Amid a surge in antisemitic incidents in the US, Dani Dayan, Chairman of Yad Vashem, has initiated a series of meetings with university leaders and Jewish students on campuses across the United States. According to a statement by Yad Vashem, Dayan's visit to the US is aimed at engaging with university presidents and Jewish students, in response to the dramatic rise in antisemitic incidents globally and on university campuses.
During his US visit, Dayan will meet Holocaust survivors in New York and visit several universities, including New York University (NYU), Columbia University, the University of Pennsylvania (Penn), Queens College, and Yeshiva University.Additionally, Dayan is scheduled to meet with Kathy Hochul, Governor of New York, and Letitia James, the state's Attorney General."In these times of a huge increase in antisemitic incidents, I found it necessary to visit these campuses to bolster and show our support for Jewish students, and to urge university leaders to vigorously combat antisemitism," Dayan stated. He added, "The Holocaust didn't start with the Einsatzgruppen [Nazi special units] and gas chambers, but rather with words and minor acts of violence that had public backing. Today, we understand that a strong, immediate response is essential in confronting antisemitism, to prevent it from escalating to unmanageable levels,” Dayan concluded.