Harvard, Penn and MIT presidents will testify before Congress at hearing on on-campus anti-Semitism for ‘allowing horrific rhetoric to fester and grow’
The presidents of three of the nation’s most prestigious schools will testify before Congress next week about the shocking increase in anti-Semitism that has occurred on campuses across the country since October 7.
On Tuesday, the House Committee on Education and the Workforce announced that it had summoned Dr. Claudine Gay, the president of Harvard; Liz Magill, the president of the University of Pennsylvania; and dr. Sally Kornbluth, the president of MIT, appears on December 5.
The hearings are titled: “Holding Campus Leaders Accountable and Confronting Anti-Semitism.”
“In recent weeks we have seen numerous examples of anti-Semitic protesters on college campuses. Meanwhile, university administrators have largely stood by, allowing horrific rhetoric to fester and grow,” President Virginia Foxx said in a statement.
According to the Anti Defamation League, there has been a marked increase in anti-Semitic incidents in the US in the wake of Hamas’ barbaric attack on Israel last month.
Anti-Israel protests, like the one that took place at Harvard on October 14, have become commonplace on campuses across the US since October 7.
The above slogan demanding the land from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea, meaning the end of the State of Israel, was broadcast at the University of Pennsylvania in November.
MIT students staged an unsanctioned anti-Israel protest at the university’s main entrance on Thursday
Meanwhile, administrators on college campuses have been roundly criticized by current and former students, staff and donors for their varying responses to anti-Israel protests.
Earlier this month, the Biden administration announced a federal investigation into civil rights issues against both Jewish and Muslim people on college campuses.
“College and university presidents have a responsibility to promote and maintain a safe learning environment for their students and staff. This is not the time for indecision or milequetoast statements,” Fox added in her statement.
“By holding this hearing, we are shining a spotlight on these campus leaders and demanding that they take the right action to stand strong against anti-Semitism.”
The Republican committee has made no announcement about an investigation into allegations of Islamophobia.
An MIT spokesperson said this CNN that President Kornbluth “welcomes the opportunity to participate” regarding the hearings.
Earlier this month, MIT failed to follow through on threats to suspend students who participated in an unauthorized anti-Israel protest because the school feared the agitators could be deported.
Institute president Kornbluth acknowledged the elite university’s position in a statement following a protest that threatened Jewish and Israeli students.
The demonstration took place on Thursday in ‘Lobby 7’, the entrance to MIT. University regulations specifically prohibit demonstrations taking place in locations with heavy campus traffic.
A group called the Committee Against Apartheid organized the protest.
When they heard what was happening, a group of Jewish and Israeli students showed up to organize a counter-protest.
The statement from Kornbluth — who has been president of the university since January — said that after the clash between protesters broke out, “we had serious concerns that this could lead to violence.”
President Joe Biden, his granddaughter Natalie Biden and University of Pennsylvania President Elizabeth Magill walk into the University of Pennsylvania Penn Bookstore on October 7, 2022
An MIT spokesperson told CNN that President Sally Kornbluth, pictured here, “welcomes the opportunity to participate” regarding the hearings
Claudine Gay, president of Harvard University, told Jewish students this month that she has created a task force to root out anti-Semitism from the Ivy League campus.
In one of the messages, UPenn President Liz Magill called for a ceasefire in Gaza
A slogan projected on Penn Commons read: ‘Zionism is racism’
Also in November, UPenn came under fire for anti-Semitism on campus after anti-Jewish slogans were projected onto three of the school buildings.
As a result, the school is now facing a civil rights complaint, accused of being a “magnet for anti-Semites.”
“From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” read a message that splashed across the John M Huntsman Hall this month. The slogan claims the land from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea, meaning the end of the State of Israel.
Slogans projected on Penn Commons read: “Zionism is racism” and demanded that UPenn’s president call for a ceasefire in Gaza.
Another message read: “Penn is funding the Palestinian genocide.”
In a Nov. 9 letter to the Department of Education, the Brandeis Center, a Jewish legal advocacy group, said Penn professors have made anti-Semitic statements in the classroom and on social media.
It says many Jewish students are afraid to be on campus during pro-Palestinian rallies, and that the university has done little to support them.
Penn officials said they are cooperating with the investigation. Magill “has made it clear that anti-Semitism is despicable, pernicious and has no place at Penn,” the school said. “The university will continue to vigilantly combat anti-Semitism and all forms of hatred.”
“President Magill understands the critical importance of combating anti-Semitism and other forms of hate on Penn’s campus and looks forward to sharing the actions Penn is taking at next week’s hearing,” a UPenn spokesperson told the network about the hearing next week.
While a Harvard representative told CNN that their president “looks forward to sharing updates and information about the University’s work to support the Harvard community and combat anti-Semitism.”
Harvard has been the center of several protests since October 7, including a “die-in” that took place in October and culminated in a physical altercation.