New York, NY — Betsy Berns Korn, Chair, and William C. Daroff, CEO, of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, issued the following statement:
The heinous assault on peaceful Jewish protesters in Boulder—gathered to call for the release of Israeli hostages—is not an isolated incident. It is part of a deeply alarming pattern of violence and intimidation targeting Jews across the United States. This attack comes just two weeks after the murder of Sarah Milgrim and Yaron Lischinsky outside the Capital Jewish Museum in the heart of Washington, D.C.
This was not the act of a lone, deranged assailant. It was another salvo in an escalating campaign against American Jews exercising their fundamental rights to free expression and peaceful assembly.
Today, leadership of the Conference of Presidents joined fellow Jewish leaders for urgent, high-level meetings with senior officials at the White House, the Department of Justice, and the Department of Education to demand immediate action against the surge in antisemitic violence. The events in Boulder make clear: that action cannot wait.
The slogans heard on campuses and city streets—“Globalize the intifada,” “By any means necessary,” “Zionists out,” “From the river to the sea”—are not mere words. They are ideological weapons. And too often, they are paired with real-world violence. Let us be clear: this is not “anti-Zionist resistance.” This is terror. This is the reality of a “globalized intifada”—where octogenarian Holocaust survivors and other Jewish Americans are assaulted for the mere fact that they are Jewish, for daring to seek the return of innocent hostages.
We grieve with the victims of these attacks and their families. We stand in solidarity with the Jewish communities of Boulder, Washington, and across the country. We, too, have marched for the hostages. On another day, it could have been any of us.
We call on elected leaders at every level to meet this moment with the seriousness it demands. We reiterate our call to America’s universities: you must act—clearly, quickly, and with integrity—to confront and root out the antisemitism festering on your campuses.
The day after the Washington attack, the Conference of Presidents and the Jewish Federations of North America convened 46 national Jewish organizations in a unified call for action. We urged:
- A significant increase in Nonprofit Security Grant Program (NSGP) funding
- Federal support for security personnel at synagogues, schools, and Jewish communal institutions
- Enhanced intelligence and investigative capabilities at the FBI to neutralize domestic terror threats
- Expanded local law enforcement resources to protect vulnerable communities
- Aggressive prosecution of hate crimes using the full force of federal law
- Accountability for online platforms that amplify antisemitic hatred, glorify terror, and normalize violence
Today, we renewed those calls—and we will continue pressing for these urgent protections.
This is not only about Jewish safety. It is about the integrity of American democracy. No citizen should live in fear for expressing their identity or defending their loved ones—not in Boulder, not in Washington, not anywhere.
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The Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations is the consensus-based, central coordinating body representing 50 diverse national Jewish organizations on issues of national and international concern. The views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of every member organization.
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