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Why Northwestern University Needs a New President
Northwestern University president Michael Schill looks on during a US House Education and the Workforce Committee hearing on anti-Israel protests on college campuses, on Capitol Hill in Washington, US, May 23, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Amanda Andrade-Rhoades
Northwestern University President Michael Schill has fallen short at the most important part of his job: keeping all students safe.
While testifying before Congress on May 23, President Schill declared, “My number one objective and mandate when parents give me their children, or lend me their children, I need to keep them safe….” Yet his actions do not back up that statement.
President Schill ignored concerns from Jewish students in the months leading up to Oct. 7 that antisemitism on the Evanston, Illinois, campus was rising, and they did not feel safe. He ignored Jewish students who pleaded with him after Oct. 7 to address the unsafe environment that was growing on campus. When an anti-Israel encampment went up — in clear violation of the university’s updated student codes of conduct — his refusal to act essentially allowed Jewish students to be subjected to antisemitic harassment and intimidation on a daily basis without protection.
In what profession is an employee allowed to fail repeatedly at their self-identified “number one objective and mandate,” and still keep their job?
Why should we tolerate a university leader ignoring the pleas of one group of students who say they do not feel safe amid the evidence of rising hate, intolerance, and antisemitism on campus? Simply put, there is no scenario where this should be accepted, and we should not accept President Schill’s behavior.
Jewish students need to feel safe on campus, and to live in an environment free of harassment, intimidation, and threats, and President Schill has missed the mark at every turn. For that reason, it is clear that new leadership at Northwestern is needed.
This is not a position ADL takes lightly. We have a long history — going back decades — of positive engagement with the university. The president himself said in his testimony that he respects ADL’s work, even after we graded his administration’s performance with an “F” for the failure to address antisemitism and to protect Jewish students.
ADL’s CEO, Jonathan Greenblatt, is a graduate of Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Business, and always speaks highly of his experiences there as a student. We hoped President Schill’s May 23 testimony would help us and others understand why he did little to address antisemitism on campus before and after Oct. 7, and instead engaged in a policy of appeasement with anti-Israel and antisemitic demonstrators. Sadly, the testimony did the exact opposite. It became clear that time and again, President Schill knowingly prioritized antisemitic rule-breaking over the safety of Jewish students.
President Schill’s testimony revealed hypocrisy, negligence, and platitudes. He testified that he had personally witnessed antisemitism on campus before and after Oct. 7, yet he admitted that no student has been disciplined for violating the university’s codes of conduct. Even more, when pressed by Congress, he refused to say if or when any students or faculty will be held accountable.
He asserted that the codes of conduct were inadequate to address the anti-Israel encampment, while also admitting, “[T]he encampment was breaking our rules.” But even after amending Northwestern’s codes of conduct specifically to prohibit the encampment, he and his administration then failed to enforce the new rules.
President Schill admitted he only appointed one expert on antisemitism to his Advisory Committee on Preventing Antisemitism, and he acted surprised that the Committee could not reach consensus on the definition of antisemitism. Seven Jewish members of the committee, including the executive director of Northwestern’s Hillel, resigned from the Committee in response to the Deering Agreement. During his testimony, President Schill asked for the opportunity to form a new task force to address antisemitism after failing so spectacularly the first time.
President Schill testified that the Deering Agreement was reached at 4 am without consultation with Jewish students or leaders on campus, because such consultation was “impractical.” Yet President Schill somehow had time to consult with Jessica Winegar, a leading international proponent of the BDS movement whom he had appointed to his antisemitism advisory committee. In other words, he only asked those he knew would not push back against his capitulation while ignoring the months of input from Jewish students.
President Schill took credit for a “peaceful” end to the encampment. Yet he allowed the encampment to remain, and he rewarded protestors who had fanned the flames of antisemitism on campus, including with signage celebrating violence against Jews.
Finally, President Schill testified he still does not know who was behind the encampment, yet he somehow reached an agreement with encampment “leaders.”
Do you trust him to do his job and keep Northwestern students safe? We don’t.
