(TJV NEWS) The Coalition for Jewish Values (CJV), which represents over 2,500 Orthodox rabbis, has sharply criticized the leaders of Reform, Conservative, and Reconstructionist Jewish denominations for backing a statement that opposed President Trump’s crackdown on campus antisemitism.
The controversy centers on a recent declaration from the Jewish Council for Public Affairs (JCPA), which condemned Trump’s move to withhold federal funding from universities that fail to protect Jewish students. The JCPA argued that the policy threatens academic freedom and unfairly punishes higher education institutions.
The CJV responded by accusing the JCPA and its progressive rabbinic partners of prioritizing political ideology over Jewish safety. “By siding with universities that have turned a blind eye to rising antisemitism, they’ve chosen progressivism over Judaism,” the CJV said in a statement.
More troubling to the CJV was the participation of major non-Orthodox rabbinical associations, including the Central Conference of American Rabbis (Reform), the Rabbinical Assembly (Conservative), and the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association. According to the CJV, their involvement signals a disturbing alignment with institutions that have failed to protect Jewish students from threats and harassment.
“In defending these universities under the banner of ‘free speech,’ progressive rabbis are ignoring the harsh reality: Jewish students are being excluded from campus life, research opportunities, and often feel unsafe,” the statement continued.
The CJV pointed to Columbia University as a prime example, where rising hostility toward Jewish students recently prompted Rabbi Elie Buechler of the Orthodox Union’s Jewish Learning Initiative to advise students to leave campus for their own safety.
The group also praised Trump’s immigration policies targeting foreign nationals who promote antisemitism, referencing Mahmoud Khalil, a spokesman for Columbia’s anti-Israel group “Apartheid Divest,” who was deported after allegedly abusing his visa to incite hatred and support for Hamas, a U.S.-designated terrorist organization.
“Universities have become breeding grounds for anti-Jewish rhetoric,” the CJV stated. “And those who defend that environment are turning their backs on the very people they claim to represent.”
