College and university leaders from more than 40 schools around the United States have signed on to attend a two-day summit addressing anti-Semitism and the current climate for Jewish students on campus.
The summit will take place from April 11-12 at the Center for Jewish History in New York City and will be hosted by New York University president Andrew Hamilton. It is being sponsored by Hillel International and American Jewish Committee, in collaboration with American Council on Education.
It will open with a dinner on Monday night featuring a dialogue with three members of the U.S. House Bipartisan Task Force for Combating Anti-Semitism: Reps. Ted Deutch (D-Fla.), Lee Zeldin (R-N.Y.) and Grace Meng (D-N.Y.).
It will also include presentations from university and Jewish community leaders, and private sessions for university administrators to confidentially discuss issues with one another. Campus leaders will have the opportunity to share practices and resources, and explore approaches to responding to anti-Semitism at their schools.
“University presidents have a critical role to play in improving the campus climate for Jewish students and ensuring that all students can live and study in environments free of hate and intolerance,” said Adam Lehman, president and CEO of Hillel International. “This summit will give administrators the tools and resources they need to speak out against anti-Semitism and take specific steps to make our campuses safer.”
Leaders that will plan on participating in the conference hail from schools that include Boston University, Columbia University, Cornell University, City University of New York, George Washington University, Johns Hopkins University, New York University, The Ohio State University, Tufts University, University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign, University of Miami, University of Michigan, University of Texas and Washington University in St. Louis.
AJC CEO David Harris said that “university leaders are our most important allies in confronting anti-Semitism on campus, and we look forward to working even more closely with them to ensure that Jewish students, like students of all other backgrounds and faiths, are able to pursue education free of fear or intimidation.”
