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US Education Secretary McMahon Hints at Possible Detente With Ivy League Amid Campus Antisemitism Fight
US Secretary of Education Linda McMahon and President Donald Trump, in the East Room at the White House in Washington, DC, on March 20, 2025. Photo: Carlos Barria via Reuters Connect.
US Secretary of Education Linda McMahon hinted at the possibility of unfreezing billions of dollars the federal government put on ice to punish elite universities it deemed as soft on campus antisemitism and excessively woke.
“It would be my goal that if colleges and universities are abiding by the laws of the United States and doing what we’re expecting of them, they could expect to have taxpayer funded programs,” McMahon told Bloomberg’s Akayla Gardener during an interview which aired on Tuesday on the news outlet’s YouTube channel.
Responding to an additional question Bloomberg posed regarding President Donald Trump’s saying recently that Harvard University — which lost over $2.26 billion during the spree of cuts — “is starting to behave” — McMahon agreed with the president, suggesting that Harvard and the administration are drawing near a compromise, perhaps even on reforms that conservatives have long said will make higher education more meritocratic and less ideologically biased.
“Clearly what he’s indicating is that we are, I think, making progress in some of the discussions, even though they [Harvard] have taken a hard line,” McMahon said. “They have, for instance, replaced their head of Middle East Studies. They have already put in place some of the things that we have talked about in our negotiations with Columbia.”
She added, however, that taxing Harvard’s $53.2 billion endowment, the value of which exceeds the gross domestic product of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and over 120 other nations, would benefit taxpayers. In April, Trump ordered the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to review Harvard’s tax-exempt status, a measure that was cheered by populists while being regarded as extreme by others who argue that following through on the revocation stands to make American higher education less competitive.
“You know, these are really outstandingly large endowments — $53 billion, you know, for Harvard, and that money doesn’t just sit still,” McMahon continued. “It is invested, and if it’s invested well, they can expect a good return on that investment. And so, if citizens of our country are providing tax support to universities that do take federal dollars, then maybe some of that should come back.”
Later on in the interview, McMahon said that Columbia University and the Trump administration have weighed agreeing to a consent decree, in which neither party concedes fault, to resolve the government’s claims against the institution. Only days earlier, her Education Department said the university should lose its accreditation with the Middle States Commission for being “in violation of federal antidiscrimination laws.” Such a measure would be catastrophic to the institution, which is one of the oldest in the US.
“After Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, terror attack on Israel, Columbia University’s leadership acted with deliberate indifference towards the harassment of Jewish students on its campus. This is not only immoral, but also unlawful,” McMahon said on June 4. “Accreditors have an enormous public responsibility as gatekeepers of federal student aid. They determine which institutions are eligible for federal student loans and Pell Grants. Just as the Department of Education has an obligation to uphold federal discrimination law, university accreditors have an obligation to ensure member institutions abide by their standards.”
The Trump administration has launched a robust effort to fight antisemitism at every level of society. In February, it created a “multi-agency” Task Force to Combat Antisemitism. Its “first priority will be to root out antisemitic harassment in schools and on college campuses,” the US Justice Department said in a press release, which noted that the group will be housed inside the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and include representatives from the departments of education and health and human services.
The announcement came less than a week after Trump directed federal agencies to combat campus antisemitism and hold pro-terror extremists accountable for the harassment of Jewish students, fulfilling a promise he made while campaigning for a second term in office. Continuing work started during his first administration — when Trump issued Executive Order 13899 to ensure that civil rights law apply equally Jews — the new executive order, titled “Additional Measures to Combat Antisemitism,” calls for “using all appropriate legal tools to prosecute, remove, or otherwise … hold to account perpetrators of unlawful antisemitic harassment and violence.”
The moves precipitated what became a fight over the future of elite higher education, against which conservatives have lodged a slew of criticisms for decades. In Harvard’s case, the administration called for “viewpoint diversity in hiring and admissions,” the “discontinuation of [diversity, equity, and inclusion, or DEI, initiatives],” and “reducing forms of governance bloat.” They also implore Harvard to begin “reforming programs with egregious records of antisemitism” and to recalibrate its approach to “student discipline.”
