We support University of Michigan Jewish faculty and staff in their effort to resist the Trump administration’s weaponization of antisemitism laid out in the March 27, 2025 letter to President Ono.  

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March 27 2025

Dear President Ono,

We are Jewish faculty and staff at the University of Michigan. We have diverse politics, areas of expertise, and relationships to Israel and Palestine, and we all take antisemitism seriously as a threat to Jewish life here and around the world. We are writing to you united in extreme concern as we witness the exploitation of antisemitism that, although reflective of a real problem, is increasingly being deployed in an effort to harass, expel, arrest, deport, dox, and defame students, faculty, staff, and other academic workers across the country as part of a broader assault on higher education. These actions are a direct threat to the university’s core research and education missions.

As Regent Mark Bernstein recently stated, “If the [Trump] administration was serious about fighting antisemitism, it wouldn't have cut half of the Department of Education, including the Office of Civil Rights that is responsible for fighting antisemitism on campus, or they wouldn't have hired people to be in their administration who … tolerate antisemitic views or celebrate them in some instances.”

We must resist the Trump administration’s weaponization of antisemitism. As Jews, we join with our colleagues of all backgrounds—and other members of the University of Michigan community—to strongly urge you to do the following:

1) Do not cooperate, except as required by law, with attempts by immigration authorities to harass, deport, or otherwise limit the rights of students and employees in retaliation for the constitutionally protected expression of ideas, even when those ideas are hostile to or disapproved by a sizeable portion of the Jewish community.

2) Reject unjustified efforts to equate constitutionally protected political speech—including anti-Zionist speech and criticism of Israeli policy—with religious, racial or national discrimination. 

3) Extend the same concern and protections against discrimination to all groups.

4) Do not share names or contact information of our community members based on their perceived or actual political opinions for ideological targeting and retaliation by the federal government and lobbying groups. 

5) Stand up to protect even those community members with whom you disagree. 

As Jewish higher education professionals, we know that when powerful institutions scapegoat and harass marginalized communities, it hurts the entire community, and it makes the world less safe for Jews as well. This recognition stems not only from our individual beliefs and experiences but also from core Jewish values of engaging with disagreements and protecting the strangers in our midst.

A small group of Jewish faculty and staff would like to meet with you to discuss the concerns outlined in this letter and to collaborate on steps we can take together to ensure that the University of Michigan remains a leader in and a strong voice for academic free speech.