Under the pretext of dismantling Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) programs—widely unpopular among American conservatives—the powerful Heritage Foundation has begun to extend its campaign to anti-war activism and leftist causes on university campuses. The Trump administration appears to be enacting this agenda step by step.
DEI initiatives have become a fault line in America’s ever-deepening culture war. While many liberals support them, a March NBC poll found that 85 percent of conservative respondents favored terminating all DEI programs.
Keenly attuned to the political climate, President Donald Trump wasted no time. Immediately after taking office, he signed executive actions designed to purge DEI from the federal bureaucracy.
For years, prominent conservative voices have railed against DEI. But since the war in Gaza began in October 2023, many of them have taken a novel turn—linking DEI to criticism of Israel. On November 29, Ben Shapiro tweeted: “Destroy DEI. It is the rationale for the entire toxic intersectionality that has radically exacerbated antisemitism in the first place.” The following day, he aired an episode of his online show titled “Musk Is Right: Kill DEI To Fight Anti-Semitism.”
On January 20, 2024, Shapiro and Elon Musk spoke for more than 40 minutes at an event hosted by the European Jewish Association, discussing DEI and antisemitism. The conversation was laced with straw man arguments that fused the two issues. Shapiro went so far as to claim that DEI is inherently linked to antisemitic conspiracy theories about Jews. (more...)
Weaponizing DEI: Inside the Trump-backed Crackdown on Palestine Solidarity
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