On June 11, 2025, the Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence of the Homeland Security Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives (the “Subcommittee”) held a hearing on “The Rise of Anti-Israel Extremist Groups and Their Threat to U.S. National Security.” The hearing, which lasted approximately two hours, featured four witnesses: (1) Kerry Sleeper, Deputy Director of Intelligence and Information Sharing, Secure Community Network; (2) James Carafano, E.W. Richardson Fellow, Heritage Foundation; (3) Oren Segal, Senior Vice President of Counter-Extremism and Intelligence, Anti-Defamation League; and (4) Julie Fishman Rayman, Senior Vice President of Policy and Political Affairs, American Jewish Committee.

The hearing—the Subcommittee’s first on the topic of antisemitism since October 7, 2023—illustrates continued commitment by the congressional majority to this topic, particularly with regard to universities. Below are the key takeaways from the hearing:

• Majority and Minority members, as well as the witnesses, agreed that rising antisemitism and recent antisemitic attacks warrant a federal response.

• Antisemitism in higher education was a major focus. Majority members alleged that antisemitism is prevalent on university campuses, that institutional responses to antisemitic incidents have been inadequate, and that certain campus organizations, including Students for Justice in Palestine (“SJP”), promote terrorism.

• Majority members put forward theories about the sources of funding of groups they characterized as antisemitic. One member suggested that individuals involved in pro-Palestine and anti-ICE protests were being paid to participate. Another member alleged that left-wing philanthropic organizations are funding antisemitic groups.

• There was some bipartisan support for vigorous enforcement of Title VI to address antisemitism at universities, but minority members expressed concern about using antisemitism as pretext to punish academic institutions.

• Members and witnesses proposed a range of measures to combat antisemitism, including: (i) strengthening enforcement of material support for terrorism laws; (ii) addressing hateful speech on social media, including through changes to content moderation policies by social media platforms; and (iii) adopting a more aggressive approach to immigration enforcement, such as denying or revoking visas for individuals deemed to support extremism.

The authors thank summer associates Gonzalo Nuñez and Matthew West for their contributions to this publication.

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