New leadership at Northwestern is the first necessary step to restoring trust and confidence with Jewish students on campus, and ensuring they not only feel safe but are safe.
David Goldenberg is Midwest Regional Director of ADL (the Anti-Defamation League).
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US State Department Revokes Visas of UK Punk Rap Act Bob Vylan Amid Outrage Over Duo’s Chants of ‘Death to the IDF’
Bob Vylan music duo performance at Glastonbury Festival (Source: FLIKR)
The US State Department has revoked the visas for the English punk rap duo Bob Vylan amid ongoing outrage over their weekend performance at the Glastonbury Festival, in which the pair chanted “Death to the IDF.”
The State Department’s decision to cancel their visas would preclude a planned fall concert tour of the US by the British rappers.
“The [US State Department] has revoked the US visas for the members of the Bob Vylan band in light of their hateful tirade at Glastonbury, including leading the crowd in death chants. Foreigners who glorify violence and hatred are not welcome visitors to our country,” Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau wrote on X/Twitter on Monday.
During a June 28 set at Glastonbury Festival, Bob Vylan’s Pascal Robinson-Foster ignited a firestorm by leading the crowd in chants of “Death, death, to the IDF,” referring to the Israel Defense Forces. He also complained about working for a “f—ing Zionist” during the set.
The video of the performance went viral, sparking outrage across the globe.
The BBC, which streamed the performance live, issued an on‑screen warning but continued its broadcast, prompting criticism by government officials for failing to cut the feed.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer and festival organizers condemned the IDF chant as hate speech and incitement to violence. The Israeli Embassy in London denounced the language as “inflammatory and hateful.”
“Millions of people tuned in to enjoy Glastonbury this weekend across the BBC’s output but one performance within our livestreams included comments that were deeply offensive,” the BBC said in a statement following the event.
“These abhorrent chants, which included calls for the death of members of the Israeli Defense Forces … have no place in any civil society,” Leo Terrell, Chair of the US Department of Justice Task Force to Combat Antisemitism, declared Sunday in a statement posted on X.
Citing the act’s US tour plans, Terrell said his task force would be “reaching out to the U.S. Department of State on Monday to determine what measures are available to address the situation and to prevent the promotion of violent antisemitic rhetoric in the United States.”
British authorities, meanwhile, have launched a formal investigation into Bob Vylan’s controversial appearance at Glastonbury. Avon and Somerset Police confirmed they are reviewing footage and working with the Crown Prosecution Service to determine whether the performance constitutes a hate crime or incitement to violence.
United Talent Agency (UTA), one of the premier entertainment talent agencies, dropped the duo, claming “antisemitic sentiments expressed by the group were utterly unacceptable.”
The band defended their performance on social media as necessary protest, stating that “teaching our children to speak up for the change they want and need is the only way that we make this world a better place.”
The post US State Department Revokes Visas of UK Punk Rap Act Bob Vylan Amid Outrage Over Duo’s Chants of ‘Death to the IDF’ first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Dem House Leader Hakeem Jeffries Urges Mamdani to ‘Aggressively Address’ Antisemitism in NYC if Elected Mayor
Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY). Photo: Wikimedia Commons.
US House Democratic leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (NY) urged Democratic nominee for mayor of New York Zohran Mamdani to “aggressively address the rise in antisemitism” if he wins the general election in November.
“‘Globalizing the intifada’ by way of example is not an acceptable phrasing,” Jeffries said Sunday on ABC’s This Week. “He’s going to have to clarify his position on that as he moves forward.”
“With respect to the Jewish communities that I represent, I think our nominee is going to have to convince folks that he is prepared to aggressively address the rise in antisemitism in the city of New York, which has been an unacceptable development,” he added.
Jeffries’s comments come as Mamdani has been receiving an onslaught of criticism for defending the controversial phrase “globalize the intifada.”
Mamdani first defended the phrase during an appearance on the popular Bulwark Podcast. The progressive firebrand stated that he feels “less comfortable with the banning of certain words.” He invoked the US Holocaust Museum in his defense, saying that the museum used the word intifada “when translating the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising into Arabic, because it’s a word that means ‘struggle.’”
