Tuesday, Feb. 10, Richmond

As the 2026 legislative session of the Virginia General Assembly gets underway this month, one message is clear: showing up matters. That’s why next month, members of the organized Jewish community from across the Commonwealth will bring their voices, values, and lived experiences to Richmond for Virginia Jewish Advocacy Day, the Jewish Community Relations Council’s most impactful annual advocacy gathering.

 Virginia Jewish Advocacy Day is a powerful expression of Jewish civic engagement—one rooted in the understanding that meaningful change happens when communities participate directly in the democratic process. The day brings together advocates of all ages and backgrounds to meet face-to-face with legislators, build relationships, and speak to the issues that affect Jewish life and the broader Virginia community.

 At a time when antisemitism continues to rise and concerns about community security remain front of mind, Advocacy Day is an opportunity to move from concern to action. Participants will advocate for critical priorities such as funding to protect synagogues and faith- based institutions, policies to combat hate and bias, support for the Virginia Israel Advisory Board, and more. 

 Virginia Jewish Advocacy Day reflects a longstanding commitment to partnership and relationship-building with policymakers. Legislators consistently emphasize the importance of hearing directly from constituents, and Advocacy Day ensures that Jewish voices from Tidewater are present at the table early in the legislative session, when ideas and decisions are still taking shape.

 For many participants, Advocacy Day is also inspiring. First-time advocates learn that they do not need policy expertise to make an impact—training, issue briefings, and guidance are provided leading up to and throughout the day. For returning advocates, it is a chance to strengthen relationships, reinforce shared priorities, and mentor new community leaders. Together, these interactions build lasting connections that extend well beyond a single day in Richmond.

 With momentum building and space limited, now is the time to register. A $54 fee reserves a seat on the bus and helps defray the cost of round-trip transportation to Richmond and a kosher lunch.

 Showing up is how communities are strengthened. Showing up is how voices are heard. And showing up—together—is how the Jewish community helps shape a safer, more just Virginia.

Attorney General Jason Miyares announced the settlement on Tuesday, Nov. 18. The agreed resolution stems from a complaint that the family filed with the Attorney General’s Office of Civil Rights and requires the school to provide both monetary and equitable relief.

Nysmith is a private school located in Fairfax County in northern Virginia.

“Combating antisemitism is a top priority for my office. Every child deserves to learn in an environment free from hate, intimidation, or fear,” says Attorney General Miyares. “As Attorney General, it is my duty to protect the civil rights of every student and ensure no one faces retaliation when speaking out against discrimination. No child should feel unsafe or unwelcome in a classroom in Virginia, and no parent should fear retaliation for defending their child.”

 The Attorney General recognized Nysmith’s willingness to resolve the matter by implementing a robust process of review. “I am glad the parties could come to an amicable resolution,” he says.

 The family filed its complaint with the Office of Civil Rights stating that their children had experienced antisemitism at the school. The Office of Civil Rights issued a charge of discrimination against the school on July 29, 2025 alleging that peers derided the student for being “Israeli,” called Jews “baby killers” while looking at her, and taunted her about the death of her uncle, saying that they were glad he died in the October 7 attack, even though he had died years earlier. According to the Charge, the parents reported the antisemitic harassment to the headmaster and within two days, they received an email expelling all three of their children.

 Under the terms of the agreement, in addition to monetary relief and implementing new policies and procedures, the school will issue a non-discrimination statement and establish a committee to evaluate, review, investigate, and recommend appropriate dispositions of discrimination complaints. In applying these policies, the school adopted and will use the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (“IHRA”) definition of antisemitism including its contemporary examples. The school will engage an independent monitor to review the committee’s work and will provide staff annual antisemitism training and provide students annual age-appropriate education on antisemitism and the Holocaust, for the duration of the five-year term.

 The Attorney General is authorized to act in this matter under the Virginia Human Rights Act and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

 More specifically, Ryan, who was pushed out of the role over the summer amid mounting GOP pressure on the public university, cited the topic as an example of why he was confused about the “DEI ban” imposed earlier this year by the public school’s board. The ban had been drafted by the office of the state’s Republican governor.

 “It’s not clear even today what it means to kill DEI,” Ryan wrote in a letter Friday, Nov. 14 to the UVA faculty senate telling his side of the story. 

 He went on: “For example, did it mean that we could no longer try to recruit qualified first-generation students from rural parts of Virginia, or offer financial aid, or even serve matzah in the dining halls during Passover, because each of those efforts would be advancing diversity, equity, and/or inclusion?”

 The candid look behind the curtain was a reflection of broader struggles on campuses to satisfy conservative demands on both antisemitism and DEI. As the Trump administration has taken up the mantle of campus antisemitism after the Oct. 7 attacks, it has strong-armed universities to make substantial changes to preserve their federal funding — not just to its dealings with Jewish students, but also to other conservative hobbyhorses like DEI initiatives. 

 The first public university to strike a deal with Trump to end an antisemitism investigation, UVA was also quick to fall in behind a “DEI ban.” The school is now becoming a flashpoint as Glenn Youngkin, the outgoing Republican governor who pushed the DEI ban, and Democratic Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger, elected as part of a broader “blue wave” opposing Trump, are warring over who gets to appoint Ryan’s replacement. 

 Ryan, who remains an emeritus professor at the school, wrote that he felt compelled to revisit his resignation because Youngkin’s assertions about the state of affairs at UVA needed to be corrected.

 “I think it is time to set the record straight, which will hopefully enable UVA to make all necessary changes in order to end this chapter and begin a fresh, new chapter in the history of a remarkable university,” Ryan wrote.

 The DEI ban was only part of UVA’s turmoil this summer. A subsequent Justice Department investigation into the school’s student admissions and hiring practices, Ryan wrote, soon expanded without warning into an antisemitism investigation.

 “We assembled voluminous information related to admissions for one or more of our twelve schools, and a few days before the deadline for submission, we would receive another DOJ inquiry asking about another school,” he wrote. “They also sent a letter asking about antisemitism and one alleged incident of antisemitism in particular. Each time the scope of the DOJ inquiry expanded, our lawyers asked for and received extensions for submission of material.”

 Ryan did not elaborate on the specifics of the “one alleged incident of antisemitism” in his letter but said that investigators’ interest in antisemitism seemed to be “part of a pattern” of the DOJ throwing more and more allegations against the school. He also speculated that the investigators were simply using such allegations as a leverage tactic against the school.

 “It is impossible for me to know, but the timing of the DOJ letters, the ever-expanding scope of their inquiries, and their willingness to give us extension after extension made me wonder more than once if the DOJ was not actually interested in our response,” he wrote. He came to conclude that the government wouldn’t drop its investigations, including on antisemitism, unless he stepped down.

 Ryan did so this June, after which UVA reached a settlement with the government to drop its antisemitism investigation and others. Unlike other university deals with Trump, this one did not require UVA to pay a fine. Instead, the school agreed to abide by Justice Department guidelines on other issues not related to antisemitism, including the school’s existing general ban on DEI.

 As for matzah in the dining hall, no school has yet been criticized as excessively inclusive for offering kosher food. In fact, several universities facing allegations of antisemitism tied to their handling of anti-Israel protests have expanded their kosher dining-hall offerings as part of their overtures to Jewish students.