Laura Gillen, Democratic nominee for New York’s Fourth Congressional District, announced an action plan to address antisemitism.
Gillen spoke alongside Jewish leaders, community members and supporters of her proposed plan Wednesday as she outlined her policy, which aims to tackle antisemitism in schools, synagogues and on social media. Speakers at Gillen’s press conference included Nassau County legislator Seth Koslow, Rabbi Michael Stanger of Old Westbury Hebrew Congregation and Alisa Baroukh, a parent of a college student.
“As a mother of four children, one who is in college right now, it breaks my heart to hear about this threat to children on college campuses because of the scourge of anti-semitism,” Gillen said.
Gillen said Congress has failed to leverage Department of Education funding to compel college administrators to take action on antisemitism. Also, she said during this budget cycle, House Republicans “voted to cut funding for the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights,” which she said is a crucial resource for Jewish students who are seeking redress from abuse.
On synagogue safety, Gillen said she is committed to fully funding the FBI and DOJ, whose assistance is needed to coordinate responses to complex threats.
On social media, Gillen said she will pursue legislation requiring content moderation on social media platforms to remove antisemitic content and hate speech. She contrasted her action plan with her opponent’s “failure to enact meaningful reform.”
“In Congress, I will go beyond hearings, harsh words, and stern warnings,” Gillen said. “And I will never cut existing resources needed to combat antisemitism. Anthony D’Esposito has social media posts and pictures — I have an action plan.”
Gillen argued that her Republican opponent, Congressman D’Esposito, is not doing enough to fight Jewish hate in the country and in the congressional district. Matt Capp, spokesman for D’Esposito, said Gillen’s statement was extremely disingenuous, as D’Esposito has a “proven track record” of fighting against antisemitism.
Capp said D’Esposito — along with House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Texas) and a handful of other House members — visited Columbia University and met with Chabad House students there who had been intimidated by antisemitic protesters. Capp said D’Esposito, a board member on the U.S. Holocaust Museum, directly helped get out the message on antisemitism and how to combat it.
Also, D’Esposito is a founding member of the House-Knesset Parliamentary Friendship group, which works to bring federal legislators in Israel and the USA together on ways to support each other’s countries — particularly on issues like antisemitism.
“While Congressman D’Esposito has been busy passing legislation combating antisemitism, serving on the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum’s Board of Directors, helping found the House-Knesset Parliamentary Friendship Group, confronting antisemitic protesters with Speaker Johnson at Columbia University, and traveling to Israel to meet with leaders of the Jewish State, Laura Gillen has been trying to con Long Islanders into thinking she cares about fighting antisemitism even though she’s refused to publicly condemn her Democratic colleagues like Congresswoman Ilhan Omar and her ‘Squad’ allies who advance an antisemitic agenda in Congress,” Capp said.
Gillen said the House Republicans and her opponent have endorsed cuts to programs needed to ensure the safety of the Jewish community. She said not one additional dollar has been spent nor one law passed to combat the rise in antisemitism.
“This budget cycle House Republicans voted to cut for the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights, which is a crucial resource for Jewish students who are seeking to get redress from abuse,” Gillen said.
“That is egregious,” Gillen said. “I find it unacceptable on how little we are doing to actually protect our Jewish residents from this hatred.”
Gillen said if she is voted into office, she will advocate for strong, enforceable policies that will tackle anti-semitism. She said she would compel colleges to implement and enforce codes of conduct, which she will seek to leverage their federal aid to do.
“Schools that do not comply with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act — which requires schools to meet anti-discrimination standards — and fail to address violence and threats on campus should lose their federal funding,” Gillen said.
“I want to speak in support of this plan to enforce Title VI of the Civil Rights Act because it is so incredibly important,” Stanger said.
To help students seek relief, Gillen said she will advocate to increase and “never cut” funding for the DOE’s Office of Civil Rights.
It’s been almost a year since Hamas attacked Israel and since then, Gillen said there has been an unprecedented rise in antisemitism in the United States, and more specifically, the Fourth Congressional District.
“Enough is enough” and now is the time for action, not violence,” Gillen said.