Harmeet Dhillon, the US assistant attorney general for the Civil Rights Division, said at the Israel Hayom Summit that her role in the Justice Department is to "fight antisemitism wherever it is found", and that the administration maintains a zero-tolerance policy toward antisemitism in schools, on the streets, around houses of worship and in cities across the country. She noted that the president initiated the effort in his first year in office and that she was directly involved in agreements with universities including Columbia and Northwestern. She described the work as an enormous and ongoing effort.
Video: Harmeet Dhillon at the Israel hayom Summit / Creidt: Flowmotion
Dhillon said conditions on campuses are still far from safe. "I cannot say it is 100% safe", she said, noting that at Harvard there had been a great deal of foot-dragging and that even after agreements were reached, a Jewish student was reported assaulted. She added that there have been decades of disrespect toward Jews and Israelis and that this will not disappear overnight, but the commitment is absolute.
She stressed her personal dedication to the mission. "I grew up in a family that respected all religions. I was a civil-rights attorney for three decades". She said that when she entered office she found that Jews felt their requests had fallen on deaf ears, particularly under the previous administration. After October 7, she said, professors and students prevented Jews from reaching their classrooms, something she found hard to believe could have happened without an appropriate response.
Dhillon said the administration was the first to fully enforce federal law over attacks targeting houses of worship. Synagogues were the primary target, she said, citing cases in West Orange, Manhattan and New Jersey. Speaking about New York mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, she said he is an "antisemitic demagogue" and that this is a fact. "If New York fails to protect Jews", she said, "federal authorities are already investigating and they will step up." She emphasized that the department is also examining sources of funding. "Is the money coming from abroad? From shadowy organizations? Terror financing is a crime."
Addressing antisemitic terrorism, she noted that in the Washington murder case federal prosecutors filed hate-crimes charges based on national or ethnic origin, and added that four additional incidents at Jewish homes in New Jersey are now under investigation. As for antisemitic content originating from the far right, she said the "solution to speech you do not like is more speech". She warned that "nothing is guaranteed" and said citizens must "drown out hateful voices with our own because the government is not all-powerful."
