FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Caroline Tabler or James Arnold (202) 224-2353
November 8, 2023
Cotton, Colleagues to Cardona: Take Immediate Action to Protect Jewish Students
Washington, D.C. — Senator Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas), along with Senators Ted Budd (R-North Carolina) and Marco Rubio (R-Florida), today sent a letter to Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona. The senators requested that Secretary Cardona provide information on the Department of Education’s plans to protect Jewish students who are facing anti-Semitic violence and harassment in the wake of Hamas’s attack on Israel.
In part, the senators wrote:
“School administrators, at institutions of all levels, have a duty to protect their students from these kinds of threats. Schools that, by their inaction, enable threats and harassment against Jewish students are subject to losing their access to federal funds.”
Full text of the letter may be found here and below.
November 8, 2023
The Honorable Miguel Cardona
Secretary of Education?
U.S. Department of Education
400 Maryland Avenue SW
Washington, DC 20202
Dear Secretary Cardona:
I write regarding the explosion of anti-Semitic threats against and attacks on Jewish students at institutes of higher education and K-12 schools.
Anti-Semitism on college campuses has sharply escalated after Hamas’s murderous attack on Israel on October 7. Jewish students in the United States are facing extreme anti-Semitic violence and harassment, while school instructors look the other way or even praise Hamas’s terrorist attack. This is true on both college campuses and in K-12 schools. In at least one high school, students reportedly marched through the halls while chanting a call for the destruction of Israel.
Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is clear that no person shall be subjected to discrimination based on race, color, or national origin in federally funded schools, and that protection extends to students who experience harassment based on shared ancestry or ethnic characteristics. School administrators, at institutions of all levels, have a duty to protect their students from these kinds of threats. Schools that, by their inaction, enable threats and harassment against Jewish students are subject to losing their access to federal funds.
The Department of Education must take immediate action to protect Jewish students. Please provide a briefing as soon as practicable regarding your plans to protect Jewish students and hold accountable those who attempt to foment anti-Semitic violence in our schools.
Sincerely,
______________ ______________
Tom Cotton Ted Budd
United States Senator United States Senator
_______________
Marco Rubio
United States Senator
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