By that time, McMahon had already announced the cancellation of $400 million in federal contracts and grants for Columbia University, securing the school’s acceding to a slew of demands the administration put forth as preconditions for restoring the money. Later, Princeton University saw hundreds of millions of dollars of its federal grants and funding suspended, as did Northwestern University, Cornell University, Brown University, and others.
The confiscations are now being fought in federal court, with Harvard University suing the administration to obtain a precedent setting summary judgement. Over a dozen institutions have sought and received permission to file an amicus brief on the school’s behalf.
“We stand for the truth that colleges and universities across the country can embrace and honor their legal obligations and best fulfill their essential role in society without improper government intrusion,” Harvard’s president, Alan Garber, said in a statement announcing the legal action. “That is how we achieve academic excellence, safeguard open inquiry and freedom of speech, and conduct pioneering research — and how we advance the boundless exploration that propels our nation and its people into a better future.”
For some, Harvard’s allegations against the Trump administration are hollow.
“Claiming that the entire institution is exempt from any oversight or intervention is extraordinary,” Alex Joffe, anthropologist and editor of BDS Monitor for Scholars for Peace in the Middle East, told The Algemeiner in April. “Moreover, the idea that cutting voluntary government funding is de facto denial of free speech also sounds exaggerated if not absurd. If an institution doesn’t want to be subjected to certain requirements in a relationship entered into voluntarily with the government, they shouldn’t take the money.”
Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.
The post US Education Secretary McMahon Hints at Possible Detente With Ivy League Amid Campus Antisemitism Fight first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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London Police Arrest Dozens at Protest Against Ban on Palestine Action
Protesters hold signs, during a mass demonstration organised by Defend our Juries, against the British government’s ban on Palestine Action, at Trafalgar Square in London, Britain, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Toby Melville
London police arrested dozens of protesters for supporting a banned pro-Palestinian group at a demonstration on Saturday which went ahead despite requests to call it off after a deadly attack at a synagogue in Manchester.
Two people were killed in the attack in the northwestern English city on Thursday and police shot dead the assailant, a British man of Syrian descent who counter-terrorism police said may have been inspired by extremist Islamist ideology.
Organizers refused requests by the police and government to call off Saturday’s demonstration, which had been announced before the attack, to protest against the banning of pro-Palestinian group Palestine Action under anti-terrorism laws.
STARMER CALLS FOR CALM
Calling for calm on X on Saturday morning, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said: “I urge anyone thinking about protesting this weekend to recognize and respect the grief of British Jews.”
“This is a moment of mourning. It is not a time to stoke tension and cause further pain. It is a time to stand together,” he said.
Police arrested protesters in Trafalgar Square in central London as they wrote slogans on placards declaring support for Palestine Action, which was proscribed in July after members broke into an airbase and damaged military planes.
Hundreds gathered for the protest, applauding and cheering those arrested as they were carried through the crowd by police without resisting. Onlookers chanted “shame on you” at officers.
“I’m disgusted by the police actually, they shouldn’t be arresting non-violent protesters here,” said protester Angie Zelter. “We have a right to protest and Palestine Action is not a violent organization, should never have been proscribed in the first place.”
Six people were arrested separately after unfurling a Palestine Action banner on Westminster Bridge outside parliament.
SERIES OF PROTESTS
The demonstration is the latest in a series of protests, during which hundreds have been arrested for defying the ban which makes it an offense to show support for Palestine Action.
Police said Saturday’s protests would draw resources away from security they have tightened around synagogues and mosques following Thursday’s attack.
Defend Our Juries, which organized Saturday’s protest, has condemned the attack on the Jewish community in Manchester, and urged police to focus on that, not policing the demonstration.
