In a recent CNN interview, U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona warned that schools failing to address and combat antisemitism and Islamophobia could face potential funding issues.

“We want to promote free speech and, to be frank with you, college campuses are where students should be able to express different opinions,” Cardona said in an interview with CNN. “But when it comes to antisemitism or Islamophobia, that has no place on our college campuses or in our schools,”

This statement comes amid ongoing debates and pressures to strike a balance between school safety and the preservation of freedom of speech, particularly in light of the recent Israel-Hamas conflict. Some schools have faced challenges in managing controversial expressions of opinions, such as anti-Israel messages projected on campus buildings, which have garnered attention from both students and national politicians.

Many critics have criticized individual schools and higher education as a whole as being too tolerant of anti-semitism. Cornell was recently pushed to cancel classes after a threat was made against Jewish students.