WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Trump administration has now adopted the international definition of anti-Semitism that is widely used by governmental agencies including the State Department. It explicitly defines Judaism as not only a religion but also an ethnic origin.

The policy change was announced by Kenneth Marcus, who leads the U.S. Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights, stating that the office was “ill-equipped to recognize anti-Semitism when it sees it and is failing in its mission to protect Jewish students.” Marcus recently re-opened a 2011 investigation into Rutgers University in connection with alleged discrimination against Jewish students.

The Obama administration previously closed the case, ignoring evidence that suggested the school allowed a hostile environment for Jewish students. Marcus said he would vacate the 2014 decision and re-examine the conservative Jewish group’s cause not as a case of religious freedom but as possible discrimination against an ethnic group. 

Marcus said anyone who acts “to deny the right of the Jewish people to self-determination, on the grounds that the State of Israel's existence is a racist endeavor or applies double standards to Israel that it does not apply to any other democratic country will be deemed an anti-Semite.”

“We strongly support the Trump administration’s decision to adopt the international definition of anti-Semitism,” said Mat Staver, Founder and Chairman of Liberty Counsel, President of Christians in Defense of Israel, and Founder and Chairman of Covenant Journey. “It’s encouraging to see our president recognize the importance of combating anti-Semitism,” said Staver

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