Two members of Congress from opposite sides of the political aisle are teaming up on an issue that has become increasingly difficult for Washington to ignore: antisemitism on college campuses.
Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., and Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., announced Wednesday the launch of the Combating Antisemitism on College Campuses Caucus, a bipartisan effort aimed at putting greater pressure on universities to protect Jewish students, faculty and staff.
The lawmakers announced the caucus during a visit to Vanderbilt University, where they met with university leaders to discuss how colleges can confront antisemitism while protecting free speech.
The goal is straightforward: increase congressional oversight of how universities respond to antisemitic incidents, push schools to enforce their own anti-discrimination policies and advance legislation targeting antisemitism and discrimination on campus.
It is also notable that the effort is coming from a Republican and a Democrat who have already found common ground on the issue.
Gottheimer, a Jewish Democrat, has been one of Congress' more prominent Democratic voices on campus antisemitism. Last week, the House passed legislation he helped author that would restrict federal student aid to colleges engaging in commercial and academic boycotts of Israel. The measure passed 237-169 and now heads to the Senate.
“Since October 7th, Jewish students on too many campuses have been harassed, intimidated, and made to feel like strangers in their own school,” Gottheimer said.
Stefanik has made the issue a major part of her congressional record, including her highly publicized questioning of university presidents over their handling of antisemitism.
The new caucus also plans to highlight universities that lawmakers believe are handling the problem effectively. Vanderbilt is being held up as one example, along with Dartmouth, the University of Kentucky, the University of Texas at Austin, the University of Alabama and Washington University in St. Louis.
The timing is significant. Since the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel, disputes over antisemitism, Israel and the war in Gaza have become a fixture on American college campuses. The debate has also exposed a difficult question for university administrators: where does protected political speech end and harassment or discrimination begin?
Stefanik and Gottheimer are betting that Congress can find common ground on at least one point. Jewish students should not have to fear harassment or discrimination because they are Jewish.
On America's increasingly divided college campuses, it has become anything but.
