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Trump admin. leaves Boston hanging, despite proposal for antisemitism meeting Wednesday
A federal task force proposed an April 23 meeting with the Wu administration. But the DOJ has so far failed to provide specifics the city requested, and no meeting was ever scheduled.
A proposed meeting between Boston officials and a federal antisemitism task force that would have taken place on Wednesday is not happening, as tensions continue to mount between the Trump administration and the city government led by Mayor Michelle Wu.
In mid-March, the federal task force contacted leaders in Boston, New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago to set up discussions about alleged incidents of antisemitism at schools and on college campuses. Wu and other leaders were told that the federal government had concerns about them potentially failing to “protect Jewish students from unlawful discrimination, in potential violation of federal law.”
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Representatives from the Department of Justice met with Boston officials and the head of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Boston on April 9 for a site visit in advance of the proposed later meeting. During the site visit, the city asked the task force to provide more specific information on the antisemitic incidents that prompted the federal government’s involvement.
Kevin Jenkins, public engagement and outreach advisor for the DOJ’s civil rights division, suggested an April 23 meeting in multiple emails with Adam Cederbaum, the head of Boston’s legal department. Jenkins said that the DOJ was reviewing its records for specific incidents in the Boston area to be discussed on April 23.
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Boston officials were waiting for information on these specific incidents before agreeing to meet this week. But the city has not heard from the task force since that initial site visit. An April 23 meeting was never confirmed or scheduled.
Spokespeople for the DOJ did not return a request for information Wednesday morning.
The back-and-forth comes as the federal government increasingly targets universities that it claims are not doing enough to protect Jewish students. The federal task force said in February that it was investigating Harvard and nine other schools. A month later, the task force told Harvard leaders that $9 billion in federal funding was at risk. Harvard officials maintain that the school has proactively worked to fight antisemitism, especially since establishing its own task force last year.
When Harvard refused to comply with a series of extraordinary demands made by the federal government, the Trump administration announced that it would freeze more than $2 billion in funding and explore the possibility of revoking the university’s tax-exempt status. Harvard responded by suing the federal government earlier this week.
Wu has also found herself being targeted by the Trump administration and GOP lawmakers over Boston’s immigration enforcement policies. She was called to testify before congress in March, earning praise from locals for her vocal defense of immigrants and willingness to denounce Trump’s “border czar” Tom Homan.
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