For Immediate Release
October 31, 2023

Yesterday (Monday, October 30), amid a dramatic surge in antisemitic threats and attacks upon Jewish students on American university and K-12 public school campuses, leaders of the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America (“Orthodox Union”) joined leaders of other national Jewish organizations in a meeting with U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona, Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, and other senior Biden Administration leaders. 

The discussion focused on concrete measures the Federal government must take to address the hostility and danger Jewish students are experiencing in federally funded and supported educational environments. The Orthodox Union’s JLIC and NCSY-JSU programs serve tens of thousands of Jewish students in universities and K-12 public schools.

After the meeting, OU Executive Vice President Rabbi Moshe Hauer stated:

“This is a critical moment in the history of the American Jewish community as antisemitism is surging everywhere. It is especially concerning that so many of our children are confronting virulent and dangerous expressions of antisemitism in their schools. We appreciate that Secretary Cardona and his senior Department of Education team heard what our students are  experiencing, that the Secretary clearly stated that antisemitism has no place on American campuses and in public schools and that he and the Department of Education are committed to combatting it.”

Nathan Diament, Executive Director for Public Policy, added:

“In this meeting, the representatives of the American Jewish community presented a list of concrete steps we ask the Department of Education to take in order to combat the wave of antisemitism plaguing Jewish students today. We appreciate that the Secretary and his team took our suggestions seriously and that they committed to use them to develop an action plan that will be implemented as soon as possible.”

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