Youngkin signs executive order to combat antisemitism in Va. schools
Gov. Glenn Youngkin speaks with members of the media in Virginia's Capitol on Jan. 13, 2025. (Photo by Charlotte Rene Woods /Virginia Mercury)
Gov. Glenn Youngkin directed state leaders to develop resources to track incidents of antisemitism and anti-religious bigotry at Virginia's schools through an executive order announced Monday evening.
Executive Order 48 expands on his administration's efforts and work by the legislature to combat prejudice against Jewish students at all levels of Virginia's education system.
According to the executive order, surveys conducted by the Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM), a commission established by the governor in 2022, found 554 recorded antisemitism incidents in Virginia over the past year, with most of them occurring in Virginia's schools.
'No one should be unsafe in the classroom or on campus or feel targeted because of their religion or heritage. This executive order reaffirms and strengthens the commonwealth's commitment to safe educational environments free from discrimination and continues our actions against antisemitism and anti-religious bigotry in public schools and institutions of higher education,' Youngkin said in a statement. 'On day one, I signed Executive Order 8 establishing the Commission to Combat Antisemitism. We have made tremendous strides implementing their recommendations, but our work is far from done.'
Under the executive order, the governor directed the Secretary of Education, the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE), and the State Council of Higher Education of Virginia (SCHEV) to develop resources that will help local school divisions, colleges and universities prevent, track, report and follow up on incidents of antisemitism and anti-religious bigotry.
The governor also directed the Secretary of Education and the Secretary of Public Safety & Homeland Security to establish a working group to design a comprehensive reporting and tracking mechanism for alleged incidents targeting Jewish students. The working group — which will include representatives from VDOE, SCHEV, the Department of Criminal Justice Services and stakeholders from the Jewish community, among others — must provide recommendations for executive, legislative, and budgetary actions to the governor and General Assembly by Sept. 1.
Between April 2024 and April 2025, CAM found the number of harassment cases increased from 50 to 158 and vandalism from 19 to 62, Youngkin's order stated. Three assaults were also identified in April of this year, while none were reported in 2024.
The order also states that these trends have placed Virginia 11th in the nation for the number of reported antisemitic incidents, most of which occurred in Virginia's public schools and universities.
Anti-war protests roiled Virginia college campuses after Hamas, a militant group, unexpectedly attacked Israel near the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking over 250 hostages. Israel struck back with a full-scale war campaign that has left over 52,000 Palestinians dead to date.
Both Hamas and Israel began exchanging hostages and prisoners between January and March and the groups are still negotiating a ceasefire agreement. In the meantime, federal lawmakers, including Virginia U.S. Sens. Tim Kaine and Mark Warner, are urging President Donald Trump's administration to act on delivering food and emergency aid to civilians.
With Gaza facing starvation, Virginia Sens. Warner and Kaine press for U.S. action
The violence and hostages taken led to a string of campus protests, encampments, and arrests at Virginia's colleges and universities in the months to follow at the University of Mary Washington, Virginia Commonwealth University, Virginia Tech, and the University of Virginia.
In total, more than 125 students from five Virginia institutions of higher learning were arrested at on-campus demonstrations against the Israel-Hamas War in 2023.
Virginia lawmakers have sought answers in hopes of determining if the demonstrations and universities' responses to them warrant potential policy changes. Despite the committees being formed a year ago, no action has been taken.
In March, the U.S. Department of Education warned 60 higher education institutions, including George Mason University and the University of Virginia, that they could lose federal funding, after the federal agency claimed the institutions have not kept Jewish students safe based on a backlog of complaints.
After George Mason responded to the December 2023 complaint, the institution said the Office of Civil Rights within the Department of Education has requested no further information after providing the office with an update of its efforts to combat harassment and discrimination.
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