Friends,
A tale of two Americas. A fork in the road. Pick your metaphor.
On the one side, we see some university administrators accepting Trump Administration demands wholesale. Social media executives bending the knee to avoid antitrust investigations. Law firms offering restructures and pro bono legal work so they can keep on with business as usual.
On the other: Those summoning the courage to fight back, and rallying others to their side to do so – and one of those is Wesleyan University President Michael Roth.
This Friday, I’ll sit down with Roth, who has led the charge of universities fighting back against the Trump Administration’s assault on higher education in the name of “protecting” Jewish students. We’ll discuss his decision to fight back, the cost and consequences of failing to do so, the pressures universities face, and the rumblings in the academic world as they face off against the President.
Register to join me live on Friday at 4pm Eastern / 1pm Pacific >>
President Roth, Wesleyan’s first Jewish president, took to The New York Times to blast the Trump Administration’s meddling on campuses like his own. “Jew hatred is real, but today’s anti-antisemitism isn’t a legitimate effort to fight it,” Roth wrote. “It’s a cover for a wide range of agendas that have nothing to do with the welfare of Jewish people.”
He also called out Jewish organizations that’ve stayed silent or even welcomed aspects of Trump’s assaults, like arresting Mahmoud Khalil, a legal permanent resident.
“Jews who applaud the administration’s crackdown will soon find that they do so at their peril,” Roth wrote. We agree. The surge in antisemitism we’ve seen since October 7 is real, but bending to the Trump Administration’s will is not the way to fight it. We’re grateful for leaders like President Roth for standing up for our students and protecting the very institutions that have made this country thrive, especially for our community.
If you can’t make it to our Friday afternoon chat, recordings will be available on YouTube, Spotify and Apple Podcasts. And if you can make it, please come with questions. Here’s that link to register once more >>
All the best,
Jeremy Ben-Ami,
J Street President
