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Trump admin task force moves rapidly to punish colleges for inaction over antisemitism

Trump admin task force moves rapidly to punish colleges for inaction over antisemitism

The recent cancelation of $400 million in federal grants and contracts to Columbia University by the Trump administration’s Joint Task Force to Combat Antisemitism was seen as a major wake-up call to the country’s universities. In its press release, the task force announced that the “decisive action” is “a notice to every school and university that receives federal dollars.” Leo Terrell, leader of the Federal Task Force to Combat Antisemitism and senior counsel to the assistant attorney general for civil rights, told Fox News Digital that Columbia was an initial target for funding cuts because the school has been “in my opinion, the worst of the worst when it comes to allowing this type of conduct to take place and to continue.” Rabbi Moshe Hauer, executive director of the Orthodox Union, told Fox News Digital that “the more dramatic action that the [Trump] administration seems ready to take … seems to be the necessary approach for something as urgent as what we have been facing.” Hauer added that his community has “a lot of hope.” TRUMP ADMIN WON’T TOLERATE ANTISEMITISM IN SCHOOLS, SAYS LEO TERRELL AS NYC SCHOOLS UNDER MICROSCOPE Hauer added that recent protests at Columbia University and Barnard College “reminded us how alive the issue [of campus antisemitism] is.”  Terrell said President Donald Trump’s executive order directing increased efforts to fight antisemitism “set the tone for every single agency” involved in the task force, which includes the Departments of Justice, Education, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security and State, in addition to the U.S. General Services Administration and the FBI. Terrell said newly confirmed Secretary of Education Linda McMahon “is involved in this extensively, per the directive from [U.S. Attorney General] Pam Bondi.”  He says experts within his task force will be assessing schools based on about nine criteria to determine whether they are adequately protecting Jewish students. In addition to looking for evidence of hate crimes and examining schools’ tax-exempt status, Terrell said the task force will search for violations of Title VI and Title VII in the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Title VI protects Americans who engage in programs that receive federal funds from discrimination based upon race, color and national origin. Former President Joe Biden’s administration used Title VI when the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights examined hostile antisemitic environments on K-12 and college campuses. Title VII prevents federal employment discrimination on the basis of race, religion, sex or color. The task force’s move at Columbia follows weeks of protests at the university and affiliated Barnard College. In January, students stormed a Columbia classroom and “allegedly threw around [fliers] filled with hateful speech.” The following month, more than 50 protesters took over a building at Barnard College and were said to have assaulted an employee. COLUMBIA STUDENT DESCRIBES ANTI-ISRAEL PROTESTS: ‘IT’S TERRIFYING’ During a March 5 protest on Barnard’s campus, protesters were pictured passing out pamphlets from the “Hamas media office,” in addition to pictures of former Hezbollah terror chief Hassan Nasrallah and stickers featuring former chair of the Hamas terror organization Yahya Sinwar, according to the Times of Israel. In a press release, Columbia confirmed that four of its students were arrested during the Barnard “disruption.” The students were subsequently “suspended and restricted from campus.” The situation at Columbia has grown more complex after former student Mahmoud Khalil was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for allegedly advocating for Hamas. Terrell said Khalil’s arrest was not conducted at the behest of the task force but explained that “all of this is coming out of the Trump executive order.”  TRUMP VOWS ANTI-ISRAEL ACTIVIST MAHMOUD KHALIL WAS ‘FIRST ARREST OF MANY TO COME’ A Columbia representative did not respond to questions from Fox News Digital about the cancellation of its grants, its posture toward ICE on campus or whether it plans to continue employing anti-Israel professors who are accused of spreading antisemitic views.  Columbia’s interim president, Katrina Armstrong, released a statement on March 7 in which she said “Columbia is taking the government’s action very seriously.” Armstrong sought to “assure the entire Columbia community that we are committed to working with the federal government to address their legitimate concerns. To that end, Columbia can, and will, continue to take serious action toward combatting antisemitism on our campus. This is our number one priority.” When it comes to demonstrating their effective efforts to combat antisemitism, Terrell said schools must “earn trust.” Citing as an example “the little feeble action” Columbia has taken in response to funding cuts, Terrell asked, “Is it the money driving them or their concern for Jewish-American students?”  Terrell also said there will be no special rewards for schools that have managed antisemitism without federal involvement. “They have a fundamental right to protect Jewish Americans and Jewish students,” he said.

