New GOP Platform Vows to ‘Hold Accountable’ Perpetrators of Antisemitic Violence, Revoke Visas of Terror Supporters

The Republican National Committee (RNC) in its 2024 platform specifically addressed antisemitism and promised to crack down on the violence against Jews and support for terror that exploded after Hamas’s October 7 attack against Israel.

“Republicans condemn antisemitism, and support revoking Visas of Foreign Nationals who support terrorism and jihadism,” the document, released Monday, reads. “We will hold accountable those who perpetrate violence against Jewish people.”

The issue of antisemitism is a weak spot for the Democratic Party. After one of the more serious instances of violence against Jews in the United States since October 7 in Los Angeles last month, President Joe Biden released a statement saying that he was “appalled” by the riot that occurred outside a synagogue but refrained from calling for criminal prosecutions for those involved.

When anti-Israel encampments sprung up on college campuses across the country this past spring, some elected democrats, like Representative Ilhan Omar (D., Minn.), sought to characterize student organizers as “peaceful” and “anti-war,” while the students themselves chanted in support of terrorist organizations and for the destruction of the Jewish state.

At numerous universities — like Columbia, Northwestern, and UCLA — Jewish students reported having been assaulted by student activists, and in some cases assaults were captured on video.

The idea of revoking visas for foreigners who support terror is not entirely new; former president Donald Trump told donors in May that he would deport international students involved in the encampments.

What is perhaps more notable about the platform’s mentioning of antisemitism — within a section titled “BRING COMMON SENSE TO GOVERNMENT AND RENEW THE PILLARS OF AMERICAN CIVILIZATION — is that the GOP mentions antisemitism alone.

Since October 7, many Democratic politicians have shied away from standalone condemnations of antisemitism, instead decrying both antisemitism and Islamophobia. When the Biden administration unveiled its action plan on the issue in November, the White House announced it as an effort to address “reported Antisemitic and Islamophobic incidents.”

In his first remarks on the encampments in May, Biden said “there is no place for hate speech or violence of any kind, whether it’s antisemitism, Islamophobia, or discrimination against Arab-Americans or Palestinian-Americans.”

The RNC platform also mentions the U.S.-Israel relationship, a point of contention for Democrats that will likely spur prolonged debate at the party’s August convention.

“We will stand with Israel, and seek peace in the Middle East,” the platform reads. “We will rebuild our Alliance Network in the Region to ensure a future of Peace, Stability, and Prosperity.”