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🇮🇱 Israel /Crime & Justice

US Justice official calls antisemitism a ‘national crisis’

From Jerusalem Post · () English

Translated from English and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

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  • Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon called rising antisemitism in the United States a national crisis at an Israeli-American Council gala in San Diego.
  • She outlined Justice Department lawsuits, hate-crime prosecutions and settlements involving universities, businesses and religious institutions.
  • Dhillon said more than 100 colleges and professional schools remain under investigation, while federal cases are proceeding in several states and Washington, D.C.

Harmeet Dhillon, the US assistant attorney general for civil rights, described the rise in antisemitism as a “national crisis” and pledged that combating it would remain one of her top priorities at the Justice Department.

Speaking Thursday at an Israeli-American Council gala in San Diego, Dhillon detailed lawsuits against universities and businesses, criminal proceedings for hate crimes and settlements totaling nearly half a billion dollars. “The rise in antisemitism is not a wave of isolated incidents. This is a national crisis that requires national determination,” she said. “Communities are being tested, institutions are being tested, and leaders are being tested.”

The rise in antisemitism is not a wave of isolated incidents. This is a national crisis that requires national determination.

· Harmeet DhillonThe assistant attorney general described antisemitism in the United States at an Israeli-American Council gala.

Dhillon cited a civil rights lawsuit against Harvard University over allegations that Jewish and Israeli students were harassed and excluded. She also mentioned two lawsuits against UCLA tied to protest encampments, where she said Jewish students were blocked, assaulted and sprayed with pepper spray. Agreements with Columbia University, Northwestern University, Cornell University and Brown University were also among the actions she listed.

Communities are being tested, institutions are being tested, and leaders are being tested.

· Harmeet DhillonDhillon emphasized the broad challenge posed by rising antisemitism.

More than 100 colleges, universities, medical schools and law schools are under investigation, Dhillon said. She also pointed to the use of a law addressing planning restrictions affecting Orthodox Jewish communities and another law protecting synagogues and religious schools. The department is pursuing indictments in California, New Jersey, New York and Washington, D.C. “When a Jewish person is attacked because they are Jewish, it’s a federal crime,” she said.

Outside university campuses, Dhillon highlighted legal action against an Oakland café accused of refusing service to Jewish customers. She did not name Jerusalem Café, which has closed while facing three lawsuits. The federal case is expected to begin on October 26. Its owners have said the proceedings are part of an effort by “Zionist organizations and the federal government” to use the courts.

When a Jewish person is attacked because they are Jewish, it’s a federal crime.

· Harmeet DhillonShe described the Justice Department’s approach to prosecuting antisemitic attacks.
About this summary

Originally published by Jerusalem Post in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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