Justice Department meets with Jewish community leaders

U.S. Department of Justice officials on Wednesday reiterated that preventing hate crimes against Jewish people is among its top priorities, according to a department statement. It comes nearly two months after the department held online safety briefings where Justice Department leaders discussed their efforts to combat hate crimes against Jewish, Muslim, Arab, and Palestinian communities. The meetings took place amid increased threats of hate crimes against Jewish communities, according to the department. They also come as pro-Palestinian protests erupted on college campuses across the country, some of which have become violent and resulted in arrests.

What sort of concrete steps has the Justice Department taken? The Justice Department charged a Cornell University student for threatening on social media to kill Jewish people. Patrick Dai, 21, pleaded guilty last month to posting threats to kill or injure another person using interstate communications. The Justice Department has also charged a former California rideshare driver for assaulting a passenger he perceived to be Jewish. It has also charged an Oregon man with hate crimes for defacing a synagogue. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Dig deeper: Listen to Cal Thomas’ commentary on The World and Everything in It podcast about the need for restoring decorum on college campuses.