The war between Israel and Hamas is causing strong tensions at the most prestigious American universities, such as Harvard. Tensions which sometimes translate into anti-Semitic acts. The White House has thus taken initiatives in the face of what it describes as “an alarming increase in anti-Semitic incidents in schools and on university campuses” since the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7.
On Monday, the American executive is organizing, according to a senior official, a meeting with representatives of Jewish organizations, which will be attended by the Minister of Education Miguel Cardona as well as Doug Emhoff, the husband of Vice-President Kamala Harris, very invested in this dialogue.
The Minister of Education must also, during the week, go to a university and participate in a round table with Jewish students. The Ministries of Justice and Homeland Security are on their side, again according to the senior White House official, in direct contact with the universities.
Threats, discrimination
The White House does not give precise figures on this increase in anti-Semitic acts in schools and universities since October 7.
Cornell University (New York state, northeast), where debates around the conflict are particularly tense, said on Sunday that police were investigating anti-Semitic threats posted on the Internet against a Jewish community center on campus.
The American executive also ensures that it has simplified the procedures for filing complaints of discrimination on American campuses, for example for people who are victims of anti-Semitic or Islamophobic insults.