RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — In a letter addressed to colleges and universities across the Commonwealth, Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares is calling on university leaders to address antisemitism on campuses.
“Countless Virginia students of Jewish background feel threatened and unsupported in today’s climate on our college campuses,” Miyares said.
The attorney general ousted groups such as “Students for Justice in Palestine,” which have held protest demonstrations chanting, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”
Miyares states statements such as the one above call for the complete destruction of Israel and deny the land’s right to exist. The attorney general reminds Virginians the First Amendment does not protect speech that incites or produces imminent lawless action citing Brandenburg v. Ohio, 395 U.S. 444, 447 (1969).
Miyares is calling the Oct. 7 attack against Israel barbaric and without excuse or justification.
He says slogans and chants from protest demonstrators have been met with silence from university leaders and “both agitators and the most vulnerable have noticed.”
The Anti-Defamation League reports incidents of harassment, vandalism and assault have increased by 388% since Oct. 7 — the initial attack on Israel.
Attorney General Jason Miyares’ full letter sent to Virginia college and university institutions can be found here.
