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‘Lift Your Voices’: New York City Mayor Meets With Jewish Students to Discuss Campus Antisemitism

New York City Mayor Eric Adams and US Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) meeting with Jewish college students to discuss antisemitism at City Hall on Sept. 23, 2024. Photo: Dion J. Pierre/The Algemeiner

New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) and US Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) met with Jewish college students on Monday to discuss campus antisemitism at public and private universities in the five boroughs.

Held at New York City Hall, the “roundtable discussion” saw Jewish students of the City University of New York (CUNY) and other colleges in the area express their concerns about the alleged failure of school administrators to equally enforce rules proscribing ethnic and racial discrimination when they are violated by antisemitic anti-Zionists. As in other states across the country, colleges in New York have seen a rise in extreme pro-Hamas activity, ranging from the promotion of antisemitic conspiracies, hate speech, harassment, and assault. The situation, Jewish students told Adams, must be addressed as a civil rights issue.

Responding to their concerns, Adams condemned the activities of pro-Hamas students and pledged to do what he can to combat campus antisemitism within the bounds the law, citing Jewish support for African American civil rights in the 20th century. He also explained that his power to act is to some extent complicated by the multiculturalism of New York City, where a plethora of groups believe in competing and often mutually exclusive interpretations of history. Recognizing the claims of one group, he noted, could be perceived as denying those of others and squelching free speech.

“Whatever the law allows me to do, I’m going to do to ensure New Yorkers are safe,” he said. “And it’s unfortunate, but some of this speech is protected speech, and we have to be honest, this is the country that we’re in, we’re in a country that’s not like over there, where whatever you say you could be rounded up and arrested because you said it. That is not who we are as Americans. And sometimes that’s a plus. Sometimes, it’s a plus that we’re able to come together and rally in front of the UN and talk about how we felt and the anger of what happened on Oct. 7. And sometimes it’s not a plus when people are able to say they are Hamas.”

He continued, “We may hate that, but that’s protected speech in this country. And we have to find a balance of making sure that we raise our voices to counter the hate that we’re seeing, that is really becoming widespread in this country. And we all see it. And it hurts me, and I’m sure it hurts [Torres], and all of us who are pushing back against this hate, but this is the country we are in … But we should demand from those entities and institutions on our college campuses and ground that they should not be safe havens for those who are violating the policies, those who are being funded with taxpayer dollars, those who are using violence — they should not be able to exist on these campuses.”

Adams also commended Jewish students for speaking out, saying, “I take my hat off to you, because you have not decided to remain silent, and you know what has happened in previous generations when you were silent … you need to continue to lift your voices and build allies with other young people who are being misinformed. Bring them into your fold and educate them.”

Torres, who has been praised by both Democrats and Republicans for condemning antisemitic speech regardless of the speaker’s ideological affiliation, expressed his belief that the student anti-Zionist movement is antisemitic and should be judged as harshly as any white supremacist group.

“If you disagree with politics and practices of the Israeli government, then peacefully protest the Israeli consulate, but if you’re targeting a Jewish institution like Hillel simply for being Jewish, that is antisemitism. And if you’re following Jewish students to a kosher restaurant and blockading the entrance, and slamming the doors, and hurling insults at the Jewish students, that is harassment,” Torres said. “If the KKK were harassing Black students or followers of the Westboro Baptist Church were harassing LGBTQ students, or if white nationalists inspired by the Great Replacement Theory were harassing Latino students, there would be nothing but overwhelming outrage from both the political and the academic establishment. The mayor has spoken out, but there are far too many who are silent. And we should ask why the silence and difference when it comes to the safety of Jewish students.”

Earlier this month, Torres penned a letter to several New York-based universities, asking the higher educational institutions to amend their campus harassment policies to defend Zionist students.

Following the meeting’s conclusion, Jewish students and professors commended Adams’ advocacy of Jewish civil rights.

“I feel that, in the extent of his power, Mayor Adams was very receptive to our concerns and very willing to make change any way that he can,” Liora Gold, a third-year student at The New School, told The Algemeiner. “Since Oct. 7 , antisemitism has risen to the surface, and while it was apparent beforehand, it is now something that’s very public and very accepted. We are both on the board of Hillel, and we’ve had our meetings protested many times. We’ve had many security concerns because of our meetings. Our flyers have been vandalized; we’ve gotten backlash on social media. It’s a very public display of antisemitism masked as anti-Zionism.”

Michael Valdes, a theater major at The New School — where supporters of the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement sitting on the student government enacted a spending freeze as an act of protest — said that anti-Zionists were creating a climate of fear and intimidation.