The Holocaust Museum repudiated Mamdani in a statement, calling his comments “offensive.”
Mamdani has continued to defend the slogan despite ongoing criticism, arguing that pro-Palestine advocates perceive it as a call for “universal human rights.”
Mamdani, the 33‑year‑old state assembly member and proud democratic socialist, defeated former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and other candidates in a lopsided first‑round win in the city’s Democratic primary for mayor, notching approximately 43.5 percent of first‑choice votes compared to Cuomo’s 36.4 percent.
The election results have alarmed members of the local Jewish community, who expressed deep concern over his past criticism of Israel and defense of antisemitic rhetoric.
“Mamdani’s election is the greatest existential threat to a metropolitan Jewish population since the election of the notorious antisemite Karl Lueger in Vienna,” Rabbi Marc Schneier, one of the most prominent Jewish leaders in New York City, said in a statement. “Jewish leaders must come together as a united force to prevent a mass Jewish Exodus from New York City.”
Some key Democratic leaders in New York, such as US Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Gov. Kathy Hochul, have congratulated and complimented Mamdani, but have not yet issued an explicit endorsement. Each official has signaled interest in meeting with Mamdani prior to making a decision on a formal endorsement.
The post Dem House Leader Hakeem Jeffries Urges Mamdani to ‘Aggressively Address’ Antisemitism in NYC if Elected Mayor first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Israel Eyes Ties With Syria and Lebanon After Iran War
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar attends a press conference with German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul (not pictured) in Berlin, Germany, June 5, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Christian Mang
Israel is interested in establishing formal diplomatic relations with long-standing adversaries Syria and Lebanon, but the status of the Golan Heights is non-negotiable, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said on Monday.
Israeli leaders argue that with its rival Iran weakened by this month’s 12-day war, other countries in the region have an opportunity to forge ties with Israel.
The Middle East has been upended by nearly two years of war in Gaza, during which Israel also carried out airstrikes and ground operations in Lebanon targeting Iran-backed Hezbollah, and by the overthrow of former Syrian leader and Iran ally Bashar al-Assad.
In 2020, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Morocco became the first Arab states to establish ties with Israel since Jordan in 1994 and Egypt in 1979. The normalization agreements with Israel were deeply unpopular in the Arab world.
“We have an interest in adding countries such as Syria and Lebanon, our neighbors, to the circle of peace and normalization, while safeguarding Israel‘s essential and security interests,” Saar said at a press conference in Jerusalem.
“The Golan will remain part of the State of Israel,” he said.
Israel annexed the Golan Heights in 1981 after capturing the territory from Syria during the 1967 Six-Day War. While much of the international community regards the Golan as occupied Syrian land, US President Donald Trump recognized Israeli sovereignty over it during his first term in office.
Following Assad’s ousting, Israeli forces moved further into Syrian territory.
A senior Syrian official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Syria would never give up the Golan Heights, describing it as an integral part of Syrian territory.
The official also said that normalization efforts with Israel must be part of the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative and not carried out through a separate track.
A spokesperson for Syria‘s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
The 2002 initiative proposed Arab normalization with Israel in exchange for its withdrawal from territories including the Golan Heights, the West Bank, and Gaza. It also called for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.
Throughout the war in Gaza, regional power Saudi Arabia has repeatedly said that establishing ties with Israel was conditional on the creation of an independent Palestinian state.
Israel‘s Saar said it was “not constructive” for other states to condition normalization on Palestinian statehood.
“Our view is that a Palestinian state will threaten the security of the State of Israel,” he said.
In May, Reuters reported that Israel and Syria‘s new Islamist rulers had established direct contact and held face-to-face meetings aimed at de-escalating tensions and preventing renewed conflict along their shared border.
The same month, US President Donald Trump announced the US would lift sanctions on Syria and met Syria‘s new president, urging him to normalize ties with Israel.
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