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Gavin Newsom responds to claims he secretly helped fund his own bronze bust: ‘Free tinfoil hat’

Gavin Newsom responds to claims he secretly helped fund his own bronze bust: ‘Free tinfoil hat’

California Governor Gavin Newsom has responded to claims that he secretly helped fund a nearly $100,000 bronze bust of himself that sits inside San Francisco City Hall, calling them “categorically false.” “To imply the Governor personally funded or proposed this effort is categorically false,” a spokesperson for Newsom said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “As is customary in the city, the effort was independently proposed by a nonprofit and funded by private donors — not taxpayers… This was reported at the time and isn’t news now.”  A new book, written by Susan Crabtree and Jedd McFatter, and titled “Fool’s Gold: The Radicals, Con Artists, and Traitors Who Killed the California Dream and Now Threaten Us All,” claims Newsom used something called “behested payments” – or contributions from donors that politicians ask them to make on their behalf – to help fund the statue.  The book claims two companies owned by Newsom donated about $10,000 to a non-profit to help pay for the bronze bust on a black granite base that is meant to commemorate Newsom’s time as mayor of the city. COZY TIES BETWEEN TOP NEWSOM ALLY AND CCP OFFICIAL UNEARTHED ON NETWORKING SITE The Democrat was mayor of San Francisco from 2004 to 2011.  “Businesses tied to the Newsom family made a modest contribution to the privately funded initiative and raised funds for the effort as reported publicly at the time,” Newsom’s office said. “The contributions were not in any way ‘secret’ as falsely claimed by some now.” Back in 2015, San Francisco news outlet SFGate reported that Newsom called the bust a “strange thing,” and quoted him as saying: “I’m just awkward about it… But now the word is out.” Newsom told SFGate the bust was the brainchild of his supporters and that it would be paid for with private funds. According to the outlet, Newsom said he didn’t even know who the supporters and fundraisers were. The outlet also reported that Newsom sat for the bust with artist Bruce Wolfe multiple times. The work was finished in 2018, according to the San Francisco Arts Commission. CALIFORNIA GOV NEWSOM SETS MENENDEZ BROTHERS PAROLE BOARD HEARING DATE IN BID FOR CLEMENCY Newsom’s office went on to blast the book itself, telling Fox News Digital:“This publication should come with a free tinfoil hat, a lifetime subscription to InfoWars, and a VIP dinner with Elvis Presley and Bigfoot. The authors seem allergic to basic facts — especially the kind you can confirm with a 10-second Google search, like how many children the Governor has.” Crabtree, one of the authors of the book, told Fox News Digital that the book never claims that Newsom organized the bust, and that they stand by their reporting on the project. According to the San Francisco Arts Commission, the bust includes a bronze plaque with the following quote from Newsom:  “If you distill the essence of everything, what life is about, every single one of us is given a short moment in time on this planet and we all have one universal need and desire, and that is to love and be loved.” Newsom’s office also pointed out that his bust sits next to several other busts of former city mayors, including Willie Brown, Dianne Feinstein and George Moscone. Not surprisingly, the internet erupted with reaction to the bust – with many blasting Newsom. “Who commissions a bust of themself? Gavin Newsom who clearly thinks very highly of himself,” one user wrote on X. “That’s just kind of sick from a politician’s head. Look at me and see how great I am!” NEWSOM’S VIRAL ‘LATINX’ CLAIM CRUMBLES AMID SCRUTINY OF HIS OWN ADMINISTRATION’S ONLINE RECORDS “Gavin Newsom’s new bust is the perfect symbol of his time as governor,” another user wrote. “Expensive and ultimately [u]seless for the people of California.” “San Francisco needs a Bust Reduction! $97K Newscum Vanity Project,” another user remarked. Newsom has emerged as somewhat of a darling for the Democrat party. He served as a surrogate for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris during their 2024 campaign. He is considered a top contender to run for president in 2028.