RELEASE: Gottheimer, Lawler, Torres Join Roundtable Hosted by Columbia Jewish Students to Discuss Campus Safety

Above: Gottheimer, Lawler, Torres with Columbia Jewish students and organizations.

NEW YORK CITY, NY — Today, September 16, 2024, as the school year starts, U.S. Representatives Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5), Mike Lawler (NY-17), and Ritchie Torres (NY-15), joined Jewish students at Columbia University and organizations to discuss campus safety. They also highlighted the importance of passing the Antisemitism Awareness Act, which Gottheimer helped co-lead and overwhelmingly passed out of the House with 320-91. This bipartisan legislation will require the Department of Education to use the widely-supported International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism in Title VI discrimination investigations.

Previously, protestors on Columbia’s campus were recorded shouting “we are Hamas. We’re all Hamas” and “never forget the 7th of October…that will happen not one more time…not one thousand more times, but ten thousand more times.” Gottheimer previously called upon Columbia leadership, including President Minouche Shafik, to take stronger action to protect Jewish students on Columbia’s campus.

“Today, Congressman Torres, Lawler, and I are here to ensure that, as the new school year kicks off, Columbia’s campus — and college campuses across the nation — remain safe for Jewish students and students of all walks of life. No Jewish student should have to worry that wearing their kippah on campus will make him a target, nor a Muslim student with her hijab or a Christian student with her cross,” said Congressman Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5). “While university leadership across the country may have failed our students earlier this year, we will not — we will do everything in our power to keep you safe and always feel welcome.”

“In the wake of October 7th, the ADL tabulated a 360% increase in antisemitic hate crimes, registering 3,283 antisemitic incidents between October 7, 2023, and January 7, 2024 – this included attacks aimed at synagogues, community centers, and on college campuses,” said Congressman Lawler (NY-17). “The horrific displays of violence toward our Jewish community, including right here at Columbia University, is appalling and wrong. We must all work together to combat this terrible scourge, and that’s why I was proud to be here with my colleague from across the aisle, Congressman Gottheimer, and with Jewish students and organizations, to draw attention to this pressing concern and discuss what must be done to combat it.”

“Today’s roundtable at Columbia University was a powerful testament to the resilience and steadfast resolve of Jewish students who have been thrust into the daily fight against antisemitism in a post-October 7 world. These brave students are committed to ensuring that our campuses do not perpetually descend into safe havens for antisemitic hate cloaked in the thin veil of anti-Israel politics — even when their professors and university administrators fail them,” said Congressman Torres (NY-15). “I commend my colleagues Reps. Gottheimer and Lawler for bringing us all together today to have a meaningful and results-driven conversation.”

Gottheimer was joined by Representatives Lawler (NY-17) and Ritchie Torres (NY-15), Columbia Jewish students, and representatives from Jewish Students from the UJA Federation New York, Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) of New York, Anti-Defamation League, and American Jewish Committee (AJC) New York.

Below: Gottheimer, Lawler, Torres with Columbia Jewish students and organizations.

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