House Education Committee Issues Report on Antisemitism on Campus

Republicans on the House Committee on Education and the Workforce criticized private elite colleges and some state flagship universities for their handling of the pro-Palestinian protests that erupted after the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, in a 325-page report issued Thursday. 

The report, the result of a yearlong investigation into 11 campuses, concludes that “antisemitism has engulfed college campuses and administrators prioritized ‘terrorist sympathizers’ over the Jewish community.” Many of the findings reiterated the same points members have been making publicly since the Hamas’s attack on Israel.

Higher education experts and lobbyists say the report demonstrates the weaponization of antisemitism and overlooks the fine line between protecting free speech and civil rights. They also questioned the role of the federal government in overseeing colleges.

According to Inside Higher Ed:  “The report stopped short of finding that colleges violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination based on race, color or national origin—and covers discrimination based on shared ancestry, which includes antisemitism and Islamophobia. Finding violations is not up to Congress, though. That is under the purview of the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights. Colleges that violate the law could ultimately lose federal funding, though that’s an unlikely outcome.”

“Still, the committee wrote that its findings show ‘an environment hostile to Jewish students likely in violation of Title VI” and chided the Education Department for not doing enough to hold colleges accountable. Ultimately, though, the committee said its findings don’t amount to “conclusive judgments on violations.’”

Below is a selection of news articles on the report:

Antisemitism on College Campuses Exposed, Education and the Workforce Committee Releases Report House Committee on Education and the Workforce (October 31, 2024)

House Report on Campus Antisemitism Details Need for Colleges to ‘Restore Order’
Inside Higher Ed (November 1, 2024)

3 Things College Leaders Said in a New Congressional Report on Campus Antisemitism
The Chronicle of Higher Education (November 1, 2024)

Antisemitism Probe Calls for Review of Federal Aid for Some Colleges
The Washington Post (November 1, 2024)

Internal Emails Show Harvard Leaders Debating Response to Hamas Attack
The New York Times (November 1, 2024)