“As someone who is a senator on our student government, it’s been very upsetting to see that they’re supporting divestment,” Valdes said. “Also the SJP [Students for Justice in Palestine chapter] on our campus actually supported Hamas’s logo on their event flyer, and they’re currently on probation for that. The fact that they’re even still allowed to be a club on campus after promoting a US-designated terrorist organization is very upsetting and disheartening to see.”

Many other students in attendance at Monday’s meeting are currently enrolled at the City University of New York (CUNY), which recently settled half a dozen cases of antisemitic discrimination opened by the US Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR). One of the cases, involving Brooklyn College, prompted widespread concern for revealing that Jewish students enrolled in the college’s Mental Health Counseling (MCH) program were repeatedly pressured into saying that Jews are white people who should be excluded from discussions about social justice.

The CUNY system has produced dozens of antisemitic outrages, as The Algemeiner previously reported. In 2023, it hired anti-Israel commentator Marc Lamont Hill as the CUNY Graduate Center’s “presidential professor” of urban education despite his public friendship with Louis Farrakhan. In 2020, administrators allegedly declined to file disciplinary charges against Nerdeen Kiswani, who threatened to set her classmate on fire for wearing an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) hoodie. In 2023, CUNY again came under a shroud of criticism when student Fatima Mohammed alleged that Jewish money influences the university’s Israel policy during a CUNY Law School commencement ceremony. Despite being widely condemned by Jewish groups and local and national lawmakers — including Adams — 40 CUNY Law faculty members issued a statement supporting Mohammed’s remarks, describing them as “heartland First Amendment speech.”

Queens College physics professor Azriel Gunack told The Algemeiner that CUNY chancellor Felix Matos Rodriguez is principally responsible for eradicating antisemitism from throughout the university system.

“This is going to have to be a conversation with the chancellor. Mayor Adams can’t come in and run the university. There’s some point to having a hands-off attitude, but things really can spiral out of control,” he said. “CUNY has a chance to be a leader in the country if he takes a stand on things. It’ll take real courage. There would be a lot of backlash, but CUNY could be a great school. We could really bring in students and teach them how to deal with difficult issues. We don’t do that now. We should have some program part of the freshmen year initiative where you have people from both sides and learn to talk and understand where someone’s coming from and try to express yourself in that context. There’s a lot we could be doing to make a difference. That is what democracy is, the exchange of ideas, but that’s not really happening.”

Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.

The post ‘Lift Your Voices’: New York City Mayor Meets With Jewish Students to Discuss Campus Antisemitism first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Marco Rubio Says US Denying Visas to Foreigners ‘Celebrating’ Assassination of Charlie Kirk

Marco Rubio speaks after he is sworn in as Secretary of State by US Vice President JD Vance at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, DC, Jan. 21, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Monday that the US is denying visas to foreigners who publicly celebrate the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, a move he cast as part of a broader posture against extremist rhetoric.

While traveling in the Middle East, Rubio told reporters that the State Department has been denying visas to individuals glorifying Kirk’s murder online. He added that officials are also reviewing existing visas and that he expects some to be revoked.

“It isn’t just about Charlie Kirk. If you’re a foreigner and you’re out there celebrating the assassination of someone who was speaking somewhere, I mean, we don’t want you in the country,” Rubio said. “Why would we want to give a visa to someone who think it’s good that someone was murdered in the public square? That’s just common sense to me.”

When asked if the US has actually revoked any visas yet, Rubio responded, “We’ve revoked visas of people. I don’t know if we’ve revoked visas of people that are inside the country. We’ve most certainly been denying visas.”

Rubio also addressed the issue in a social media post on X while sharing a video from a Fox News interview during which he was asked if he planned to restrict visa access or revoke visas for those celebrating Kirk’s killing.

“America will not host foreigners who celebrate the death of our fellow citizens,” Rubio said in the post accompanying the video. “Visa revocations are under way. If you are here on a visa and cheering on the public assassination of a political figure, prepare to be deported. You are not welcome in this country.”

Kirk, a prominent conservative activist and founder of the influential Turning Point USA organization, was shot and killed last week while speaking at Utah Valley University. Authorities have formally charged 22‑year‑old Tyler Robinson of Utah with aggravated murder and several related offenses, including discharge of a firearm, obstruction of justice, and witness tampering.

Rubio’s announcement comes amid intensifying efforts by the Trump administration to expel foreigners who express support for violence or terrorism. The administration has launched an overhaul of the US visa system, part of what officials describe as an effort to root out individuals deemed a potential threat to the country. The sweeping measures include expanded social media vetting for new applicants, continuous monitoring of the 55 million current visa holders, and the revocation of thousands of student visas.

Several of the online posts praising Kirk’s assassination have emerged from the Middle East, with individuals condemning the slain political activist over his vocal support for Israel. During his life, Kirk repeatedly spoke in defense of the Jewish state and expressed support for its military campaign in Gaza.

Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau concurred with Rubio’s statement, calling on consular officials to prevent the distribution of visas to anyone “praising, rationalizing, or making light of” the murder of Kirk.

Rubio has not explained the standards the State Department is using to determine what qualifies as “celebrating” the assassination. Some critics have speculated that this ambiguity could set up legal challenges from advocacy groups, who are already warning about the First Amendment and due process implications.

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‘Down With Fascists’: Columbia Activist Who Said ‘Zionists Don’t Deserve to Live’ Celebrates Charlie Kirk’s Murder

Khymani James, Columbia University student who filmed himself saying Zionists should be murdered. Photo: Screenshot

A former leader of the anti-Israel movement at Columbia University expressed full support for the murder of conservative activist Charlie Kirk last week.

Khymani James, who made the posts, was a “campus a leader in the pro-Palestinian student protest encampment” at Columbia, according to The New York Times.

In the aftermath of Kirk’s assassination, James posted on X, “More. MORE!!!,” referencing the killing. He followed up that post by saying, “Down with all the fascists 😍.” (He later also called California Gov. Gavin Newsom a fascist.)

In another post, James wrote, “‘Be careful what you post’ and it’s people rightfully celebrating the inevitable and just fate of fascists. anywho… NO ONE MOURNS THE WICKED 😩🤣.”

In addition to the posts he wrote, James also reposted statements such as “Thoughts and prayers for the bullet,” “rest in piss,” and “saw that s–t and started giggling and kicking my feet and shouting YOOOOOO.”

In James’s biography on the social platform X, he notes, “Anything I said, I meant it. DEATH TO EMPIRE.”

This is not the first time James has rhetorically supported violence. Last year, he was on video saying, “Zionists don’t deserve to live,” and proclaiming that people should “be grateful that I’m not just going out and murdering Zionists.”

He also said, “I don’t fight to injure or for there to be a winner or a loser. I fight to kill.”

The comments triggered widespread backlash, and James was suspended by Columbia. The incident also resulted in what was widely seen as an apology for James on behalf of Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD), one of the most notorious anti-Israel campus groups in the US. Months later, however, the group retracted its previous apology.

“All CUAD organizers were complicit in not maintaining our political line, keeping the statement public on our Instagram, and in neglecting the mental and physical safety of Khymani,” the post read. CUAD apologized for causing “irrevocable harm” to him.

Despite James’s comments about the possibility of murdering Zionists, CUAD’s post claimed that he was criticized and socially ostracized for “fight[ing] back against state violence.”

James also responded to this post, writing on X, “Thank you to my comrades for posting this beautiful, powerful letter. I never wrote the neo-liberal apology posted in late April, and I’m glad we’ve set the record straight once and for all. I will not allow anyone to shame me for my politics.”

“Anything I said, I meant it,” he concluded.

Kirk, 31, was shot and killed during a speaking event at Utah Valley University, where he was engaging in dialogue with students. He is survived by his wife and two young children. A young Utah man — Tyler Robinson, 22 — was taken into custody last week as the suspected shooter, about 33 hours after the assassination, according to state and federal law enforcement.

Kirk was an outspoken supporter of Israel and advocate against antisemitism. He regularly debated students on the subject of Israel and brought his ideas to young people at a time when, according to recent polling, that age group was turning decidedly against the Jewish state.

“There’s a dark Jew hate out there, and I see it,” Kirk told a student during a podcast episode which aired earlier this year. “Don’t get yourself involved in that. I’m telling you it will rot your brain. It’s bad for your soul. It’s bad. It’s evil. I think it’s demonic.”

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Spain’s PM Sánchez Faces Backlash for Fueling Anti-Israel Hostility Amid Surge in Antisemitic Incidents

Cycling – Vuelta a Espana – Stage 21 – Alalpardo to Madrid – Madrid, Spain – Sept. 14, 2025: Barriers are smashed by anti-Israel protesters during Stage 21. Photo: REUTERS/Ana Beltran

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez is facing backlash from his country’s political leaders and Jewish community, who accuse him of fueling antisemitic hostility after incidents at the Vuelta a España disrupted the prestigious cycling race.

Amid a sharp rise in anti-Jewish hate crimes and anti-Israel sentiment, Lorenzo Rodríguez, mayor of Castrillo Mota de Judíos in northern Spain, accused the country’s leader of “fueling a discourse of hatred” against Israel and the Jewish people.

“The government is fostering antisemitism that will prove deeply damaging for Spain,” Rodríguez said in an interview with the local outlet El Español.

“Sánchez’s moves are less about serious foreign policy and more about deflecting attention from his trials and failures in governance,” he continued. “Spain isn’t leading anything — it’s merely whitewashing Hamas and other terrorist groups.”

On Sunday, anti-Israel protests forced the finale of the Vuelta a España cycle race to be abandoned as police tried to quell demonstrations against the participation of an Israeli team.

