Press Releases 

Trump is bad for the Jews


If you’re like me, you are INFURIATED by Trump who just signed an executive order on Wednesday that claims to combat antisemitism on college campuses but actually is designed to shut down Palestinian rights activists. It is a racist, repressive attempt to silence students and academics.

The fight is just getting started, and we can’t let it disappear from the headlines. We plan to run an ad in The Hill to tell everyone in DC that this act has nothing to do with protecting Jews, and we need to raise $13,500 in the next 48 hours to secure the spot.

Trump’s executive order will do NOTHING to keep Jewish students safe. It won’t protect against Nazis or Nazi recruitment, it won't prevent campuses from scheduling important events on Jewish holidays, and it won't protect Jewish religious spaces from armed attackers.

What it will do is incentivize administrators to create harsh rules against even the mildest activism for Palestinian rights – or risk their institutions’ federal funding.

Trump and his cronies are cracking down on student activism because they know it’s working. Since the Palestinian call for BDS began, there have been over 70 successful campus votes on divestment and for resolutions in support of the Palestinian-led boycott.

Trump and his supporters are afraid of our movement. Trump doesn’t want to keep Jews safe – he wants to suppress free speech to ensure our silence. So let’s speak up in a way Trump can’t ignore and tell him we’re not backing down.

Rabbi Alissa Wise, Acting Co-Executive Director - Jewish Voice For Peace