The administration under President Trump has seemingly stepped up the intensity in its measures to address the escalating rate of antisemitic occurrences across the country, exhibiting a more assertive posture than previous administrations. This strategy includes initiating probes, reprimanding prestigious universities, and ramping up immigration enforcement activities. Advocates of his law-and-order tactics, executed principally through the Department of Justice (DOJ) and other federal departments, herald such measures as indispensable. Nevertheless, critics fear they might verge on overstepping bounds. Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division at the DOJ, Harmeet Dhillon, disclosed that she hasn’t encountered any contentious instances in which antisemitic actions conflict with the First Amendment rights of those holding opposing views towards Israel or Judaism.
The lethal terrorist assault on Israel by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023, triggered an alarming spike in anti-Jewish acts in the U.S, according to the FBI’s hate crime data, which captures figures up until December of the same year. Evidence provided by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) from 2024 and widely reported incidents from the upcoming year indicate that this unsettling trend persists.
Further underlining this trend, an incident in May saw Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim, staff members at the Israeli Embassy located in Washington, D.C., ruthlessly shot near the Capitol Jewish Museum in D.C. The subsequent arrest of Illinois resident and suspect Elias Rodriguez was marked by outcries of “free Palestine”. The Interim U.S. Attorney for Washington, D.C., stated at a press conference that the office will treat the case as a hate crime and potential act of terrorism.
Another occurrence that is cause for concern involved an alleged arson attack on the house of Governor Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania on the initial night of Passover. Information from emergency call logs made public by local law enforcement showed that the suspect, Cody Balmer, made mention of Palestine following his act of arson and blamed Shapiro, who happens to be Jewish, for the perceived persecution of his friends.
At the outset of his tenure, President Trump issued an executive decree, cautioning that foreign nationals found engaged in “pro-jihadist demonstrations” might face deportation. He singled out universities, alleging them to be hotbeds of radical ideologies and disruptive protests supporting the Palestinian cause. These rallies often result in the occupation of academic buildings followed by setting up of encampments. Contrastingly, the Trump administration has taken a confrontational stance against some elite educational institutions fostering such environments.
The Trump administration has set its sights on international students and activists it accuses of voicing support for Palestinian interests in manners viewed as antagonistic towards the U.S. This is evident in the ongoing pursuit of visa-holders and green-card possessing individuals. One case that has sparked attention is that of Mahmoud Khalil, a man arrested in March and subsequently detained. The grounds for his detention were accusations leveled by the administration suggesting his involvement in anti-Israel protests were in violation of immigration regulation.
Upon assuming Presidency, Trump signaled his intention to deal drastically with threats pertaining to terrorism by issuing several executive orders. He made a commitment to instruct Attorney General Pam Bondi to tackle acts of terror, arson, defacement, and violence perpetrated against Jewish citizens in the U.S. Following this directive, Trump-appointed officials at the Department of Justice swiftly assembled a task force specifically aimed at antisemitism.
The reshuffling within the Civil Rights Division, instigated by Dhillon, led to the exit of more than a hundred attorneys from the division. Despite the significant depletion in staffing, Dhillon expressed in interviews with the media that she remained unperturbed, stating that her primary goals remained centered on combating antisemitism. This sentiment was echoed throughout the division.
In parallel to Dhillon’s efforts, another high-ranking DOJ official, Emil Bove, initiated an investigation on his own accord into Columbia student protestors early in the year. The inquiry sparked a wave of unease among staff attorneys, who felt the case lacked substantial credence.