ADL CEO: Schools Are ‘Long Overdue’ Accountability, But It Needs to Be Targeted

On Tuesday’s broadcast of CNN’s “Inside Politics,” Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt stated that schools haven’t dealt with antisemitism and “the federal government, which is pumping billions of dollars into higher education, has the right to expect some degree of accountability from them. We’ve seen the U.S. government demand it with law enforcement agencies, with other institutions. They’re pressing here, and that is long overdue.” But it has to be done specifically and strategically in a way that doesn’t kill the benefits of American higher education.

Greenblatt said, “So, number one, let’s just underscore, antisemitism is a crisis, it’s a catastrophe that has not gotten nearly enough attention from the very institutions where it’s happening. Again, at ADL, we issue an annual report card grading colleges and universities, and they, for too long, failed to deal with this issue in a strategic, systematic way. So let’s acknowledge that, number one. Number two, let’s also acknowledge that the federal government, which is pumping billions of dollars into higher education, has the right to expect some degree of accountability from them. We’ve seen the U.S. government demand it with law enforcement agencies, with other institutions. They’re pressing here, and that is long overdue.”

He continued, “Now, at the same time, let’s also admit that I think there are ways you can tackle antisemitism, you can go at this cancer, without killing the victim, if you will. So, for example, our system of higher ed., it’s the envy of the world. It fuels innovation. It enables economic prowess. It is so important to our scientific leadership on the planet. I don’t want to obliterate the whole thing. So I think there’s a way with specific, strategic measures that you can get to the root causes of antisemitism, and the federal government has a role to play. But I worry about the overreach that, again, could kill the golden goose, if you will.”

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