Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, a Republican, signed an executive order on June 27 aimed at combating antisemitism at the state’s higher education institutions.
The new executive order directs the Iowa Board of Regents to collaborate with the U.S. Department of Education’s civil rights office to enforce Title VI obligations regarding Jewish students. It also requires them to review university policies concerning hate speech and responses to antisemitic incidents on campus since the Hamas-led terrorist attacks in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
Under the order, the board is required to complete its review by Nov. 1, 2025, and provide a report to the governor by Dec. 1, 2025. It will conduct a follow-up review by December 2026.
“Since the Oct. 7 attacks, we’ve seen an increase in antisemitism across the U.S., including on college campuses,” Reynolds said. “While many of Iowa’s colleges and universities have condemned such activity, we want to be clear that antisemitism has no place in Iowa.”
The Iowa Department of Education has also been instructed to make educational materials concerning the Holocaust, Jewish history and Israel more readily available, as well as provide best practices for teaching these topics.
In June 2023, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with Reynolds in Israel and thanked the governor for her “unreserved support” of the Jewish state.
