‘Day of Resistance’ prompts House GOP to demand protection for Jewish students

A group of House Republicans are demanding the Department of Education ensure universities are providing a safe environment for Jewish students amid a wave of anti-Israel student activism.

The letter, which was led by Rep. Tim Walberg (R-MI) and signed by 43 other Republican House members, comes days after the terrorist group Hamas launched a series of terrorist attacks on Israel. Israel has responded by launching a military incursion into the Gaza Strip, and to date the conflict has claimed the lives of 2,700 people, including 27 U.S. citizens.

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Following the attacks, a number of pro-Palestinian student groups released statements and planned protests condoning the attacks and denouncing Israel’s response. The organization Students for Justice in Palestine, which has chapters all over the country, announced a “Day of Resistance” Thursday on numerous college campuses, raising concerns about the safety of Jewish students.

“Organizations like the Students for Justice in Palestine have called for a ‘National Day of Resistance’ this Thursday, October 12, with demonstrations occurring on college campuses that could result in the creation of a hostile environment for Jewish students and acts of harassment against them,” the letter said.

The protests on college campuses have included claims that Israel has engaged in terrorism as well as memorializing dead Hamas members as martyrs.

At George Mason University, video shared by the Daily Signal on X, formerly known as Twitter, showed protesters wearing masks and chanting “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” a phrase commonly known to mean that Israel should not exist.

Another video showed pro-Palestine protesters chanting “smash the settler Zionist state.”

In their letter, the lawmakers said the statements by groups such as Students for Justice in Palestine “should be considered a modern day pogrom” and that the rallies were creating a hostile environment for Jewish students. The lawmakers urged the Department of Education to take action to ensure that Jewish students were not subject to harassment amid the violence in Israel.

“In May, the U.S. Department of Education launched its Antisemitism Awareness Campaign. An aspect of the Awareness Campaign was the promise to visit college campuses to learn more about antisemitism,” the letter said. “However, as demonstrated by the rhetoric and recent actions of students across the country, antisemitic beliefs on college campuses are rampant and must not go unchallenged.”

The lawmakers said the department should prioritize visits to universities where there had been instances of “student support for terrorism.”

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“In light of developing events, we encourage the Department to engage immediately with colleges and universities on their obligations to take prompt and appropriate action to respond to harassment that creates a hostile environment for Jewish students,” they wrote. “This should include placing those universities that have instances of student support for terrorism at the top of the list of universities to visit. Please immediately inform us of any actions that have been a part of the Antisemitism Awareness Campaign, including any prior or planned campus visits.”

The Washington Examiner reached out to the Department of Education for comment.