Photo: University of Texas.

Jewish students at the University of Texas (UT) welcomed their government’s declaration of support following a spate of antisemitic incidents on campuses and other venues across the United States, the school newspaper The Daily Texan reported.

Jason Taper, a member of Texas Hillel, said Tuesday’s passage of UT Student Government (SG) Assembly Resolution 26 (AR 26) comes at a difficult time for American Jews, and “knowing that we have the UT community behind us really helps.”

“It is still, luckily, unacceptable to hate Jews at this university, and when that sentiment is publicly expressed, it’s a measure of help,” Taper said, referring to the recent vandalization of the Texas Hillel building and a spate of antisemitic postings on a UT Facebook page. 

Jonathan Dror, an SG member and author of AR 26, told The Daily Texan he hopes the resolution will help Jewish students feel safe on the UT campus.

“Several Jewish students that I know don’t even feel comfortable wearing their (Star of David) necklace out or small things like that just to express their religion,” he said. “Unfortunately, antisemitism is always around and we can never get rid of it, but right now it’s rearing its ugly head. So, we just thought it was very important to show a message of solidarity with Jewish students, and that we’re supporting them right now.”

A number of students affiliated with chapters of Students for Justice in Palestine and the Muslim Students Association at two other Texas universities were recently found to be routinely threatening Jews online, as The Algemeiner reported. At the University of Houston, a group of students had posted dozens of violent messages directed at Jews and Israel, while at the University of Texas, Arlington, students flooded social media with calls to “stuff Jews in the oven” and similar posts.

On Tuesday, all 100 US senators demanded action in the face of dozens of bomb threats launched at Jewish Community Centers and schools since early January.