The U.S. Justice Department formed a multiagency task force on Monday to fight antisemitism, with its first priority “rooting out” antisemitic harassment in schools and universities.
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The U.S. Justice Department formed a multi-agency task force on Monday to fight antisemitism, with its first priority ”rooting out” antisemitic harassment in schools and universities.
WHY IT’S IMPORTANT
The task force follows an executive order and fact sheet from President Donald Trump last week in which he warned ”resident aliens who joined in the pro-jihadist protests” that they would be deported, referring to pro-Palestinian protests on U.S. college campuses. Trump also pledged to revoke the student visas of what he called ”Hamas sympathisers” and directed his cabinet to familiarize U.S. universities with immigration law against foreigners who pose security threats.
THE RESPONSE
If the task force ”weaponises the power of the federal government to suppress the speech of college kids who have advocated for Palestinian rights. In that case, that is going to run into a wall called the U.S. Constitution,” warned Edward Ahmed Mitchell, deputy director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.
CONTEXT
Since Hamas’ October 2023 attacks and Israel’s subsequent assault on the Palestinian enclave, pro-Pa