Minnesota rabbis say Trump administration’s tactics against antisemitism aren’t making Jewish people safer

A coalition of Minnesota rabbis is sharing their concern about the Trump administration’s actions against foreign students in the name of fighting antisemitism.

Since a Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and the war largely centered in Gaza that followed, there’ve been large, pro-Palestinian protests at colleges and universities across the U.S. In Minnesota and elsewhere, this is in part to draw attention to the suffering of Palestinians and call for divestment from Israel.

Five Minnesota State University Mankato international students recently had their visas canceled and were told to self-deport within 60 days by the Department of Homeland Security, according to a letter the school’s president sent to faculty, staff and students late Wednesday night. Another MSU Mankato student was recently detained. Thursday afternoon, protesters gathered at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities to denounce ICE’s arrest of a Turkish graduate student there.

The Minnesota Rabbinical Association released a letter on Tuesday calling the Trump administration’s immediate solution to curbing antisemitism “short-sighted.”

“We are concerned that this approach which targets and detains international students threatens to erode our democracy without making Jewish or Israeli students any safer. It is stirring up fear and stifling free speech,” the letter, with more than three dozen Jewish faith leaders’ signatures, reads.

Rabbi Debra Rappaport, the director of Hineni Adult Jewish Learning & Contemplative Practices and former co-chair of the Rabbinical Association, helped lead the coalition toward crafting the letter. She joined MPR News host Cathy Wurzer on Morning Edition on Thursday.

The following has been lightly edited for clarity. Click the player button above to listen to the full conversation.

Trump says he’s acting in the name of the American Jewish community, but the community is divided. What are you hearing?

This is why we needed to write the letter. Because a broad coalition of rabbis who have very different views on Israel, have very different views on U.S. politics, came together in a letter to the Jewish community to say this is not going to make us safer.

This steadily growing crackdown on universities across the country, detaining international students, defunding universities, is being justified by the Trump administration as part of the fight against antisemitism. And while antisemitism is real and is concerning, we don't believe that suppression of speech and negligence of due process is a way to fight that. And we really are proud of this broad coalition of rabbis that came together to sign onto that statement.

The letter says: “History has taught us that whenever a government restricts the rights of a given group, oppression of the Jews will soon follow.” Can you expand on that?

Real safety doesn't come from surveillance and silencing. It comes from relationships and alliances across race, class and faith.

Jews are no strangers to a society turning on us. We know that with the rise of extremism and authoritarianism always comes the rise of antisemitism. And the Democratic processes like due process and freedom of expression are what protect minorities like the Jewish community, so that even if we disagree with a person vehemently, they should receive those protections. That's what assures our safety.

How do you weigh safety concerns from Jewish students with worry that the arrests will widen the divides between Jews and other marginalized groups?

That's what drove us to want to come together to write this statement. We believe firmly in free speech, and we are very concerned about antisemitism on campus. And we believe that the universities should be addressing incidents of hate and of discrimination against Jewish students the same way they address it against other minorities who receive hate crimes, as opposed to having the federal government come in and take a stand there.

Part of what's complicated is that people are associating Jewish people with Zionists. People are associating Zionism with capitalists, with other holders of power. And it's all becoming an “us and them.”

We’re very proud of coming together to speak against the shutting down of free speech in the name of antisemitism.

Read the Minnesota Rabbinical Association’s full letter here.

Correction (April 4, 2025): An earlier version of this story misspelled Rabbi Debra Rappaport’s name. It has been updated.

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