Thursday’s attack followed incidents of antisemitic and Islamophobic hate in Britain this summer, and pro-Palestinian marchers have taken to the streets to denounce Israel, drawing criticism from some members of the Jewish community.
Jewish and Muslim communities in Britain have expressed fears for their safety.
Israel has waged war on Hamas in Gaza since the Palestinian militant group attacked Israel two years ago. US President Donald Trump has urged Israel to stop its bombardment after Hamas said it was ready to release hostages and agreed to some aspects of a plan to halt the war.
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Group of 137 Gaza Flotilla Activists Arrive in Turkey
FILE PHOTO: People gather on a boat from a flotilla that had been carrying aid to Gaza until it was intercepted by Israel, docked in the port of Larnaca, Cyprus October 3, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Yiannis Kourtoglou/File Photo
Some 137 activists detained by Israel for taking part in a flotilla seeking to deliver aid to Gaza arrived in Istanbul on Saturday after being deported, according to Reuters reporters at the airport.
The individuals included 36 Turkish nationals, as well as citizens from the United States, the United Arab Emirates, Algeria, Morocco, Italy, Kuwait, Libya, Malaysia, Mauritania, Switzerland, Tunisia and Jordan, ministry sources added.
The Turkish Airlines flight landed at Istanbul Airport.
MORE THAN 450 ACTIVISTS DETAINED
Italy’s Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said 26 Italians were on board, with another 15 still held in Israel and set to be expelled over the next few days – along with activists from other nations.
Israel has faced international condemnation after its military intercepted all of about 40 boats in a flotilla carrying aid to Gaza and detained more than 450 activists.
“I have once again given instructions to the Italian Embassy in Tel Aviv to ensure that the remaining compatriots are treated with respect for their rights”, Tajani wrote on X.
A first group of Italians from the flotilla – four parliamentarians – arrived in Rome on Friday.
“Those who were acting legally were the people aboard those boats; those who acted illegally were those who prevented them from reaching Gaza,” Arturo Scotto, one of the Italian lawmakers who took part in the mission, told a press conference in Rome.
“We were brutally stopped … brutally taken hostage”, said Benedetta Scuderi, another Italian parliamentarian.
ZIP-TIED ON THEIR KNEES FOR HOURS
Israel’s foreign ministry wrote on X that all detained activists were “safe and in good health,” adding it was keen to complete the deportations “as quickly as possible.”
In a separate X post, it accused some flotilla members of “deliberately obstructing” the deportation process, without providing evidence. Reuters was unable to independently verify the allegation.
According to Adalah, an Israeli group offering legal assistance to flotilla members, some of them were denied access to lawyers, and denied access to water and medications, as well as the use of toilets.
Activists were also “forced to kneel with their hands zip-tied for at least five hours, after some participants chanted ‘Free Palestine,’” Adalah said.
Israel denied the allegations. “All of Adalah’s claims are complete lies. Of course, all detainees … were given access to water, food, and restrooms; they were not denied access to legal counsel, and all their legal rights were fully upheld,” a foreign ministry spokesperson told Reuters.
The flotilla, which set sail in late August, marked the latest attempt by activists to challenge the Israeli naval blockade of the Palestinian enclave of Gaza, where Israel has been waging a war since Palestinian terrorist group Hamas’ deadly attack on Israel in October 2023.
Israeli officials repeatedly denounced the mission as a stunt and warned it against violating a “lawful naval blockade.”
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‘Make Zionists Afraid’: Pro-Hamas Agitators in Germany Vandalize Gov’t Buildings, Intimidate Local Business
Anti-Israel protesters march in Germany, March 26, 2025. Photo: Sebastian Willnow/dpa via Reuters Connect
Pro-Hamas agitators in Germany carried out a series of antisemitic attacks this week, vandalizing government offices and targeting a Berlin bar with death threats and intimidation.
On Tuesday, an antisemitic flyer began circulating in Berlin, targeting the owners of Bajszel, a local bar in the city’s southeastern Neukölln neighborhood, with threats of violence and death, German media reported.
