‘Weaponising anti-Semitism’? US Targets 60 universities with funding cuts amid campus crackdown

In what critics describe as the weaponisation of anti-Semitism to wage an ideological war on higher education using Jewish fear as cover, the US government has warned 60 universities and colleges that they could face cuts to federal funding over allegations of failing to protect Jewish students from anti-Semitic harassment. The move follows an increase in tensions on campuses across the country, with universities such as Columbia, Harvard, Yale and Berkeley among those under scrutiny over allegations of anti-Semitism.

In letters sent to universities, the US federal government warned of “potential enforcement actions” if institutions did not take sufficient measures to guarantee Jewish students’ safety and ensure their uninterrupted access to education. A statement from the Office for Civil Rights said: “U.S. colleges and universities benefit from enormous public investments funded by U.S. taxpayers. That support is a privilege and is contingent on scrupulous adherence to federal anti-discrimination laws.”

The funding threat comes shortly after the administration of President Donald Trump announced it would cut approximately $400 million in federal grants to Columbia University, citing its “continued inaction in the face of persistent harassment of Jewish students.” Columbia has been a focal point of pro-Palestinian protests, with demonstrators criticising Israel’s genocidal assault on Gaza. Over the weekend, federal agents arrested Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian graduate student at Columbia. Khalil, a prominent organiser of campus protests, was accused of “activities aligned with Hamas,” a claim repeated by Trump administration officials, including the president himself.

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Critics have strongly condemned the funding threats and arrests, arguing that they are part of a broader right-wing attack on higher education. Peter Beinart, a journalist and academic, said: “Anyone with eyes can see that the Trump administration is using claims of anti-Semitism to cripple universities—along with independent media—because they are centres of resistance to its effort at authoritarian rule.” He further argued that this weaponisation of anti-Semitism undermines liberal democracy and, paradoxically, puts Jewish communities at greater risk.

Anyone with eyes can see that the Trump administration is using claims of antisemitism to cripple universities–along with independent media–because they are centers of resistance to its effort at authoritarian rule. And the @ADL is applauding. It’s applauding an assault on… https://t.co/9KckX6dMrE

— Peter Beinart (@PeterBeinart) March 9, 2025

Ilan Goldenberg, a former director of Jewish outreach for the Harris-Walz campaign, has also voiced concerns. In a report in the New Republic, he acknowledged that anti-Semitism on some campuses is a real issue but stressed that the current crackdown will not solve the problem. For one thing, it immediately takes resources from Jewish students, who are also at these universities. There is no way to bring a university to its knees without harming all students including Jews, he argued.

Goldenberg added that taking resources from a university and saying it is doing so for the good of Jews risks adding fuel to anti-Semitic fire.

Sheldon Pollock, professor emeritus at Columbia University, highlighted the hypocrisy of the administration’s actions. “Columbia’s administration has bent over backwards to satisfy the Trump administration, with the creation of a massive new Office of Institutional Equity and new training protocols, among other things,” he stated. “Nothing has worked because this onslaught has nothing to do with actual anti-Semitism. Entirely legitimate criticism of Israel’s ethnic cleansing campaign is being used as a pretext to destroy the American university and its core principles of academic freedom and freedom of speech.”

The fear among many Jewish academics and activists is that by cynically deploying claims of anti-Semitism to justify funding cuts, surveillance and student deportations, the Trump administration is fuelling broader backlash and resentment towards Jews.

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