Senate hearing spotlights surge in campus antisemitism, lawmakers debate federal tools and definitions

At a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, witnesses described a sharp rise in antisemitic harassment and threats on college campuses and pressed lawmakers to adopt clearer legal definitions and stronger enforcement tools.

Chairman Chuck Grassley opened the hearing by saying the committee had convened to confront what he called a distinct and urgent wave of antisemitism and noting that attendees should be respectful. "Protecting Jewish people does not come at the expense of any other group," he said.

Why it matters: Witnesses and senators said campus incidents have spilled into surrounding communities and workplaces, and they debated how federal agencies and universities should respond. Testimony centered on three recurring themes: whether to adopt a single working definition of antisemitism, how vigorously the Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights (OCR) should investigate and sanction schools under Title VI, and how social media and foreign funding may be amplifying coordinated campaigns.

Witness accounts and evidence

Adela Kochav, a legal fellow at the National Jewish Advocacy Center, told the panel she began receiving calls from students afraid to wear Jewish symbols after October 7, and that student harassment she experienced years earlier at New York University escalated into campus encampments and vandalism in 2023. "I urge the minority to see us as people, your own constituents who actually need protection," she said.

Kevin Ratclin, Washington director at the Nexus Project, cited FBI data in his…