The Department of Justice’s Antisemitism Task Force, led by a prominent civil rights attorney, is addressing the rising tide of antisemitism across the United States, with a focus on campus hate, street violence, and the need for long-term protections. The task force, established under the Trump administration, aims to confront universities that have tolerated or encouraged antisemitic conduct, such as Harvard, Columbia, and UCLA, by leveraging federal funding as leverage to enforce reforms.
It also seeks to hold accountable those responsible for violent attacks against Jewish Americans, including an anti-Israel extremist who murdered two Israeli embassy workers in Washington, D.C., and hate crimes targeting Holocaust survivors and IDF veterans. The task force and the entire Department of Justice are ensuring that those responsible for such acts of antisemitic violence face swift and uncompromising justice to the fullest extent allowed by law.
The initiative has also drawn attention to the economic challenges faced by Jewish institutions, which often bear the cost of additional security measures. At the Israel on Campus Coalition’s National Leadership Summit in D.C., attendees were charged $228,169.53 for security, an amount they had no choice but to pay to stay safe as Jews because the city wouldn’t provide it. This so-called ‘Jewish tax’ is an insult to the principle of equal rights. The task force will continue pressing D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and other elected officials across the country to start taking this issue seriously.
The time to act is now. Permanent safeguards must be established before the end of Trump’s term to guarantee that Jewish Americans remain protected no matter who holds the White House in the future. For the task force leader, this is more than a job. This is a 24/7 mission to honor the civil rights heroes of the past, defend the victims of today’s hate, and secure a future where Jewish Americans live free from fear in their own country.