In his interview, Rodríguez blamed Sánchez for fostering a hostile climate in Spain, saying the country is witnessing “hatred toward an entire people.”

He also criticized the Spanish leader for failing to take a strong stand on other international crises, including those in Russia and Venezuela.

“We all recognize that the Palestinian people are suffering, but the solution cannot be to blame the Jewish people,” Rodríguez said.

“People are afraid. There’s growing concern because our town was recently targeted,” he continued. “We are being singled out and threatened even though we have nothing to do with this war.”

Before the incidents on Sunday that led to the race’s cancellation, Sánchez expressed “admiration for the Spanish people mobilizing for just causes like Palestine” through their protests.

Madrid’s Mayor José Luis Martínez-Almeida strongly condemned Sánchez’s statement, accusing him of encouraging hostility and fueling tensions.

“The prime minister is directly responsible for this violence, as his statements this morning helped instigate the protests,” Martinez-Almeida said after the race was canceled.

“Today is the saddest day since I took office as mayor of this great city,” he continued.

Santiago Abascal, leader of the far-right Vox party, also criticized Sánchez’s remarks, accusing him of stoking division to maintain his hold on power.

“The psychopath has taken his militias to the streets,” Abascal wrote in a post on X. “He doesn’t care about Gaza. He doesn’t care about Spain. He doesn’t care about anything. But he wants violence in the streets to maintain power.”

Shortly after the incidents, the Federation of Jewish Communities of Spain (FCJE) publicly denounced the violence, urging authorities to respond quickly and decisively.

“Violence and intimidation have no place in a democratic society and cannot be excused under the guise of freedom of expression,” FCJE said in a statement.

“These violent demonstrations fuel hatred and contribute to a concerning rise in antisemitism in Spain, which we have been warning about over the past two years,” the statement read. “It is unacceptable that violence is justified on ideological grounds and hostility is directed toward the Jewish community”

Since the start of the war in Gaza, Spain has become one of Israel’s fiercest critics, a stance that has only intensified in recent months, coinciding with a shocking rise in antisemitic incidents targeting the local Jewish community — from violent assaults and vandalism to protests and legal actions.

On Monday, Sánchez called for Israel to be barred from international sports events after pro-Palestinian activists disrupted the finale of the Vuelta cycling race in chaotic scenes in Madrid.

“The sports organizations should ask whether it’s ethical for Israel to continue participating in international competitions. Why was Russia expelled after invading Ukraine, yet Israel is not expelled after the invasion of Gaza?” Sánchez said while speaking to members of his Socialist Party.

“Until the barbarity ends, neither Russia nor Israel should be allowed to participate in any international competition,” the Spanish leader continued.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar condemned Sánchez’s remarks, labeling him “an antisemite and a liar.”

“Did Israel invade Gaza on Oct. 7th or did the Hamas terror state invade Israel and commit the worst massacre against the Jews since the Holocaust?” the top Israeli diplomat wrote in a post on X.

The Palestinian terrorist group Hamas started the war in Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023, when it led an invasion of southern Israel, murdered 1,200 people, and kidnapped 251 hostages while perpetrating widespread sexual violence against the Israeli people.

Israel responded with an ongoing military campaign aimed at freeing the hostages and dismantling Hamas’s military capabilities and political rule in Gaza.

As part of its anti-Israel campaign, Spain announced on Tuesday that it will boycott next year’s Eurovision Song Contest if Israel participates, citing the country’s military offensive against Hamas in the war-torn enclave.

Last week, Sánchez also unveiled new policies targeting Israel over the war in Gaza, including an arms embargo and a ban on certain Israeli goods.

The Spanish government announced it would bar entry to individuals involved in what it called a “genocide against Palestinians,” block Israel-bound ships and aircraft carrying weapons from Spanish ports and airspace, and enforce an embargo on products from Israeli communities in the West Bank.

In one of its latest attempts to curb Israel’s defensive campaign in Gaza, Spain has canceled a €700 million ($825 million) deal for Israeli-designed rocket launchers, as the government conducts a broader review to systematically phase out Israeli weapons and technology from its armed forces.

Saar has denounced Sánchez’s latest actions, accusing the government in Madrid of antisemitism and of pursuing an escalating anti-Israel campaign aimed at undermining the Jewish state on the international stage.

“The government of Spain is leading a hostile, anti-Israel line, marked by wild, hate-filled rhetoric,” Saar wrote in a post on X, accusing Sánchez’s “corrupt” administration of trying to “divert attention from grave corruption scandals.”

“The obsessive activism of the current Spanish government against Israel stands out in light of its ties with dark, tyrannical regimes — from Iran’s ayatollahs to [Nicolás] Maduro’s government in Venezuela,” the Israeli diplomat continued.

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