Biden/Harris admin 'weak' on antisemitism, avoids issue with new guidance: civil rights group

On July 29, the Department of Education (DoE) released guidance on handling campus crises. The guidance came after protests and encampments roiled campuses across the country in the wake of Hamas' terror attack against Israel on October 7, 2023.

The stated aim of the guidance is "fostering safe and inclusive campuses through the Israel-Hamas conflict and beyond."

The guidance provides a "checklist for leadership of institutions of higher education." The checklist includes "building a resilient campus," "planning for crisis response on campuses," "engagement during a crisis," and "individual and community recovery."

Kenneth Marcus, founder and chairman of the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, a Jewish civil rights group, spoke to Just the News about the guidance and the Biden administration's handling of campus anti-Semitism generally.

"If you wanted to look like you're doing something about anti-Semitism without actually doing anything that could create controversy in a presidential election year, this is something that you might want to do," said Marcus of the guidance.

"I would enable you to tell the Jewish community that you're focused on the problem," Marcus continued, "but there's nothing here that would offend even vehement anti-Zionists."

"The Department of Education is devoting the most resources ever to combating antisemitic and anti-Arab hate in schools," a DoE spokesperson told Just the News. The DoE's Office for Civil Rights (OCR) "vigorously enforces the laws in our jurisdiction to protect every student, to the full extent Congress grants us authority."

The DoE spokesperson highlighted how the OCR has opened more investigations and secured more resolution agreements from offending schools under the Biden administration compared to the Trump administration.

The spokesperson also highlighted the OCR's sharing of more guidance than any previous administration, an updated complaint form, and assistance to students and school officials so they know their rights and obligations.

For "building a resilient campus," the DoE advises "meaningfully engaging with stakeholders from a variety of viewpoints" but being clear about what conduct violates university policy.

An example includes maintaining an electronic "student handbook that is easy to navigate and search, including the student code of conduct and related policies and practices to separately written policies on chalking, online harassment, and other issues."

The guidance also advises institutions on "planning for crisis response on campuses." Institutions are also advised to "establish clear protocols for internal and external communications through a crisis."

"One university," for example, "published a detailed Crisis Communications Plan on its website that specifies how and when it is activated, who serves on the crisis communications team, what the team is responsible for, to whom it is accountable, and who is assigned to communicate with each audience."

The guidance encourages "engagement during a crisis," which includes "engaging with impacted students, leaning on trusted messengers, implementing jointly developed plans of action, and consistently applying institutional policies."

"Amid campus protests," as an example, "one university engaged with a local house of worship that served as a neutral place for dialogue between students and administrators."

After a campus crisis, institutions are advised to support "individual and community recovery." The guidance cites the example of a university that "uses its Student Conflict Resolution Center to provide trainings to students as well as faculty, administrators, and others on de-escalation strategies and dialogue across difference."