JCPA Chief Warns Miller Appointment Could Undermine Jewish Safety

Amy Spitalnick, chief executive of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, warned that Stephen Miller’s appointment as White House chief of staff could weaken the safety of Jewish and other vulnerable communities. Her comments appeared in an interview published November 11, following President Donald Trump’s November 6 announcement that Miller would replace Susie Wiles. “We expect this appointment to only reinforce some of the most dangerous ways the administration has normalized antisemitism and broader extremism,” Spitalnick said. She linked her concern to Miller’s immigration policies and rhetoric about demographic replacement and invasion, which she said had contributed to violence against Jews and others. Spitalnick also criticized what she described as a retreat from civil-rights protections at the Education Department and extremism-prevention work at the Department of Homeland Security. Conservative pro-Israel organizations had welcomed Miller’s appointment, including the Combat Antisemitism Movement, the Zionist Organization of America and the Coalition for Jewish Values. The administration had announced a multi-agency Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism on February 3, 2025. The Justice Department said its first priority was antisemitic harassment in schools and on college campuses. The department’s Civil Rights Division coordinated the initiative, headed by Leo Terrell, with the Education and Health and Human Services departments among its participants.