Ivy League schools should be ‘shaking in their boots’ at Trump’s latest nominee, students say

President-elect Donald Trump’s nomination of Harmeet K. Dhillon to lead the Justice Department’s civil rights division has Jewish students breathing a sigh of relief as incidents of anti-Semitism continue to abound at universities across the United States

Trump announced Dhillon’s nomination for the role on Monday, hailing her as a civil rights warrior who has waged prominent legal battles in defense of free speech, religious rights and anti-vigilante discrimination cases.

But it’s Dhillon’s outspoken stance against Ivy League schools for their failure to combat anti-Semitism that has many students hoping help is on the way.

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Dhillon has repeatedly taken a hard line against anti-Semitism at American universities. In April, Sahar Tarktak, a Yale student from Long Island, wrote on X that she was hospitalized after she was attacked by an anti-Israel mob for walking her visibly Jewish friend on campus.

Dhillon urged Tartak and others to take legal action against the university and her attackers.

“Sue Yale. Sue any university that refuses to keep students safe based on their religion. Make them regret their choices,” Dhillon responded to X. “Deplete their endowments. Sue every violent protester and organizer. Empty their bank accounts . Sew salt in their career.”

In one separate video Circling online, Dhillon described anti-Israel protesters who blocked Jewish students from entering their campuses as “little terrorists.”

“If you want to link guns and block access to a campus … knock a policeman on the head, f— around and find out, you should be arrested and hauled off to jail …,” Dhillon said in the paper. clip. “I think these students are little terrorists. They’re terrorizing Jewish students, and they’re terrorizing anyone who wants to get an education on that campus, and that’s not allowed under the First Amendment…”

A web page on Dhillon’s law firm website describes his commitment to represent victims of campus anti-Semitism as part of their larger mission to “uphold civil rights and defend constitutional principles throughout the nation.”

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“We are proud to extend our unwavering legal support to Jewish individuals who have experienced discrimination, retaliation or harassment in their school or workplace environments,” the website states. “Our company is ready to allocate extensive resources to support individuals who have suffered because of anti-Semitism.”

Tartak, now a junior at Yale, praised Trump’s nomination of Dhillon and told Fox News Digital that she and other Jewish students still struggle with disturbing anti-Semitic incidents on campus.

“Because the university does not demonstrate moral clarity and refuses to stand up for what is right, the environment at Yale has and will continue to be unsafe for Jewish students,” she said. “It’s so important and such a relief to have someone of her stature and role, not only stand up for Jewish students, but stand up for our country and our civilization. I wish she didn’t have to.”

Tartak said Trump’s selection of Dhillon puts Yale and other universities “on alert” as he makes good on his promise to crack down on rampant anti-Semitism and violence on campus.

Harvard University graduate Shabbos Kestenbaum, who is currently suing the university over pervasive and systemic anti-Semitism, also praised Trump’s selection of Dhillon, warning, “Harvard should be very, very nervous.”

“This has been a consistent theme within the Trump transition team, that promises made will be promises kept,” he told Fox News Digital. “There is a moral and legal imperative for institutions of higher education that have betrayed the American taxpayer, discriminated against Jewish students and enabled the culture of political indoctrination to finally be held accountable.”

Kestenbaum said it is “a damning indictment of the current administration that we Jewish students are counting down to January 20th for justice to finally be served.”

The Harvard graduate hailed Dhillon as “someone who has been at the forefront, not only on social media, but in the political landscape, amplifying the voices of Jewish students and encouraging them to hold their colleges accountable,” telling Fox News Digital that students across the US is “incredibly relieved” at the news of her nomination.

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“On January 20, Harvard, Columbia, Yale, and any other university that has failed to adequately address campus anti-Semitism should expect to get it.

“If they’re not shaking in their boots, they’re not paying attention,” he said. “The American people in November rejected the Ivy League values, the sense of moral hypocrisy and elitism, and absolutely, Harvard in particular, will feel the sting of the Trump administration if they continue to act this way.”

Harvard did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

Trump’s victory has colleges and universities on high alert after he promised to take on higher education as part of his plan to overhaul the American education system. American universities have come under scrutiny in recent months for their lack of luster response to anti-Semitism as protests and encampments overtook campuses across the country amid the ongoing war in Gaza. Many universities chose to look the other way, leading to a mass exodus of donors, draining millions in grants and severing relationships with their alma maters.

Trump has repeatedly targeted colleges and universities on the campaign trail, promising to free higher education in America from the grip of what he called “Marxist lunatics.” His 2024 platform called for “deporting pro-Hamas radicals and making our college campuses safe and patriotic again.” Trump has also vowed to fight “wokeness” and progressive culture in education and has repeatedly claimed DEI initiatives he believes are unintentionally discriminatory.

In July, Trump said he would advance a measure to have schools “fined up to the full amount of their endowment” if they don’t divest from DEI programs that engage in “explicit illegal discrimination under the guise of fairness .” He has also threatened to withhold federal dollars from schools that play a role in online censorship as part of his plan to “smash the leftist censorship regime.”

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His selection of Dhillon for the assignment “proves he’s putting his money where his mouth is,” one New York student told Fox News Digital.

She and the president-elect pretty much see eye to eye on the issue. In May, Dhillon published on X, “Unbelievable the number of future doctors and lawyers shouting ‘from the river to the sea’ while draped in keffiyehs and calling for death to Israel. No wonder the same soft brains continue to push gender ideology, pronouns, DEI. If you stand for nothing, you will fall for anything.”