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Biden officials set a 2-week deadline for a plan to combat spike in campus antisemitism

WASHINGTON (JTA) —- At a meeting with Jewish leaders, Biden administration officials vowed to make a plan within two weeks to counter what they say is an alarming rise in antisemitism at U.S. colleges and universities since Hamas’ deadly Oct. 7 attack started a war with Israel.
The government officials, led by Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff and Education Secretary Miguel Cardona, told the Jewish leaders they would reconvene with them to lay out the proposal, sources in the off-the-record meeting Monday told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
Emhoff’s office, in a statement, said that “the administration will continue to engage with leading organizations and students to hear from them directly and take additional actions to counter antisemitism and hate.” Emhoff, who is Jewish, has played a leading role in the Biden administration’s efforts to fight antisemitism.
William Daroff, CEO of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, said the Jewish leaders came away reassured.
“The secretary spoke movingly about the obligation that America has to protect the Jewish community, and specifically the obligation that the Department of Education has to ensure that Jewish students in both higher education and K-12 feel safe and secure in their educational centers,” he said in an interview after the meeting.
Since Oct. 7, when Hamas invaded Israel, killing more than 1,400 people, most of them civilians, pro-Palestinian groups at a series of campuses have celebrated or endorsed the attack. At multiple campuses, Jewish students have been barricaded in buildings amid pro-Palestinian protests. Other Jewish students have been assaulted or engaged in violent altercations with pro-Palestinian students.
Participants told JTA that the 13 Jewish leaders present represented the religious and political span of the community — from Reform to Orthodox, from politically progressive to politically conservative — and yet presented a unified message of a call for action.
“I said, it’s no secret that I think that many consider me a progressive but in this moment, what we’re seeing is unlike anything I’ve ever seen, and it goes so far beyond criticism of Israel to very direct attacks on Jews and Jewish spaces, simply because they’re Jewish,” said Amy Spitalnick, the Jewish Council for Public Affairs CEO who has worked for Democrats and who launched her career with J Street, a liberal Jewish Middle East policy group.
“I’ve always been extraordinarily careful about distinguishing between criticism of Israel and antisemitism,” Spitalnik added. “This is not that. This is full-fledged, masks-off antisemitism.”
It was not clear what kinds of steps the Biden administration could implement to combat campus antisemitism.
Ahead of the meeting, the Biden administration outlined steps it has already taken, including having the Justice Department and Department of Homeland Security engagement law enforcement nationwide on the campus, local and state level; supporting Jewish, Muslim and Arab students on campuses around the country; and having federal cybersecurity experts reach out to schools.
The Biden Administration has also expedited an initiative launched just over a week before the Hamas attack to instruct federal officials to include antisemitism and other forms of religious bigotry as protected under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. That initiative was part of a broader presidential strategy to combat antisemitism launched in May, the first of its kind.
Sheila Katz, CEO of the National Council for Jewish Women, suggested that the initiative could be expanded from Title VI of the act, which bans discrimination, to include Title IX, which targets violence and harassment and outlines penalties for offenders.
Also speaking were Adam Lehman, CEO of Hillel International, who described the current campus environment, and Julie Rayman, the American Jewish Committee managing director, who outlined the effect the spike in antisemitism has had on K-12 schools. Other groups represented include the Anti-Defamation League, the Brandeis Center for Human Rights, the Jewish Federations of North America, the Reform and Conservative movements and the Orthodox Union.
Education Department officials have held roundtables for Jewish students around the country, and Cardona and Neera Tanden, Biden’s top domestic policy adviser, plan to visit an as yet unnamed campus this week.
Spitalnick said she hoped that the Biden administration would “leverage their bully pulpit and speak out loudly and clearly, showing up on campuses, making very clear that Jewish students are not isolated and alone.”
Over the weekend, anonymous antisemitic posts on a Greek life website threatened to “shoot up” the Cornell University kosher dining hall and kill and rape Jewish students. Police were called to the dining hall, and the campus Hillel warned students to stay away from it.
Sen. Chuck Schumer, the Jewish New York Democrat who is the majority leader, used his daily address on the Senate floor on Monday to say he was “sickened and frightened” by the Cornell incident.
“The incident targeting Cornell’s Jewish community is utterly revolting, but unfortunately, it was not an isolated occurrence,” Schumer said. “Across the country, on campuses and public spaces, the ancient poison of antisemitism has found new life.”
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Lebanon Must Disarm Hezbollah to Have a Shot at Better Days, Says US Envoy

