Biden officials hold lengthy meeting with Jewish officials on surge in antisemitism

(CNN) — Biden administration officials held a lengthy meeting Monday with a group of key stakeholders to discuss a recent rise in antisemitism in the wake of Hamas’ October 7 attacks against Israel, CNN has learned.

A few dozen Jewish leaders met with White House Coordinator for the Middle East Brett McGurk, Homeland Security Adviser Liz Sherwood-Randall, and Deborah Lipstadt, special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism, for a meeting focused on national security, Israel and antisemitism, a source familiar with the meeting said.

The meeting lasted over two hours, the source said, part of broader administration outreach at a smaller-group level in the aftermath of October 7.

Events across the US in recent days “put a fine point on the crisis,” the source said, pointing to shots fired outside an Albany, New York, synagogue last week; an alleged antisemitic attack on a man in Beverly Hills, California; and other recent incidents targeting Jews “as a way to effectively make a statement on the conflict.”

“When you’re targeting Jews and holding them collectively responsible for Israel’s actions, that’s antisemitism. And so as we see that becoming increasingly prevalent, increasingly normalized, it is important to raise that to ensure the administration is using its bully pulpit … to call that out,” Amy Spitalnick, CEO of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, told CNN in a phone interview after the meeting, which she described as a “productive conversation.”

She added, “American leadership is crucial here – both in the region and in protecting here at home at a time when we see Jews under threat, Muslims under threat, Palestinian Americans under threat.”

Spitalnick is one of several Jewish leaders who have been in regular contact with the Biden administration, including Cabinet secretaries and other high-level officials, to respond to a rise in antisemitic attacks.

The Biden administration is also under increasing political pressure from some on the left as the Israel-Hamas war intensifies in Gaza and the humanitarian crisis worsens. As President Joe Biden departed a fundraiser in Philadelphia on Monday, hundreds of people gathered outside in protest of his administration’s policy on the conflict, chanting, “Ceasefire now.”

The conflict was discussed at the White House during the Monday meeting, the source familiar said, noting that McGurk reiterated the need for Israel to protect civilians and mount a long-term strategy.

The Biden administration launched a strategy for combating antisemitism earlier this year, committing to implementation by May 2024. As American colleges and universities grapple with a rise in antisemitic incidents, Spitalnick called on Congress to fully fund the Office for Civil Rights at the Department of Education, which could help address those campus issues.

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