Conference of Presidents Passover Statement

April 28, 2024

New York, NY… Harriet P. Schleifer, Chair, and William C. Daroff, CEO, of the Conference of
Presidents of Major American Jewish Organiza ons, issued the following statement:
During this week of Passover observance, we have been horrified to see the events unfolding on
college campuses across America. At our seders we recount that in each genera on threats
emerge to the very existence of the Jewish people. At this very me, student ac vists are
calling for the destruc on of the state of Israel; declaring their support for Hamas, Hezbollah,
and the Iranian regime; and launching physical assaults on Jewish students and faculty.
Let us be clear: order on our campuses must be restored immediately. Colleges and universi es
have a duty to maintain the safety and security of all students, staff, and faculty. Students and
faculty who break the law or violate campus codes of conduct must face the legal and
ins tu onal consequences for their ac ons. To the few university administrators who have
shown the courage to restore order and sanc on the malefactors, we express our gra tude. To
the majority who have not taken adequate measures, we demand that you do so immediately
and warn you that the safety of American Jewry and the values of pluralism and of tolerance,
upon which this country was founded and built – and which colleges and universi es are meant
to uphold – face a mortal threat.
Colleges and universi es are supposed to be safe spaces, where diversity of opinions are
welcome. The First Amendment is a sacrosanct principle in this country’s poli cal culture.
However, too many of the protests we have seen are not peaceful-and they are targeted at a
specific group. These demonstra ons are largely conducted by an -Israel agitators and
organiza ons who openly praised the terror a ack of October 7 and repeatedly express their
sympathies for the Hamas terrorist army. Their vicious chants, and burning of countless
American flags, are unfortunately consistent with the ideologies of the radical terrorist
organiza ons they support, as well as that of their patron, the Iranian regime, which openly
advocates for the destruc on of the United States writ large. That is a threat to all Americans.
Many of the chants featured at such rallies call for violence against Jews and the State of Israel.
At Columbia University, one of the chief organizers of the encampment declared that “Zionists
do not deserve to live.” Jewish students around the United States have been assaulted and
harassed on their campuses in incidents that have no precedent in American history.

Page 1 of 2
The response from too many of our campuses, including many of the most elite, is woefully
inadequate; Jewish safety is clearly not among their top priori es. That must change
immediately.
Our ins tu ons of higher educa on must fulfill their mandates to actually educate. Too many
of the students and faculty engaging in this disrup ve behavior are relying on and spreading
disinforma on. We cannot abide by that. If our campuses cannot protect their cons tuents
u lizing the tools of educa on- their very missions, then they must u lize the tools of campus
codes, campus police, or public law enforcement. They certainly must apply the sanc ons for
misbehavior already outlined in their own student and faculty conduct codes.
Many colleges and universi es permit outside agitators to come in and exacerbate the problem
on campus. These agitators must be declared persona non grata on university proper es
effec ve immediately. Addi onally, our ins tu ons must ar culate and implement long-term
ac on plans to combat an semi sm, as these issues will not disappear when the encampments
come down and the current semester ends.
Oversight from the federal government is now more necessary than ever. The federal
Departments of Jus ce and Educa on must provide clear guidance to administrators and police,
defining the limits of free speech on campus and the parameters of effec ve, legi mate
enforcement of their own campus rules and policies.
US House Speaker Mike Johnson’s visit this week to Columbia University shined a light on the
horrific situa on there. We encourage him and his counterpart in the Senate, Majority Leader
Chuck Schumer, to bring the An semi sm Awareness Act to a vote, and to withhold federal
funding from any university that violates Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. Colleges and universi es
that do not provide safe environments for Jewish students should have federal funding slashed.
The Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organiza ons, and our cons tuent
organiza ons, stand squarely behind the Jewish students around the country whose lives have
been disrupted by this vicious erup on of an semi sm. Our children are not alone in facing this
scourge; our en re community is mobilized to address this existen al threat. A double standard
is being applied to Jews on campus, if threats and/or disrup ons were leveled at any other
minority group, our ins tu ons of higher educa on would put a stop to them immediately.
We demand that the leadership of every sector of our country – governmental, corporate,
academic, entertainment, media, religious, and civic – joins us in declaring that an semi sm
ends now. America is be er than this, and we know that these dark days will abate if we all
stand together.

Page 2 of 2