On March 5, Tufts junior Meirav Solomon testified before a U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary hearing regarding antisemitism, arguing that college campuses should focus on conversation and protecting equality for students.
Solomon, a Conservative Jew from Raleigh, N.C., was asked to testify by J Street U, the student wing of a liberal Jewish nonprofit that advocates for a diplomatic end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The hearing, titled “Never To Be Silent: Stemming the Tide of Antisemitism in America,” featured witnesses from organizations that combat antisemitism, including the National Jewish Advocacy Center, The Nexus Project, The Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law and The Pearl Project. Solomon, who is also J Street U’s co-vice president for New England, was the only student on the panel.
Solomon was asked to testify by J Street within a week of the hearing and said the preparations were stressful, especially during midterms. She also expressed having concern over the potential for “gotcha” moments.
“I was worried about the nature of the question-answer [process] given how we’ve seen those turn into the really horrific, sometimes verbally abusive, hearings we’ve seen. I was pretty terrified, pretty scared of what could possibly happen,” she said.
In her testimony, Solomon expressed support for “genuine exchange” on campuses and recognized that most students are not political radicals. She criticized antisemitism on the right and Donald Trump’s administration’s removal of federal funding from universities.
“I felt like this hearing was a great opportunity for me to be able to stand up for the people like me who have been experiencing all this, especially at a time when the federal government seems to be determined to slash all federal funding for any educational initiatives that talk about antisemitism or Islamophobia or any forms of hatred and bigotry,” she said in an interview with the Daily.
As part of widespread cuts to the federal government under the second Trump administration, civil rights offices have been reduced in size, including in the Departments of Education and Homeland Security. Critics worry that this may leave ongoing investigations into discrimination and harassment in limbo.
While somewhat critical of Tufts’ response to campus protests, Solomon said she understands the university’s competing interests. She advocated for increased communication between the administration and the student body.
“I don’t think there’s enough communication between the administration and between groups on campus who have differing political beliefs and are not being represented at the higher level, especially when it comes to donors and other stakeholders at Tufts and at other colleges and universities,” she said.
Solomon said her experience was an opportunity to represent a more nuanced perspective that many students have of the conflict in the Middle East.
“These are complex issues, and we all benefit from hearing multiple viewpoints — even ones we fundamentally disagree with — as long as the discussion is in the spirit of genuine exchange,” she wrote in her testimony. “We shouldn’t let the hateful ideas of a small minority of students be a reason to dismantle the education they fought so hard for.”
Solomon encouraged reflection on the distinction between feeling unsafe and feeling uncomfortable.
“I’m never going to be somebody who invalidates others’ experiences. But at the same time, I think that — having academic discussions [in the past] about defining antisemitism and what it is and what it isn’t — I think it’s important that we talk about how colleges and universities are places where people should be encouraged to be uncomfortable,” she said.
Republican Sen. John N. Kennedy from Louisiana asked Solomon, who mostly expected questions from Democrats, if she believed Trump was responsible for the recent rise in antisemitism. Stopping short of saying Trump has “caused” antisemitism, Solomon said she believes there was indeed a causal connection between the Trump administration and the rise in antisemitism.
“Trump has highlighted and platformed neo-Nazis and white supremacists,” she said at the hearing. In her testimony, Solomon wrote that right-wing organizations such as The Heritage Foundation have used antisemitic rhetoric in their literature. She noted the 2017 Unite the Right rally, where white supremacists marched in Charlottesville, Va., spouting antisemitic and racist chants.
Due to the Republican majority in the Senate, Solomon said she realized she would likely be “the most left-wing Jew” that would be allowed to speak on antisemitism. She also pointed out that many politicians have put the spotlight on more radical or extreme perspectives, rather than the more nuanced viewpoints that the majority holds, she said.
Solomon said she prepared for severe backlash to her testimony but was surprised to have experienced very little. Individuals who were lined up to protest the hearing eventually applauded Solomon’s opening statement.
“I was receiving support from people who I didn’t think I’d receive support from, from people who are further to the left from me, and even from people who are much more to the right to me,” she said.
