Cardona condemns ‘abhorrent’ incidents of antisemitism as Biden administration ramps up response to campus protests

The Biden administration is ramping up its direct response to the college protests over the Israel-Hamas war, with Education Secretary Miguel Cardona sending a letter Friday to college and university presidents condemning “abhorrent” incidents of antisemitism on campus and highlighting available resources.

The Biden administration is ramping up its direct response to the college protests over the Israel-Hamas war, with Education Secretary Miguel Cardona sending a letter Friday to college and university presidents condemning “abhorrent” incidents of antisemitism on campus and highlighting available resources. Cardona’s letter, sent via email, comes one day after President Joe Biden addressed the issue for the first time on camera Thursday, offering law-and-order-centric remarks at the White House that stressed the need to peacefully protest without causing chaos. The president had been criticized for not addressing the nation sooner, leaving his administration’s positioning on the issue to come through written statements and spokespeople. Cardona’s letter marks a more robust tone from the administration and an increasingly public-facing messaging efforts on the protests. “As the 2023-24 school year comes to a close, I remain incredibly concerned by the reports of antisemitic hate directed at students on some campuses,” Cardona said in the letter, first obtained by CNN. In recent days, he wrote, there has been a “sharp rise in reports of antisemitism targeting Jewish students on some college campuses.” He cited reports from Jewish students of being physically assaulted or harassed while walking on campus, antisemitic statements, including that Jewish students should “go back to Poland,” verbal abuse, and swastikas found on dorm room doors.