Prestigious Universities Face Backlash after Congressional Anti-Semitism Hearings

 The presidents of three universities—The University of Pennsylvania, Harvard University, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology— were called to Washington D.C. on December 5th, 2023 to answer for the actions, or lack thereof, of the institutions they represent. Questioning during the hearings surrounded the diversity of faculty at the institutions, whether the universities believed and endorsed Israel’s right to exist, and what specific actions had been taken to combat anti-Semitism on campuses. After the hearings, all three presidents faced criticism for the vague answers they provided and their inability to provide the panel with statistics and hard numbers.

The presidents appeared before the United States House Committee on Education and the Workforce, a congressional committee headed by Representative Virginia Foxx of North Carolina’s 5th Congressional District. Presidents Liz Magill of Penn, Claudine Gay of Harvard, and Sally Kornbluth of MIT each made opening statements regarding antisemitism on their respective campuses. Panel members included Representative Pramila Jayapal of Washington State’s 7th Congressional District, Representative Kevin Kiley of California’s 3rd Congressional District, and Representative Elise Stefanik of New York’s 21st Congressional District. Pamela Nadell, the director of the Jewish Studies program at American University and a historian with extensive experience regarding Jewish history, also contributed to the questioning.

Magill said that she and the University of Pennsylvania were “horrified by and condemn Hamas’s abhorrent and brutal terror attack on Israel on October 7th.” In her opening statement, Kornbluth said that “as an American, as a Jew, and as a human being, I abhor antisemitism,” and that MIT was “combatting it actively.” When questioned by Stefanik, Gay echoed a similar sentiment, saying that anti-semitic rhetoric was “personally abhorrent” to her and said that she had heard “thoughtless, reckless, and hateful language” on Harvard’s campus.

All three presidents came under fire for their answers from both the panel and the public after the hearings concluded. When asked for an example of antisemitic rhetoric being addressed, Gay said that she “will not say more about any specific cases other than to reiterate that processes are ongoing.” All three presidents said that their respective institutions were taking action to combat antisemitism and eliminate discrimination, but none could give a specific example. After the hearings concluded, the lack of clarity in their examples and responses was the main catalyst for criticism.

“Speaking about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,” said Naoko Akiyama, Athenian’s Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Social Justice, “People look and will quickly decipher or discern if you are for something, which means you are against something else. It’s so tricky right now.”

A statement issued by Harvard on October 30, 2020, stated that the university is “committed to practices and institutions that enhance the common good” and that no one should be “denied an equal opportunity to thrive because of their race, sex, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or religion.” The statement serves as Harvard University’s main anti-discrimination rhetoric. The policy raises the question of the importance of anti-discrimination policies for potential applicants to universities.

“There are different aspects of fit,” said Mark Van Warmerdam, the Co-Director of College Counseling. “There’s, of course, academic fit, but also the personal and social fit of the campus.”

After the hearings, Gay resigned as president of Harvard. Seventy members of Congress had signed a letter calling for her removal. She was also accused of plagiarism before her resignation. Conservative activist Cristopher Rufo found 29 instances of alleged plagiarism in four of Gay’s academic writings. She was later anonymously accused of plagiarism in 47 more works. The board within Harvard tasked with investigating these allegations determined Gay’s works had multiple instances of “inadequate citation” but nothing that was a “violation of Harvard’s standard for research misconduct.”

Former President of the University of Pennsylvania Liz Magill resigned as well. In a statement issued by the Board of Trustees, she said that it had been a “privilege to serve as president” and “an honor to work with our faculty, students, staff, alumni, and community members.”

Additionally, after the conclusion of the hearings, multiple Jewish students filed a lawsuit against Harvard, calling it “a bastion of rampant anti-Jewish hatred and harassment.” The suit has yet to be resolved.

“Since the Oct. 7 massacre in Israel, Jewish students feel increasingly threatened on campus – but college leaders are not doing enough to address this very real fear of antisemitism,” said Jonathan A. Greenblatt, the Chief Executive Officer of the Anti-Defamation League, in a press release on November 29, 2023. “University administrators need to wake up and recognize that Jewish students uniquely need protection now.”