Thomas Barrack at the Brooklyn Federal Courthouse in Brooklyn, New York, U.S., November 4, 2022. Photo: REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo
i24 News – Lebanon’s daunting social, economic and political issues would not get resolved unless the state persists in the efforts to disarm Hezbollah, the Iranian proxy behind so much of the unrest and destruction, special US envoy Tom Barrack told The National.
“You have Israel on one side, you have Iran on the other, and now you have Syria manifesting itself so quickly that if Lebanon doesn’t move, it’s going to be Bilad Al Sham again,” he said, using the historical Arabic name for the region sometimes known as “larger Syria.”
The official stressed the need to follow through on promises to disarm the Iranian proxy, which suffered severe blows from Israel in the past year, including the elimination of its entire leadership, and is considered a weakened though still dangerous jihadist outfit.
“There are issues that we have to arm wrestle with each other over to come to a final conclusion. Remember, we have an agreement, it was a great agreement. The problem is, nobody followed it,” he told The National.
Barrack spoke on the heels of a trip to Beirut, where he proposed a diplomatic plan for the region involving the full disarmament of Hezbollah by the Lebanese state.
The post Lebanon Must Disarm Hezbollah to Have a Shot at Better Days, Says US Envoy first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Report: Putin Urges Iran to Accept ‘Zero Enrichment’ Nuclear Deal With US

Russian President Vladimir Putin meets Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian on the sidelines of a cultural forum dedicated to the 300th anniversary of the birth of the Turkmen poet and philosopher Magtymguly Fragi, in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Oct. 11, 2024. Photo: Sputnik/Alexander Scherbak/Pool via REUTERS
i24 News – Russian President Vladimir Putin has told Iranian leadership that he supports the idea of a nuclear deal in which Iran is unable to enrich uranium, the Axios website reported on Saturday. The Russian strongman also relayed the message to his American counterpart, President Donald Trump, the report said.
Iranian news agency Tasnim issued a denial, citing an “informed source” as saying Putin had not sent any message to Iran in this regard.
Also on Saturday, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stated that “Any negotiated solution must respect Iran’s right to enrichment. No agreement without recognizing our right to enrichment. If negotiations occur, the only topic will be the nuclear program. No other issues, especially defense or military matters, will be on the agenda.”
The post Report: Putin Urges Iran to Accept ‘Zero Enrichment’ Nuclear Deal With US first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Syria’s Al-Sharaa Attending At Least One Meeting With Israeli Officials in Azerbaijan

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa speaks during a joint press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron after a meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, May 7, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Stephanie Lecocq/Pool
i24 News – Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa is attending at least one meeting with Israeli officials in Azerbaijan today, despite sources in Damascus claiming he wasn’t attending, a Syrian source close to President Al-Sharaa tells i24NEWS.
The Syrian source stated that this is a series of two or three meetings between the sides, with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani also in attendance, along with Ahmed Al-Dalati, the Syrian government’s liaison for security meetings with Israel.
The high-level Israeli delegation includes a special envoy of Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, as well as security and military figures.
The purpose of the meetings is to discuss further details of the security agreement to be signed between Israel and Syria, the Iranian threat in Syria and Lebanon, Hezbollah’s weapons, the weapons of Palestinian militias, the Palestinians camps in Lebanon, and the future of Palestinian refugees from Gaza in the region.
The possibility of opening an Israeli coordination office in Damascus, without diplomatic status, might also be discussed.
The source stated that the decision to hold the meetings in Azerbaijan, made by Israel and the US, is intended to send a message to Iran.
The post Syria’s Al-Sharaa Attending At Least One Meeting With Israeli Officials in Azerbaijan first appeared on Algemeiner.com.