Another wave of vicious hatred directed toward Jews has erupted at Columbia University and other schools in recent weeks. The country was shocked when the same thing happened in 2024. Several “Ivy League” school presidents lost their jobs that year for failing to take serious action to hold students responsible.
President Trump wasted no time making it clear he would not tolerate Jewish students being threatened and harassed again. An antisemitism task force established by the president canceled $400 million in federal grants and contracts with the university, citing the school’s failure to comply with anti-discrimination laws.1
JDFI commends the defunding. We hope it sends a strong message to university leaders and radical students that hatred and intimidation of Jewish or pro-Israel students will not be tolerated.
Protecting Our Children
The transgender issue continues to stoke controversy across America. But increasingly, public opinion is moving solidly against radical trans ideology. President Trump addressed the issue directly in last week’s State of the Union address. He strongly opposed allowing men who “identify” as women to compete in women’s sports. The public agrees with him. A New York Times poll found that by a margin of 79% to 18%, Americans don’t want men unfairly taking honors, awards, and medals from girls and women.2
But JDFI believes that President Trump said something else in his speech on the trans issue that was extremely important for America, particularly our children, to hear. While calling on Congress to permanently ban “sex changes on children,” he added it was a lie that “any child is trapped in the wrong body.” Then he spoke this powerful truth: “Our message to every child in America is that you are perfect exactly the way God made you.”3
Recognizing and respecting the biological reality and biblical truth that we are created by God as either male or female is just common sense. This issue represents the fundamental divide in America today.
On one side are those who believe God created each of us with dignity and worth and that He made America to be an exceptional nation. On the other side are those who mock Christians, denigrate America, and want to indoctrinate children in bizarre ideologies that convince them to mutilate their bodies.
It is vital that our leaders stand firmly for truth, for parents, and for our children.
Liberty University Under Legal Attack
Liberty University (in Lynchburg, Virginia) finds itself on the front lines again in the battle to preserve religious liberty. A federal judge has ruled against the university in a dispute with an employee who claims to have “transitioned” to a woman.
Before he was hired, the employee agreed to abide by Liberty’s doctrinal statement and policies. Later, he announced he had been taking female hormones for months prior to being hired and wanted to be called “Ellenor.”
The university fired him. Their lawyers point out that the school’s doctrinal statement “… clearly states that human beings were directly created in the very image of God as either biologically male or female from the womb, and it is a sinful act prohibited by God to deny one’s birth sex by self-identification with a different gender.”4
Liberty Counsel Founder and Chairman Mat Staver argued that Liberty has “… the right under the First Amendment and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act to uphold its sincere Christian religious beliefs and require its employees to do the same. Zinski intentionally and deceptively set up Liberty University in an attempt to undermine its religious beliefs and mission,” Staver continued, adding that the case “must be dismissed.”5
Unfortunately, U.S. District judge Norman Moon rejected the university’s argument and has ruled the lawsuit against Liberty can move forward.
JDFI stands with Liberty University. Our constitutional First Amendment freedom of religion must be protected, or our country will cease to be “a shining city upon a hill.”
Please join us in praying for Liberty University’s leadership and their legal team as they fight to preserve our rights.
1. Office of Public Affairs, U.S. Department of Justice, “DOJ, HHS ED, and GSA Announce Initial Cancellation of Grants and Contracts to Columbia University Worth $400 Million,” https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/doj-hhs-ed-and-gsa-announce-initial-cancelation-grants-and-contracts-columbia-university
2. Jackson Thompson, “NYT poll finds majority of Democrats oppose transgender athletes in women’s sports,” New York Post, January 19, 2025, https://nypost.com/2025/01/19/us-news/nyt-poll-finds-majority-of-democrats-oppose-transgender-athletes-in-womens-sports/.
3. Zachary B. Wolf and Curt Merrill, “Trump’s 2025 joint session address, fact checked and annotated,” CNN Politics, March 5, 2025, https://www.cnn.com/interactive/2025/03/politics/transcript-speech-trump-congress-annotated-dg/.
4. “Liberty University To Appeal Meritless Title VII Lawsuit,” Liberty Counsel, February 25, 2025, https://lc.org/newsroom/details/022125-liberty-university-to-appeal-meritless-title-vii-lawsuit-1
5. Ibid.
