A coalition of ten self-identifying Jewish organizations issued a statement condemning the Trump administration’s moves to deport non-citizens involved in pro-Hamas activities on campus. They prefaced the statement by saying the deportation of non-citizen students who align with terrorist organizations was a “false choice between confronting antisemitism and upholding democracy.”

While acknowledging the disturbing wave of campus antisemitism, the statement said, “The rule of law, freedom of inquiry, access to vibrant places of higher education, and strong democratic norms and institutions have allowed American Jewry to thrive for hundreds of years.”

The statement was released during the Passover holiday, when Jews around the world praise God for sustaining them and redeeming them from exile in Egypt. 

“Our safety as Jews has always been tied to the rule of law, to the safety of others, to the strength of civil society, and to the protection of rights and liberties for all,” the statement read. The statement distanced itself from Israel, failing to mention Israel by name even once.

“At this moment, Jews are being targeted and held collectively accountable for the actions of a foreign government. Jews are being pushed out of certain movements, classrooms, and communities for expressing a connection to their heritage or to the Jewish homeland.” it read. 

While failing to mention Hamas or the October 7th massacre of Israelis, the statement cited the 2018 attack on the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh as the most horrific attack on Jews in recent history.

The Jewish Council for Public Affairs signed the statement. It included the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, National Council of Jewish Women, American Conference of Cantors, Central Conference of American Rabbis, HIAS, Rabbinical Assembly, Reconstructing Judaism, Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association, and the Union for Reform Judaism. While claiming to represent a broad swath of mainstream American Jewry, no organization representing Torah-observant Jews was included in the statement.

This is part of a disturbing trend. Last week, 27 Jewish groups filed legal support for Rumeysa Ozturk, a Turkish national student from Tufts University in Massachusetts, who the U.S. Department of Homeland Security detained after federal investigations found that she “engaged in activities in support of Hamas.”