Editor’s Note: Following are news items of International and National importance to the Jewish community.
Democratic Majority for Israel: Proposed U.S. – Saudi nuclear pact a mistake
WASHINGTON, D.C. (Press Release) — Following the announcement of a nuclear agreement between the United States and Saudi Arabia without requiring progress toward Saudi-Israeli normalization, Democratic Majority for Israel President and CEO Brian Romick released the following statement:
“President Trump’s decision to provide Saudi Arabia access to American civil nuclear technology without any meaningful progress toward normalization with Israel is a major strategic mistake. In doing so, President Trump is squandering the prospects for a historic breakthrough and an expansion of the Abraham Accords which would help create the conditions for Israel and a future Palestinian state to live side by side in peace and security. This deal is also likely to be counterproductive to the administration’s pursuit of an agreement with Iran to curtail its own nuclear program.
“The Biden administration was right to pursue nuclear cooperation as part of a broader agreement that included normalization with Israel. By separating the two, President Trump has given Saudi Arabia a major prize without asking anything in return and could set off a nuclear arms race in the Middle East.
“As Congress begins its review of this agreement, members must push for rigorous oversight to ensure there is no possibility for the development of a nuclear weapon, which would threaten Israel and further destabilize the Middle East. Congress must also remain vigilant about the Trump family’s longstanding financial and business ties to Saudi Arabia, ensuring that decisions about U.S.-Saudi cooperation are driven solely by America’s national security interests—not by financial or political gain.”
*
Reed College agrees to strict curbs on campus antisemitism
WASHINGTON, D.C. (Press Release) – The Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law and ADL (the Anti-Defamation League) have reached a historic settlement agreement with Reed College, secured through mediation with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR), resolving two Title VI complaints alleging antisemitic discrimination and harassment.
Under the settlement, Reed agreed to implement one of the nation’s most comprehensive sets of reforms addressing campus antisemitism. The landmark agreement requires sweeping reforms, including adoption of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) Working Definition of Antisemitism, mandatory antisemitism training, and stronger campus policies to protect Jewish and Israeli students.
The original complaint alleged that, in the aftermath of the October 7 Hamas terrorist attacks, a Jewish student endured escalating antisemitic harassment because of their Jewish identity and connection to Israel. According to the complaint, the student was verbally harassed, targeted as a “Zionist,” subjected to an attempted break-in by anti-Israel demonstrators, had a mezuzah torn from a dorm room door and destroyed, and was struck in the head by a rock thrown through a dormitory window. The complaint alleged that Reed failed to take prompt and effective action to stop the harassment, forcing the student to transfer to another university to escape the hostile environment. A second complaint alleged additional Title VI violations affecting another Jewish student. Under the agreement, Reed will implement comprehensive reforms as part of the resolution.
The agreement in part requires Reed to implement mandatory antisemitism training for students, faculty, administrators, staff, and members of the student judicial board; strengthen campus protest, masking, and campus access policies – including a ban on masking intended to evade identification; limits on demonstrations inside dormitories, and a prohibition on faculty cancelling class or otherwise incentivizing students to attend campus protests; and publish annual statements reaffirming the College’s commitment to combating antisemitism.
Read the Brandeis Center and ADL’s settlement agreement with Reed College HERE.
*
RJC endorses Darline Graham’s race to succeed her late brother in Senate
WASHINGTON, D.C. (Press Release) — Darline Graham steps forward at a moment of profound loss, after the passing of her brother, the great Senator Lindsey Graham. Senator Lindsey Graham dedicated his life in service to our country and was the best friend of the Jewish people and for the cause of liberty in the US Senate. We trust his beloved sister to carry the fight forward.
As Senator Lindsey Graham said of his sister in a 2015 interview, “If she took a role on, she would be a great representative of our country. I can’t think of a better person.” He trusted her and her judgment more than anyone else’s.
Darline Graham is “all in”, ready to earn every vote and to work each day for the people of South Carolina. She brings a lifetime of service outside of politics, from her career helping South Carolinians with disabilities to her leadership at the state level, and she will bring that same determination and grit to the US Senate.
*
Preceding press releases provided respectively by Democratic Majority for Israel; Anti-Defamation League in collaboration with the Brandeis Center, and the Republican Jewish Coalition.