I asked you 17 times! You spoke your truth’: Congresswoman Elise Stefanik blasts Harvard president’s apology for saying calls for ‘genocide of Jews’ only constitute harassment ‘depending on the context’

Congresswoman Elise Stefanik has hit back at Harvard President Claudine Gay's apology for her controversial testimony in Congress on anti-Semitism.

Gay told the House Committee on Education and the Workforce on Tuesday that calls for a “genocide of Jews” on Harvard's campus would only constitute harassment “depending on the context.”

In an interview with the university's prestigious student newspaper: The Harvard CrimsonGay apologized for the comments, saying she got caught up in “policies and procedures.”

In response to the apology, Republican Congressman Stefanik wrote on X “No, Dr. Gay. You have been given the opportunity to speak your truth. And you did.

'Not once. Not twice Not 5x. Not 10 times, I asked you 17 times(!!!) in the hearing whether calling for the genocide of Jews is contrary to the code of conduct.'

U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) during the tense hearing of the House Education and The Workforce Committee

Harvard President Claudine Gay during Tuesday's congressional hearing

Addition: 'You have spoken your truth under oath 17 times. And the world heard it.”

The committee hearing featured testimony from Gay and MIT President Sally Kornblut and Upenn Elizabeth Magill on the rise of anti-Semitism on their campuses since Hamas's Oct. 7 attack on Israel.

During a heated exchange, Stefanik asked Gay, “Does the call for genocide of Jews at Harvard violate Harvard's rules on bullying and harassment?” Stefanik asked.

“That's possible, depending on the context,” Gay replied.

The comments sparked immediate backlash and prompted 74 members of Congress to call on Gay, and the other testifying presidents, to resign.

“Given this moment of crisis, we demand that your administrations immediately remove each of these presidents from their positions and that you provide an actionable plan to ensure that Jewish and Israeli students, faculty, and faculty are safe on your campuses,” the statement read letter. by Stefanik reads.

And he added, “Anything less than these steps will be viewed as your endorsement of what Presidents Gay, Magill, and Kornbluth said to Congress, and as an act of complicity in their anti-Semitic attitudes.”

Harvard Hillel leadership has also said they have no confidence that Gay will protect Jewish students at the university.

The hearing also featured much-criticized testimony from MIT President Sally Kornbluth (left) and University of Pennsylvania President Liz Magill (right), both of whom faced calls for their resignation in the aftermath.

Stefanik wrote for DailyMail.com: “This congressional hearing should never have been complicated or controversial. But by failing to stand up for America's Jews, we can only assume that these three presidents are apathetic to the blatant anti-Semitism they failed to condemn.

“In the days following the hearing, millions of people joined my call for them to be fired.”

And he added, “If Harvard, MIT, and UPenn want to restore even a shred of legitimacy, these institutions must find their moral clarity.

“That starts with the immediate resignation of these three pathetic presidents.

'The world is watching and waiting.'