March 11, 2025 — Washington, DC
American Jewish Committee (AJC), the global advocacy organization for the Jewish people, today wrote to the Joint Federal Task Force on Antisemitism expressing appreciation for holding Columbia University accountable “for its egregious record of antisemitism” while also voicing concerns that “life-saving scientific research and other critical fields that have little connection to the areas where antisemitism has manifested may be harmed by arbitrary, across the board cuts to grants and research contracts.”
In the letter to members of the Task Force, AJC CEO Ted Deutch notes that “AJC holds a deep regard for the vital role played by universities in our shared democracy and a conviction that the excellence of American universities is incompatible with anti-Jewish hostility, prejudice, and discrimination” and “[hopes] that the Task Force will partner with [AJC] to bring meaningful, visible change to Columbia and other schools. Such changes would enable schools to remedy the unacceptable tidal wave of antisemitism we have witnessed while also allowing them to continue operating as centers of autonomous research that have made American universities the envy of the world.”
As noted in the letter, AJC’s Center for Education Advocacy’s action plan for higher education contains specific steps on how to build campus communities with zero tolerance for any and all manifestations of antisemitism and can help inform more targeted, strategic university policies.
Full text of the letter can be found here.
AJC is the global advocacy organization for the Jewish people. With headquarters in New York, 25 regional offices across the United States, 15 overseas posts, as well as partnerships with 38 Jewish community organizations worldwide, AJC’s mission is to enhance the well-being of the Jewish people and Israel and to advance human rights and democratic values in the United States and around the world. For more, please visit www.ajc.org.
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