(NewsNation) — A New Jersey Jewish high school will no longer allow college or university recruiters to come speak to its students unless the institution has a campus safety plan in place.
The Torah Academy of Bergen County (TABC) announcement of extra precautions cites the rise of antisemitic activity on college campuses that has also led to a rise in threats against Jewish students.
The increase in incidents across the U.S. began after the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas militants against Israel.
School officials said the spike in incidents required them to stop inviting representatives from various colleges to speak to students. Additionally, any college that would like to speak to students at the academy must show it is prepared to protect Jewish students.
“Before college representatives can enter our building, they must bring a statement from their university leadership detailing their plans to protect and maintain the safety and security of our graduates on their campuses as Jews,” the school’s leadership said. “We will continue to communicate to each college our serious concerns about the hostile environment permitted on their campuses based on the trends and incidents we are so closely tracking.”
Rabbi Joshua Kahn told the Washington Examiner that the leadership of the school made the policy change out of a sense of responsibility to ensure the safety of its students.
“In monitoring the statements and the actions, we’ve [focused] on the safety of our students,” he told the publication. “Free speech is one thing, but we all know threatening speech is a different thing. And schools need to be able to distinguish between those two and not just in lip service but in actual action.”
Chris Hahn, a NewsNation political contributor, said some issues need to be addressed by universities and safety plans should be in effect for not only Jewish students but all students.
“I’m perplexed as to what would qualify for this school to allow these recruiters on campus. He’s not really clear about that in what I’ve seen here. But no, there should be plans in place for the safety of all students,” he said.
Vince Coglianese, the host of ‘Mornings on the Mall’, echoed Hahn’s sentiments, stating that the school’s decision “seems like a good priority.”
“I like this, because I think the high school is looking out for the well-being of its students, and it’s sending a warning shot to these colleges, that you gotta get control of the craziness on these campuses. This is just one high school doing it. But maybe so many more should should join in on this,” he said.
Kahn also told the Washington Examiner that the school’s change in policy was not made in response to student and parent concerns, but the academy’s families have responded quite positively to it.