Since the start of the war in Gaza, the local bar — which hosts cultural programs and political events dedicated to fighting antisemitism — has been repeatedly targeted, with customers and staff threatened as “Jewish child killers” and the establishment repeatedly vandalized.
In this latest targeted incident, unknown individuals plastered flyers on the bar’s facade bearing the headline “Make Zionists Afraid.” Designed like a wanted poster, the handout showed photos of the three owners, each stamped with an inverted red triangle, which Hamas has used in its propaganda videos to indicate Israeli targets about to be attacked. The symbol has become a demonstration of support for the Palestinian terrorist group amid the war in Gaza.
The flyer accused the owners of “openly expressing their support for the colonial state of Israel” through the events they host at their bar.
“Anyone who sides with the perpetrators of genocide should feel unsafe everywhere. We want these three to be silenced forever and serve as a warning to all Zionists in Berlin and Neukölln,” the flyer read, referring to the bar’s owners.
The handout also included the antisemitic phrase “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” — a popular slogan among anti-Israel activists that has been widely interpreted as a genocidal call for the destruction of the Jewish state, which is located between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea.
Local authorities have launched a criminal investigation into the incident, but no arrests have been made so far.
Volker Beck, president of the German-Israeli Society, strongly condemned the attack, calling on law enforcement to act swiftly and urging immediate protection for the bar’s owners.
“Supporting Israel … should never put anyone’s life in danger. The antisemitic death threats against Bajszel in Berlin-Neukölln are completely unacceptable,” Beck said in a statement.
“Threatening people … with death for openly expressing their loyalty to Israel is a form of everyday terrorism that cannot be tolerated,” he continued.
In a separate incident on Thursday, the office of Germany’s center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) in Württemberg-Hohenzollern, a southwestern region of the country, was vandalized with antisemitic slogans. This marks one of the latest in a string of attacks by anti-Israel protesters targeting CDU offices nationwide.
Unknown perpetrators covered the office facade in red paint, scrawling messages such as “Accomplice,” “Stop the Genocide,” and “Flotilla Sumud.”
On Wednesday, the CDU building in Göttingen, a central German city, was vandalized, with several windows smashed and antisemitic slogans scrawled across the facade.
The perpetrators spray-painted slogans on the walls, including “Free Palestine,” “From the River to the Sea,” “Kill Zionists,” and “FCK CDU.”
Anti-Israel demonstrators even vandalized the German Foreign Ministry in Berlin-Mitte, covering the facade with red paint and scrawling antisemitic slogans.
Shortly after this incident, a pro-Palestinian demonstration was held outside the Foreign Ministry, where protesters chanted slogans such as “Free Palestine,” “Genocide,” and “All of Berlin hates the police.”
Berlin: Aktivisten beschmieren Auswärtiges Amt mit roter Farbe
Mehrere Aktivisten haben am Donnerstag die Fassade des Auswärtigen Amtes in Berlin mit roter Farbe beschmiert. Zudem sei ein Schriftzug angebracht worden. Dieser soll einen Bezug zum Nahost-Konflikt aufweisen. pic.twitter.com/dgPBqL5lHv
— TAVI (@xTAVIx) October 2, 2025
According to local authorities, an investigation has been launched into these latest incidents, and four activists have been arrested in connection with them.
Carina Hermann, chair of CDU’s municipal association, strongly condemned the recent wave of violence and vandalism, calling for immediate measures to ensure public safety.
“With broken windows, political slogans, and destroyed locks, the goal is to silence opposing voices and intimidate them with all the force possible,” Hermann said in a statement. “This is no longer a simple protest; it is a direct attack by extremists who have no regard for democracy or free discourse.”
In recent weeks, CDU offices in Hanover, Oldenburg, and other cities have also been vandalized. In Göttingen, additional buildings — including those of the Social Democratic Party of Germany — have been defaced.