Open Letter to President Biden
Today, America is witnessing the most frightening increase in antisemitism since the end of World War II. Jews make up just 2 percent of the U.S. population, but are the target of more than half of all religious hate crimes. Jews have been murdered, beaten, and spat upon – especially Orthodox Jews – with almost complete silence from political leaders and the media.
It is now common not just for major celebrities and athletes to utter the most outrageous anti-Jewish slurs, but even members of Congress. Even worse, vile lies have now filtered down into mainstream culture, especially among young people.
Jewish students have been singled out on college campuses because they have Jewish names or because they defend Israel’s right to exist. Jewish enrollment at elite schools has plummeted. Jewish students are excluded from clubs and denied positions. This is not Germany in 1938; this is the United States in 2023.
Mr. President, only you can stop this rising tide of hatred against the Jewish people. You must use your office to address the nation and the world directly and say in the strongest language that hatred against Jews is dangerous for all people and it is un-American.
Seven years ago, I personally presented you with the Theodor Herzl Award, the highest honor of the World Jewish Congress. You have always been a friend of the Jewish people and I believe you remain so. But to stop this rising danger, I call on you to:
In a major high-profile address, tell the American people that antisemitism is no different than racism. Hate crimes against Jews will not be tolerated by the U.S. government, and will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
The goal of the BDS movement is the end of the Jewish state of Israel. Any person promoting BDS, including the extreme progressive members of your own party, should be called out. These people don’t represent your values, the values of the Democratic Party, or our country’s values.
In 2019, the Executive Order Combating Antisemitism reinforced Title VI protection for Jewish Americans. Educational institutions that allow discrimination against Jews are supposed to lose federal funding. As you develop your strategy on antisemitism, please order your Department of Education to thoroughly investigate widespread complaints of antisemitic discrimination and your Justice Department to expeditiously pursue the cases that arise from an institution’s failure to comply.
This is not just a Democratic or Republican issue. It does not come only from the left or from the right. And it is not just a problem coming from non-Jews. I have watched too many Jewish organizations and their leaders stay silent in the face of growing danger. In 1938, Jewish-Americans were also silent, afraid they would make matters worse for themselves by speaking out. We all know what happened. I had hoped that those days were long past, which is why I am writing this letter today. I will not be silent when Jews face hatred in America.
Mr. President, when you first went into politics in Delaware so many years ago, a man named Harry Zutz was one of the first to spot your potential and support you. I am told that you promised Mr. Zutz that you would always protect the Jewish people.
Given what we see happening all around us, I believe this is precisely the time for you to keep that promise.
Sincerely,