house committee

Pressure over antisemitism allegations against the Berkeley school system intensified Monday with the launch of what members of Congress called a “nationwide investigation of antisemitism in K-12 schools.”

The first three districts to fall under scrutiny of the House Committee on Education and Workforce are the Berkeley Unified School District, Fairfax County Public Schools in Virginia and the School District of Philadelphia.

“The Committee is deeply concerned” that Berkeley Unified is “failing to uphold its obligations” to “end any harassment, eliminate any hostile environment and its effects and prevent any harassment from recurring.”

In a letter sent Monday to Berkeley Unified, the committee cited “numerous press and whistleblower reports” alleging that since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack against Israel, “Jewish and Israeli students have allegedly been regularly bullied and harassed.”

Letters to the three school districts were signed by Committee Chair Tim Walberg (R-Mich). The letter to Berkeley Unified also was signed by Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education Subcommittee Chair Kevin Kiley (R-Rocklin).

In addition to recounting allegations, the letters seek information, including:

• A chart of all complaints made against students, faculty or staff related to potential antisemitic incidents.
• All documents relating to walkouts, demonstrations, toolkits, workshops, curricula, course materials, speakers and more referring to Jews, Judaism, Israel, Palestine, Zionism or antisemitism.
• All documents related to contracts or agreements that refer to Jews, Judaism, Israel, Palestine, Zionism or antisemitism.

In a statement the district characterized the allegations as past incidents that had been dealt with.

“Today’s letter from the U.S. House Committee on Education concerns allegations raised almost 18 months ago,” the statement said. “The information sought in the current letter from the Committee concerns those old allegations. The District will, of course, respond appropriately to the Committee’s letter. Our commitment to the safety and well-being of all students in BUSD is unwavering.”

In May 2024, Supt. Enikia Ford Morthel testified in Congress about allegations of antisemitism.

At the time, Ford Morthel said her district had received formal complaints of antisemitism stemming from nine incidents and stressed that district leaders responded quickly to the accusations and launched investigations.

“Our babies sometimes say hurtful things,” she said. “We are mindful that all kids make mistakes. We know that our staff are not immune to missteps either, and we don’t ignore them when they occur,” Ford Morthel said. “However, antisemitism is not pervasive in Berkeley Unified School District.”

It’s difficult to determine from the letter the extent to which the allegations take in new incidents.

One of the most stark allegations is that officials permitted a rally in which some students shouted, “Kill the Jews.” Published reports indicate that such an incident was alleged to have occurred Oct. 18, 2023, more than two years ago.

This week’s letter does not contain dates of incidents, while alluding to an alleged inadequate district response.

In February of 2024, the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law and the Anti-Defamation League filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education alleging that Berkeley public schools ignored reports of bullying and harassment of Jewish students on the basis of their ethnicity, shared ancestry and national origin. District leaders, it alleged, “knowingly allowed” classrooms and schoolyards to become a “viciously hostile” environment.

That investigation was opened under the Biden administration and it remains active under the Trump administration, which has made alleged antisemitism a highlighted target of the federal enforcement — accompanied by the threat of fines and withdrawal of federal funding.

Berkeley Unified also faces an active U.S. Education Department probe alleging “severe and pervasive anti-Palestinian racism” affecting Palestinian, Arab and Muslim students. This complaint was filed in 2024 by the San Francisco Bay Area chapter of the Council on American–Islamic Relations and American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee.

The allegations included that Arab and Muslim students “were taunted as ‘terrorists’ after teachers in class taught lessons referencing ‘terrorism.’”

A Philadelphia school district spokesperson said Monday that it was district policy not to comment on an active investigation.

Officials in Virginia pledged cooperation with the congressional inquiry.

In a statement, Fairfax County school officials noted the request for “information about potential antisemitic incidents occurring … since 2022.” The school system “intends to fully cooperate with Congressman Walberg’s inquiry” and “continues to partner with all families to provide a safe, supportive, and inclusive school environment for all students and staff members.”

WASHINGTON — Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told lawmakers Tuesday morning that Russian President Vladimir Putin did not expect the level of Ukrainian resistance to his invasion, nor the level and speed of sanctions imposed by countries around the world.

“Our analysts assess that Putin is unlikely to be deterred by such setbacks and instead may escalate, essentially doubling down,” she said.

The comments from Haines and other intelligence officials came in an unusually candid public hearing with members of the House Intelligence Committee. The hearing was expected to focus on the intelligence community’s annual global threat assessment, but it was instead largely dominated by questions about Russia’s two-week-old invasion of its neighbor Ukraine. The House panel will get a classified assessment in the afternoon.

Haines said Putin likely expected the conflict to last a matter of days at most and predicted Russia will be hard pressed to hold any ground it gains.

“We assess Putin feels aggrieved the West does not give him proper deference and perceives this as a war he cannot afford to lose, but what he might be willing to accept as a victory may change over time given the significant costs he is incurring,” she said.

CIA Director William Burns agreed, saying Putin initially believed Ukraine was weakened and easily intimidated, and that the Russian leader had modernized his military to the point of ensuring a quick victory. Burns added that Putin had been confident early on that he had sanction-proofed his economy, and that the Europeans were too distracted to pay much attention to the invasion.

“He’s been proven wrong on every count,” Burns said.

Still, Burns said the invasion is a “matter of deep personal conviction” for Putin.

“He has been stewing in a combustible combination of grievance and ambition for many years,” Burns said.

Putin’s plan was premised on seizing Kyiv within the first two days of the campaign, Burns said, and he is getting increasingly frustrated at the lack of progress.

“He’s likely to double down and try to grind down the Ukrainian military with no regard for civilian casualties,” Burns said. “He has no sustainable political endgame in the face of what is going to continue to be fierce resistance from Ukrainians.”

At this point, Burns said he cannot see how Putin can stand up a puppet regime in the face of massive opposition from the Ukrainian people, warning there is an “ugly next few weeks” ahead.

Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lt. Gen. Scott Berrier estimated that 2,000 to 4,000 Russian soldiers have died in the less than two weeks since the invasion began, a number that far exceeds what the Russian government has acknowledged. For context, the United States suffered more than 7,000 military deaths over two decades in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Berrier said Russia appears to be attempting to cut off food and water to Kyiv as a strategy.

“It will become somewhat desperate in I would say 10 days to two weeks,” he said.

Intelligence Committee Chairman Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank) told reporters after the hearing that as Putin doubles down on Ukraine, it remains difficult to see how the conflict ends.

“What’s the offramp? I think what we can do is just to continue to escalate the price that he and Russia have to pay for this,” Schiff said. “I think until he feels that his own regime is at risk, it’s hard to see him looking for an exit ramp.”

Congressional lawmakers are debating how much additional aid to send to Ukraine, and what additional economic measures to take against Russia, which is already seeing unprecedented sanctions on its financial systems, top leaders and businesses. On Tuesday, President Biden announced a ban on the import of Russian oil and energy products into the United States.

Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) has called for some $12 billion in aid, and urged passage this week, saying it “will provide both humanitarian and military assistance for Ukraine: funding for refugees, medical supplies, emergency food supplies, as well as funding to support weapons transfers into Ukraine, and help for our eastern flank NATO allies.”

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) has said Congress is looking to pass $10 billion in emergency aid for Ukraine as part of a larger government funding measure. A vote could occur as soon as today.