|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
The presidents of three leading American higher education institutions — Claudine Gay of Harvard University, Liz Magill of the University of Pennsylvania, and Sally Kornbluth of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology — were called to testify on Tuesday at a hearing held by the U.S. House of Representatives House Committee on Education and the Workforce on the rise of antisemitism on their campuses.
Congresswoman Virginia Foxx, chair of the committee, described the purpose of the hearing — titled “Holding Campus Leaders Accountable and Confronting Antisemitism” — as an opportunity for the presidents to “answer to and atone for the many specific instances of vitriolic, hate-filled antisemitism on your college campuses that have denied students the safe learning environment they’re due.”
Before hearing began, lawmakers were given an opportunity to hear directly from students impacted by campus antisemitism. Bella Ingber, a junior at New York University, for example, shared, “In 2023 at NYU, I hear calls to ‘gas the Jews,’ and I am told that ‘Hitler was right.”
“I am the granddaughter of Holocaust survivors. We are not going anywhere. Antisemitism and the support for terror should have no home at NYU or any other college campus. We made the promise of ‘never again.’ And never again is now.” – @nyuniversity student Bella Ingber. pic.twitter.com/I5XiYH6P4Q
— House Republicans (@HouseGOP) December 5, 2023
Talia Khan, a graduate student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and president of the MIT Israel Alliance, explained that, according to polls, 70% of MIT’s Jewish students felt forced to hide their identities and perspectives.
“This is not just harassment,” she emphasized. “This is our lives on the line.”
Eyal Yakoby, a senior at the University of Pennsylvania, noted, “‘You’re a dirty little Jew, you deserve to die,’ is not just a phrase uttered by Hamas but by fellow students and faculty members.”
Eyan Yakoby from @Penn, Talia Kahn from @MIT, and Jonathan Frieden from @Harvard share their experiences as Jewish students and how their campuses have gone from renowned educational institutions to a “chilling landscape of hatred and hostility.” pic.twitter.com/3DPXaYSQXO
— Combat Antisemitism Movement (@CombatASemitism) December 6, 2023
While the presidents claimed in their testimonies that more steps have and will be taken to combat increasing antisemitism in the academic world, lawmakers called them out for their failures to stem growing trends of verbal and physical attacks and intimidation targeting Jewish students, particularly in the wake of the October 7th Hamas attack in Israel.
In an especially tense exchange during the “Holding Campus Leaders Accountable and Confronting Antisemitism” hearing, Congresswoman Elise Stefanik asked every university president to provide a clear “yes or no” answer on whether calls for the genocide of Jews violate the codes of conduct or rules regarding bullying or harassment at their schools.
With rather appalling consistency, all three presidents asserted it “depends on the context” and “whether the speech turns into conduct.” In other words, calls for genocide against Jews would only be problematic if actions followed suit, effectively meaning that disciplinary action can only be taken once physical attacks take place.
Congresswoman Stefanik described the answers the presidents provided as “dehumanizing” Jewish students.
The presidents of @Harvard, @MIT, and @Penn were all asked the following question under oath at today’s congressional hearing on antisemitism:
Does calling for the genocide of Jews violate [your university’s] code of conduct or rules regarding bullying or harassment?
The… pic.twitter.com/eVlPCHMcVZ
— Bill Ackman (@BillAckman) December 5, 2023
During another heated exchange at the hearing, Congressman Jim Banks asked Magill why professors who had participated in on-campus demonstrations calling for “intifada” remained employed. Magill responded, “Our approach to speech is guided by the American Constitution.”
When I asked the President of UPenn why the University allows antisemitic professors and rallies on campus while barring conservative speakers, she defended their actions.
Watch ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/otKfGzR5ll
— Jim Banks (@RepJimBanks) December 5, 2023
When Congresswoman Michelle Steel queried Magill about the $300 million the university received from Qatar, which backs Hamas, Magill was dismissive of the claim, arguing that the university did not accept money from the Qatari regime but rather small number of alumni students living in the Gulf nation. When pushed against by Steel on how such an answer could account for the $300 million total, Magill responded: “That figure in Qatar is not one I am familiar with.”
When I asked the President of UPenn why the University allows antisemitic professors and rallies on campus while barring conservative speakers, she defended their actions.
Watch ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/otKfGzR5ll
— Jim Banks (@RepJimBanks) December 5, 2023
Watch the full hearing here:
A new survey commissioned by Hillel International and the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) found that nearly 73% of American Jewish college students have experienced or witnessed antisemitism since the start of the 2023-24 academic year. Furthermore, the poll results revealed that only 46% of Jewish students felt safe on their campuses.
Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM) CEO Sacha Roytman stated on Wednesday:
What we saw yesterday was a glaring difference in leadership on antisemitism. On one hand, the House resolution condemning antisemitism is an important step in the United States facing and fighting the scourge of Jewish hate. On the other hand, the presidents of Harvard, MIT, and UPenn are emblematic of the lack of leadership we have seen from educational institutions. These presidents showed a complete lack of moral clarity and have left every Jewish student profoundly unsure if their schools will protect them from increasingly violent antisemitism.
All three presidents were unequivocal in needing the proper “context” to determine if blatant antisemitism rose to the level of violating their school’s policies against harassment. I encourage presidents Gay, Magill, Kornbluth, and any other college or university presidents to take part in a CAM sponsored trip to visit Southern Israel, meet living victims from October 7, including released hostages, and Israeli educational leaders. I am confident this trip will give these presidents all the “context” they need.
