Due to the sharp increase in the magnitude and severity of antisemitic incidents on campuses, the Foreign and the Diaspora Affairs ministries have formulated an action plan aimed at inflicting economic and employment consequences on antisemitic students and compelling universities to distance them from their campuses.
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The university campuses in the United States has been identified as a particularly problematic and toxic focal point, partly due to funding sources from countries like Qatar and the rise of Muslim student organizations that challenge Western values.
Under the guidance of Foreign Minister Eli Cohen, a task force has been established at the ministry, led by senior officials specializing in public diplomacy, international law and the fight against antisemitism, including representatives from the Diaspora Affairs Ministry, to develop recommendations for dealing with the challenge. The inter-ministerial task force has decided on a multifaceted action plan:
The Consciousness Axis: Personal, economic and employment repercussions for the distributors of antisemitism, an action that should not have the signature of the State of Israel on it; Israel will examine options against civil society organizations active in the United States and in general.
Naming and Shaming: Publicizing the names of those generating antisemitism on campuses – both students and faculty and impacting the employment of those identified as perpetrators of antisemitism. This means that antisemitic students will struggle to find employment in the U.S. and will pay a significant economic price for their conduct. In addition, Individuals who tear down posters of kidnapped children or harm Jewish students will be publicly shamed.
Simultaneously, the Foreign Ministry and representatives in the U.S. are in contact with professional unions to recruit them to act against antisemitism and exert pressure on university heads. The idea is that the unions will announce that they will not employ antisemitic students. This has already happened in major law firms in the U.S., and if a university knows that the chances of its students finding employment have decreased, the university administration will act against those antisemitic students to avoid harming the university's ranking.
Legal Axis: Taking legal action outside the law against activities and organizations that pose a threat to Jewish and Israeli students on campuses, such as Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP). Israel will hold discussions with elements from the U.S. Department of Justice to map out legal tools that can be used to deal with factors that pose a threat on campuses and prevent activity that endangers the security of Jewish and Israeli students. Collaboration with the initiative of Jewish organizations and the center at Brandeis University to provide legal assistance to Jewish students, filing lawsuits against universities and against the perpetrators of antisemitism themselves.
Economic Axis: Activity without the signature of the State of Israel to harm the funding of antisemitic activity on campuses. In the first stage, Israel will identify leading donors within the Jewish and Israeli communities and enlist them in the struggle to serve as a lever of pressure on university heads to act against antisemitism. Some impact has already been seen in this context both at Harvard, where the Wexner Foundation ceased operations due to hostility toward Israel, and at Columbia University.
Israel will exert pressure on Jewish and non-Jewish donors to withdraw their investments from campuses where antisemitism is not addressed and promote economic sanctions against universities receiving federal or state public funding for not addressing antisemitism on campuses.
Another avenue is exposing the foreign funding received by U.S. universities from sources that encourage antisemitic and anti-Israeli activity. For example, the Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy organization's "Follow the Money" project, which has impacted the funding of organizations such as SJP and others to narrow their operational space.
The Diplomatic Axis: Examining the possibility of collaboration with the U.S. government, which is set to release an action plan to combat antisemitism on campuses as part of the national strategy to fight antisemitism.
The Explanatory Axis: Creating a toolbox available to pro-Israeli professors and students, assisting them in addressing claims against the pro-Israel side physically and especially on social networks. The Foreign Ministry will explore the option of launching a campaign on social networks focused on campuses.
Additionally, it has been decided to send influencers to campuses in the U.S. in coordination with pro-Israel/Jewish organizations in the area, and around them, to create a supportive march or demonstration on campus. The focus must be on influencers from the human rights, diversity, and gender identity realms. In addition, a continuous street sign campaign will be launched across campuses.