Dec. 5 (UPI) — The presidents of Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of Pennsylvania will answer to House lawmakers on Tuesday in Washington, D.C., at a hearing on surging anti-Semitism on college campuses following Hamas‘ attack on Israel and the ongoing war in Gaza.
The House Committee on Education and the Workforce said the hearing, called “Holding Campus Leaders Accountable and Confronting Anti-Semitism,” will focus on specific incidents of anti-Semitism on each campus, as well as administrators’ responses.
“Over the past several weeks, we’ve seen countless examples of anti-Semitic demonstrations on college campuses. Meanwhile, college administrators have largely stood by, allowing horrific rhetoric to fester and grow,” said committee chairwoman Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C.
“College and university presidents have a responsibility to foster and uphold a safe learning environment for their students and staff,” Foxx added. “Now is not a time for indecision or milquetoast statements. By holding this hearing, we are shining the spotlight on these campus leaders and demanding they take the appropriate action to stand strong against anti-Semitism.”
Harvard president Dr. Claudine Gay, MIT president Dr. Sally Kornbluth and University of Pennsylvania president Liz Magill are all scheduled to testify before lawmakers Tuesday morning.
Last month, the Department of Education added Harvard to a list of 57 educational institutions “currently under investigation for discrimination involving shared ancestry.”
The investigation follows an October complaint that alleges Harvard discriminated against students of Jewish or Israeli origin “when it failed to respond appropriately to reports of incidents of harassment,” according to the Department of Education.
The FBI is also investigating an Oct. 18 incident at Harvard’s Business College after a man, identified as an Israeli student, filmed students engaged in a pro-Palestinian “die-in” protest.
“As president, I affirm our commitment to protecting all members of our community from harassment and marginalization, and our commitment to meeting anti-Semitism head-on, with the determination it demands,” Gay said in a letter. “Let me reiterate what I and other Harvard leaders have said previously: Anti-Semitism has no place at Harvard.”
At MIT, Jewish and Israeli students revealed that they were “physically prevented” from going to class by a “pro-Hamas” group, according to a letter by the MIT Israel Alliance.
At both Harvard and the University of Pennsylvania, which is also under investigation by the Department of Education, billionaire donors have pulled funding over administrators’ silence.
“The university’s silence in the face of reprehensible and historic Hamas evil against the people of Israel is a new low,” said former U.S. Ambassador and longtime Penn donor Jon Huntsman in a letter to Magill.
“Silence is anti-Semitism, and anti-Semitism is hate, the very thing higher ed was built to obviate.”