Despite surging antisemitism since Hamas’s Oct. 7 terror attack, and many of the U.S. Department of Education’s probes under Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act relating to alleged Jew-hatred, U.S. President Biden didn’t mention antisemitism in his 25-minute remarks marking the 60th anniversary of the law.
Speaking at the Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library and Museum in Austin, Texas, Biden said that the 1964 law is “one of the crowning achievements” and “a defining moment that has since opened doors for all Americans regardless of race, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, religion, national origin.”
A White House fact sheet called the law “the most significant piece of civil rights legislation in our nation’s history since Reconstruction.” The fact sheet referred to protecting students who are black, Latino, Native American and part of the “LGBTQI+ community,” but did not mention Jewish or Israeli students.
Currently, there are 145 open probes of schools and districts for alleged discrimination based on national origin “involving religion,” per the U.S. Department of Education. JNS has reported that many of those probes relate to alleged Jew-hatred.
Biden, who announced recently that he is not seeking re-election and endorsed U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris for president, spoke about several campaign issues during the talk. The White House stated that the event was meant to “underscore the administration’s strong record on—and deep commitment to—protecting the civil rights of all Americans.”
JNS sought comment from the White House and the presidential library about why Jew-hatred was not discussed.
