At Columbia, more than 100 professors defended students who celebrated Hamas’ massacre of Jews.

Biden vowed to “combat antisemitism at every single turn.” Hochul blasted a Cornell prof who praised Hamas’ butchery as “exhilarating.” Hate crimes “will be prosecuted.”

Yet their ideas fall short. E.g., Team Biden announced Monday that officials will meet with Jewish groups and hold talks with Jewish students. Huh? Jews aren’t the problem.

Hochul offers $50 million in grants for law enforcement to fight hate crimes and will “convene community circles to bring New Yorkers together.” Community circles?

No: We need real consequences for institutions that tolerate and foster the targeting of Jews. In New York, public and private universities get billions from the state and federal governments. How about cutting back on funding as antisemitism rises on campus?

Yes, respect free-speech rights. But actions must bring consequences: Will Harvard expel the Harvard Law Review chief caught on video assaulting a Jewish student.

Address how leftist, antisemitic professors fuel such hatred. How did Columbia hire 100?

Colleges need change at the top — new presidents, deans and even board members. Political leaders — and alumni donors — have great sway over these institutions. To stamp out this scourge, they’ve got plenty of tools at their disposal.