Colleges and universities must protect Jewish students with the same “rigor and vigor” they extend to other targeted minority groups, Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM) President of U.S. Affairs Alyza Lewin said Tuesday at an international conference in Washington, D.C.
Speaking at the George Washington University (GW) Program on Extremism’s forum titled “Challenging Extremism, Antisemitism, and Hate: From the Middle East to U.S. Colleges,” Lewin argued that higher education institutions have struggled to properly recognize Jewish identity under existing civil rights frameworks — contributing to a climate in which antisemitism has intensified on campus.
“One of the challenges though is that schools don’t seem to recognize the Jews’ shared ancestry and ethnicity,” Lewin said. “Title VI of the Civil Rights Act does not include religion as a protected category. For a very long time, I think schools viewed Jews as just a faith, as just a religious group, defined only by religious belief and practice.”
Title VI prohibits discrimination based on race, color, or national origin in federally funded institutions, but does not explicitly list religion. Lewin suggested that this technical distinction has often led universities to misunderstand or minimize antisemitic incidents when they are framed as political rather than racial or ethnic hostility.
Lewin participated in a panel titled “Policy in Action: Confronting Antisemitism through Campus Policy and Community Partnerships,” moderated by GW Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students Colette Coleman. The discussion focused on the growing wave of antisemitic rhetoric and activity on American campuses, particularly in the wake of the ongoing Israel-Hamas war and the October 7 attacks.
“What has happened over the last couple of decades is Jews who recognize and define their Jewishness as being part of a people indigenous to Judea, with roots in the ancestral Land of Israel, are branded as Zionists, treated as pariahs,” Lewin said. “And because it was not addressed for years on campuses, this hate has escalated.”
According to Lewin, Jewish students increasingly feel forced to choose between suppressing core aspects of their identity or retreating into exclusively Jewish campus spaces.
“Jewish students on campus today have a choice — they either shed or disavow their history and their heritage in order to be accepted, or they have to come inside the Jewish bubble and join Hillel or Chabad,” she said. “They are not accepted as full Jews, celebrating their history and heritage, in the broader community.”
CAM Founder Adam Beren also participated in the conference, leading a discussion with former Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares on legal and policy mechanisms available to confront antisemitism at the state and federal levels.
The all-day event brought together senior academic leaders, policymakers, and international officials. Featured speakers included George Washington University President Ellen Granberg, GW Program on Extremism Director Lorenzo Vidino, Director of the Antisemitism Research Initiative Dr. Omar Mohammed, U.S. Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon, U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX), U.S. Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism Ambassador Rabbi Yehuda Kaploun, U.S. Department of Commerce General Counsel Pierre Gentin, Secretary-General of the Muslim World League Sheikh Dr. Mohammed Al-Issa, and Senior Adviser to His Majesty King Mohammed VI of Morocco and CAM Global Advisory Board Member André Azoulay.
The forum examined rising extremism globally and the implications for U.S. campuses, with particular emphasis on legal enforcement tools, community partnerships, and international cooperation.
Lewin concluded that universities must move beyond statements of solidarity and implement clear policies that ensure Jewish students receive equal protection under the law.
“Jewish students deserve the same rigor and vigor of protection that every other vulnerable group receives,” she said.