Yael Evgi

Only Mayor Mamdani could turn the anniversary of a historic assault on the Jewish people into an assault on the Jewish people.

From the halls of MTA to the heights of fashion, Ralph Lauren’s journey is a testament to the power of dreams. Congratulations on being the first YU student to rise and receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom—a well-deserved honor for a Bronx native who has inspired the world. #ProudAlumni #DreamBig

Today, as we cast our votes, we are reminded of the power we each hold to shape the future. In the words of Daniel (2:21), ‘You change times and seasons; You depose kings and raise up others’. Our tradition teaches that we are entrusted to serve as G-d’s messengers in steering the course of history. May our choices reflect our highest values as we seek a brighter path forward for all.

Calling on the entire YU community to join the Simchat Torah challenge. As we approach one year following the Simchat Torah Massacre, let’s commit to not only fighting against hate and antisemitism but also to being pro-Torah. Spread the word to your colleagues and friends simchattorahchallenge.org/?g…

We have all watched with great shock and sadness the public protests laced with antisemitism on college campuses throughout the United States, including in our neighboring campuses of Columbia and NYU. See below and link in bio for my response.

Did you know? Intimidation is a hate crime. While the abject failure of some university presidents to rise to the moment was on full display at the U.S. Capitol yesterday, particularly sickening was how the presidents victimized their Jewish students a second time. In addition to being the targets of vile hate speech, these students were also informed that they have no recourse through their university authorities.  The immediate widespread backlash has already caused the presidents to begin to walk back their public testimony before the House committee, but even as students await the review of their university’s code of conduct, they should be aware that while their universities may be failing them, the federal government provides powerful ways for them to take action. One route, already much discussed, is for students who are subject to harassment to bring claims against their universities with the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights for violating Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, and national origin in programs and activities receiving federal financial assistance.  Under the leadership of Secretary Miguel Cardona, the department is doing an admirable job of moving these cases forward with speed and publicity. In recent guidance it also pointedly reminded colleges and universities of our obligation to address discrimination against students “who are or are perceived to be Jewish, Israeli, Muslim, Arab, or Palestinian.” There is a second path, though, which would have significant impact. In 1990, Congress passed and President George H.W. Bush signed the Clery Act, which requires all colleges and universities that participate in federal financial aid programs to keep records on certain categories of crimes on or near their campuses — and, importantly, to publicly report them.  Hate crimes, including those through intimidation, are included in the reporting — as they should be, whether they are hate crimes against Black people, Muslims, or Jews. And the definition of intimidation for Clery purposes is the one used by the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting program: “placing another person in reasonable fear of bodily harm through the use of threatening words and/or other conduct,” even ”without displaying a weapon or subjecting the victim to actual physical attack.” Calls for genocide may not be prohibited until they result in action by Codes of Conduct on these Ivy League campuses, as their presidents testified yesterday; the federal government, however, isn’t so indulgent. This means that any Jewish student who feels physically threatened by the words or deeds of their fellow students — for example experiencing a marching protest on campus calling for Jewish genocide — should go to their campus police and report it as a hate crime. That intimidation will then appear in the university’s annual Clery report, to be shared with the public. This gives students a vehicle to take action and create a record of the rise in hate crimes on their campus.  No doubt, the university presidents who testified yesterday know all of this. It is not a secret. Students are not powerless. They do not have to wait to be physically assaulted in order to register their experiences as targets of hate crimes.  By documenting their experiences, the students will turn individual experiences into campus metrics, which can then be comparatively ranked with peer universities and enable concerned university and national leadership to identify, study and combat the rising tide of hate on college campuses. As important, they will allow prospective parents and students to make informed decisions about the campuses they will attend, and they might help their presidents recognize that intimidation of students based on their race, ethnicity, or religion is a hate crime — as is already clear to the federal government and all people of moral conscience.

Please let the university and college presidents in your network know about this national effort so they can add their support by emailing [email protected]