House approves bill requiring campuses to report more foreign funding
(JTA) — Congress advanced a bill that requires universities to report more of their foreign funding, a priority of Jewish groups concerned about influence from Israel’s adversaries.
The DETERRENT Act passed the House on Thursday by a vote of 241-169, with more than 30 Democrats joining nearly all Republicans to support the bill. It will now head to the Senate.
While the legislation was championed by pro-Israel activists, Michigan Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib, a harsh Israel critic, also unsuccessfully sought to use it to advance her goals: She introduced two amendments to the bill that would have increased scrutiny of donations from, and investments in, Israel. Both were rejected by large bipartisan majorities.
The bill — an acronym for Defending Education Transparency and Ending Rogue Regimes Engaging in Nefarious Transactions Act — lowered the threshold for reporting gifts from most foreign countries from $250,000 to $50,000. It received support from Jewish organizations including AIPAC and the Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC), which are concerned that money from countries such as Qatar and Iran are funding anti-Israel messaging on campuses.
US hospitals fire doctor, nurse for anti-Israel vitriol
(JNS) — New York City’s Mount Sinai Hospital fired a physician earlier this month for allegedly celebrating Hamas terrorists, and, in a separate case, a hospital in Portland, Ore., fired a nurse for similar reasons.
The incidents are among several cases since Oct. 7, 2023, involving anti-Israel vitriol expressed by health professionals, including two nurses in Sydney, Australia, who are standing trial for telling an Israeli in February that they would not treat him but would instead kill him. These cases have raised concerns that Jews and Israelis face discrimination in their health systems.
Dr. Lila Abassi, an assistant professor of medicine at the hospital in Manhattan’s East Harlem neighborhood, was fired from her teaching position after pro-Hamas posts that she made on social networks were brought to her bosses’ attention, the New York Post reported on Saturday.
She reportedly called Hamas terrorists “noble resistance and freedom fighters.” A Mount Sinai spokesperson told the Post that she had been let go.
Washington, D.C., Jewish federation will distribute $180,000 to laid-off federal workers
(JTA) — Washington, D.C.’s Jewish federation is allocating $180,000 to help laid-off federal workers, the latest way the Trump administration’s slashing of the federal government is rippling out to Jewish organizations.
The sum is a multiple of 18, which signifies life in Judaism, and will be split: $100,000 will be distributed via local synagogue rabbis, and $80,000 will go to social service agencies that partner with the federation.
“Federation is stepping up to ensure that no one in our community has to navigate this hardship alone,” Jewish Federation of Greater Washington CEO Gil Preuss said in a press release. “In moments of uncertainty, we must depend on the strength of our Jewish community to provide the foundation we need to rebuild.”
More than 100,000 federal workers have been laid off in the government downsizing of President Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s DOGE agency, according to a CNN analysis. Approximately 20% of the federal workforce lives in the D.C. area.
Facing federal pressure over antisemitism, Cornell’s new Jewish president says he is ‘very comfortable with where Cornell is currently’
(JTA) — As at Columbia University, its fellow Ivy League school, Cornell University has had a pro-Palestinian student protest leader sought for deportation — as well as a handful of disruptive protests this year of the sort that drew attention from the Trump administration.
But Mike Kotlikoff, Cornell’s new president, says he isn’t too worried that protest activity on his campus will ignite the kind of sweeping federal sanctions Columbia has faced.
“I’m very comfortable with where Cornell is currently,” Kotlikoff said in an interview on Thursday, five days after being appointed permanently to the position he has held on an interim basis since July 2024.
“We’ve had a relatively peaceful two semesters this year,” he added. “We’ve had a couple of situations where individuals who were protesting really went over the line and infringed on other people’s rights, and in both of those cases, there were consequences for those infringements.”
