StandWithUs proudly commends Christian Emerson Fellow and Students Supporting Israel (SSI) founder and chapter president Felipe Avila for his courage and leadership in confronting the shocking rise of antisemitism at The Catholic University of America (CUA). Despite the Student Government Association’s (SGA) disappointing decision not to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) Working Definition of Antisemitism, and taking up a resolution to ban his group from campus, Felipe continues to be a vocal advocate for the Jewish community.
CUA has demonstrated a troubling pattern of selective enforcement of rules and policies when it comes to Jewish and Zionist students. This semester, when SSI hosted Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) reservists for an educational event—with prior university approval—the group’s security concerns were not taken seriously by the university. On the solemn second anniversary of the October 7th Hamas massacre, the university removed Israeli flags that students had been explicitly permitted to display in remembrance of the victims of this horrific attack. The flags were removed on October 7th, stuffed into a plastic bag, and left at the administrator’s office. These actions send a chilling message to Jewish and Zionist students alike.
Sixty years ago, the Catholic Church built a bridge with the Jewish people in Nostra Aetate. The CUA student government dismantled the tools needed to maintain that bridge. This vote signals a profound disregard for the university’s Catholic values and gives a green light to the very hate Nostra Aetate was meant to extinguish.
We urge the university administration to join Felipe in taking meaningful action to ensure that the CUA sticks to their mission of being a truly welcoming environment for all by formally adopting the IHRA Definition and taking other concrete steps to protect and support Jewish and pro-Israel students.
Read more about the October 7 incident in the College Fix HERE
Read more about the IHRA vote in the Christian Post HERE
