Opinion | Trumps Crusade Against Antisemitism Is Extremely Bad for the Jews

Taking a break from her work dismantling her own department, Secretary of Education Linda McMahon last week threatened roughly $9 billion of grants and contracts with Harvard because of “the school’s failure to protect students on campus from antisemitic discrimination.” As shocking as that threat was, it wasn’t entirely a surprise: Since the Justice Department convened its Task Force to Combat Antisemitism, 60 universities have received notice that they are being monitored or investigated.With an administration seemingly determined to do everything, everywhere, all at once, discerning its true priorities can sometimes be challenging.But on this one point, Donald Trump wants no ambiguity: “My promise to Jewish Americans is this,” he said on the campaign trail.

“With your vote, I will be your defender, your protector, and I will be the best friend Jewish Americans have ever had in the White House.”As the first Jewish president of a formerly Methodist university, I find no comfort in the Trump administration’s embrace of my people, on college campuses or elsewhere.Jew hatred is real, but today’s anti-antisemitism isn’t a legitimate effort to fight it.

It’s a cover for a wide range of agendas that have nothing to do with the welfare of Jewish people.All of these agendas — from dismantling basic government functions to crushing the independence of cultural and educational organizations to criminalizing political speech to legitimating petty presidential vendettas — endanger the principles and institutions that have actually made this country great.For Jews, a number of these agendas do something more: They pose a direct threat to the very people they purport to help.

Jews who applaud the administration’s crackdown will soon find that they do so at their peril.Among the first high-profile targets of the anti-antisemitic push have been a recent Columbia graduate and a current Tufts University graduate student, one a lawful permanent reside...