College Presidents Testify on Antisemitism

The presidents of Harvard University, University of Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) were summoned to Capitol Hill this week to testify before the House Committee on Education and the Workforce about antisemitism on college campuses. The nearly five-hour hearing revealed bipartisan concern about the increasing number of antisemitic incidents on college campuses in the wake of Hamas’s invasion of Israel.

During the hearing, all three presidents, Claudine Gay of Harvard, Liz Magill of the University of Pennsylvania, and Sally Kornbluth of MIT personally condemned antisemitism and outlined the steps they were taking to address the issue on campus. Such steps include enhanced security, new reporting mechanisms, increased counseling resources, and additional education and training for students and faculty.

However, committee Republicans unleashed scathing criticism and aggressive questions about how campuses have responded to such incidents.

In her opening remarks, committee chair Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC) told the presidents that “institutional antisemitism and hate are among the poisoned fruits of your institutions’ cultures” and that the hearing was their opportunity to “atone” for their mistakes. Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) grilled President Gay about hypothetical incidents on campus and, dissatisfied with her answers, called on her to resign.

In contrast, committee Democrats generally condemned the rise in antisemitic incidents but were more sympathetic to the challenges confronting college presidents as they seek to maintain a safe and inclusive educational environment while also preserving academic freedom and free expression. Several Democrats, including ranking member Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA), also criticized their Republican counterparts for failing to fully fund enforcement efforts at the Department of Education.

Following the hearing, Presidents Gay and Magill released statements clarifying their remarks during the hearing. You can read their statements here (Harvard) and here (Penn).

This week’s hearing was the fifth congressional inquiry into antisemitism on campus in four weeks.

For more information, please contact:
Jody Feder