Gov. Glenn Youngkin expands efforts to combat antisemitism at schools
PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) — On Monday, Governor Glenn Youngkin issued Executive Order 48 to expand his efforts to combat antisemitism at Virginia public schools and institutions of higher education.
This comes after surveys conducted by the Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM) found an increase in antisemitism incidents in schools after the terrorist attack on Oct. 7, 2023 that led to the Israel-Hamas war, which is still ongoing.
Netanyahu says there is 'no way' Israel halts the war in Gaza until Hamas is defeated
Governor Glenn Youngkin said in part, 'No one should be unsafe in the classroom or on campus or feel targeted because of their religion or heritage.'
The Secretary of Education, the Virginia Department of Education and the State Council of Higher Education of Virginia has been ordered to develop resources that will help local school divisions to prevent, track, report and follow up on antisemitic and anti-religious bigotry incidents.
In addition, school SOLs will now include Judaism, Jewish history and Holocaust awareness, and law enforcement throughout the Commonwealth will be trained for antisemitism awareness.
The full executive order can be viewed below:
EO-48-FINALDownload
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Associated Press
28 minutes ago
- Associated Press
Ameen Khalifa survived gunfire on a first trip to get food at Gaza's new aid hub, but not the second
Shootings have erupted multiple times in the last week in the vicinity of new aid hubs where desperate Palestinians are being directed to collect food, including on June 1 and June 3. Witnesses have told the Associated Press that it is nearby Israeli troops that have opened fire, and more than 80 people have been killed according to Gaza hospital officials. Israel has said soldiers fired warning shots or, in some cases, have shot towards 'suspects' approaching the troops in the areas nearby the aid centers. (AP video by Mohammad Jahjouh, Mariam Dagga and Wafaa Shurafa)
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Israeli military recovers body of elusive Hamas leader Mohammed Sinwar
The Israeli military recovered the body of de facto Hamas leader Mohammed Sinwar in a tunnel underneath the European Hospital in southern Gaza, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said Sunday. The IDF said it made the announcement after the body went through an identification process. Sinwar is the younger brother of former Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, who was killed by the Israeli military in southern Gaza in October. His death marks the latest in a string of assassinations that have dealt a serious blow to the group's top brass but are yet to break its grip on power in the besieged enclave. The elusive Sinwar was targeted in a massive airstrike on the hospital in Khan Younis on May 13, a day after Hamas released Israeli-American soldier Edan Alexander. At the time, the IDF said it had struck 'Hamas terrorists in a command-and-control center' in underground infrastructure at the hospital. But it took more than two weeks for Israel to say that it had definitively killed Sinwar in the strike. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made the announcement on the 600th day of the war two weeks ago. 'We changed the face of the Middle East, we pushed the terrorists from our territories, we entered the Gaza Strip with force, we eliminated tens of thousands of terrorists, we eliminated (Mohammad) Deif, (Ismail) Haniyeh, Yahya Sinwar and Mohammed Sinwar,' Netanyahu said in a speech at the Knesset, Israel's parliament. The attack killed 28 Palestinians and wounded more than 50 others, the Palestinian Ministry of Health said after the strike. This is a developing story and will be updated.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Israel reveals tunnel under Gaza hospital, says body of Sinwar's brother found there
By Ronen Zvulun KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza (Reuters) -The Israeli army said on Sunday it had retrieved the body of Hamas' military chief Mohammed Sinwar in an underground tunnel beneath a hospital in southern Gaza, following a targeted operation last month. Another senior Hamas leader, Mohammad Shabana, commander of the Rafah Brigade, was also found dead at the scene along with a number of other militants, who are still being identified, said IDF spokesperson, Brigadier General Effie Defrin. Israeli forces gave a small group of foreign reporters a tour of the tunnel that had been uncovered beneath the European Hospital in Khan Younis, which Defrin said was a major command and control compound for Hamas. "This is another example of the cynical use by Hamas, using civilians as human shields, using civilian infrastructure, hospitals, again and again," said Defrin. "We found underneath the hospital, right under the emergency room, a compound of a few rooms. In one of them we found, we killed Mohammed Sinwar," he said. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Sinwar's death last month, but Defrin said they now had his DNA which proved beyond doubt it was him. Hamas has not commented on reports of the death of either Sinwar or Shabana. Sinwar was the younger brother of Yahya Sinwar, the Palestinian militant group's deceased leader and mastermind of the October 2023 attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people according to Israeli tallies, and which triggered the Israeli invasion of Gaza. Shabana was one of Hamas's most senior and battle-hardened commanders in southern Gaza. He played a central role in constructing the network of tunnels under the southern city of Rafah, which were used for ambushes and cross-border raids. DESTRUCTION The drive to Khan Younis in Israeli military vehicles showed widespread devastation, with countless buildings lying in ruins, and piles of rubble collected at the roadside. The Israeli military has raided or besieged numerous hospitals during the war, alleging that Hamas uses them to conceal fighters and orchestrate operations -- a charge Hamas has repeatedly denied. While Israel has presented evidence in certain cases, some of its assertions remain unverified. Defrin said the army had carefully planned the strike near the European Hospital in order not to damage it. A large trench dug infront of the Emergency Room entrance led down to a hole in the claustrophobic, concrete tunnel, that was used as a hideaway by Hamas fighters, the army said. During the search of the site, Israeli forces recovered weapon stockpiles, ammunition, cash and documents that are now being reviewed for intelligence value. "We will dismantle Hamas because we cannot live with this terror organisation right in our backyard, right across our border," Defrin said. More than 54,000 Palestinians have died during the ongoing Israeli assault, according to Gaza health authorities. The U.N. has warned that most of Gaza's 2.3 million population is at risk of famine. (Writing by Crispian BalmerEditing by Alexandra Hudson)
