Recap: Top US university leaders under fire by pro-Israel lobby
The U.S. (QNN)- Three American university presidents faced backlash and calls to resign for their answers during a congressional hearing on campus anti-Semitism.
In a hearing held on December 7, Republican Representative Elise Stefanik grilled three university leaders over campus protests criticizing Israel’s genocide in Gaza, calling them antisemitic.
The House Committee on Education and the Workforce summoned Claudine Gay, the president of Harvard University; Elizabeth Magill, president of the University of Pennsylvania; and Sally Kornbluth, president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
Stefanik, leading the Republican charge, posed a hypothetical question: “Does calling for the genocide of Jews violate Penn’s rules or code of conduct, yes or no?”
Stefanik was putting pressure on the top university presidents by restricting the answer with ‘Yes’ or ‘No,’ which shows her double standards regarding the ongoing Israeli genocide in Gaza. Meanwhile, the three academics insisted that ‘it depends on the context,’ as the president of Harvard has repeatedly pointed out, which made Stefanik outraged.
A few days following the hearing, Harvard’s board announced that Gay would remain in her role despite the backlash. MIT’s board also said last week that it stood by Kornbluth. Magill, meanwhile, stepped down from her post amid pressure.
The pro-Israel lobby expressed its fear over the increasing criticism of Israel and its practices as the occupation state continues to lose global support, especially among young generations. The lobby has been trying to force the IHRA definition of antisemitism, which equates criticism of Israel to antisemitism. The definition was adopted in some European countries, including Germany and France, leading to a massive crackdown on the freedom of speech.
Meanwhile, the death toll from the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip has risen to more than 18,608 killed. The majority of whom are women and children, with over 50,000 injuries in different degrees.
House condemnation
The House of Representatives on Wednesday approved a resolution condemning the testimonies, provided by the presidents of three of the US most prestigious universities, which all stressed the importance of free speech on campuses.
The bipartisan resolution received nearly unanimous support from Republicans, with only one opposing vote. Notably, Democrats voted against it by a 3-to-2 margin.
Meanwhile, on social media, the crackdown on free speech on campuses was widely objected.
These people were supportive of free speech when Neo-Nazis marched on the UVA campus chanting “Jews will not replace us,” but now that students are speaking up against genocide in Gaza free speech has gone too far. https://t.co/eqtCvlfaIw
— The Great Moving Left Show (@lucien_baskin) December 10, 2023
The campaign to depose the presidents of Penn, Harvard + MIT is a campaign to restrict pro-Palestinian speech on campus. If you support it, please have the decency never to sermonize about free speech, academic freedom or cancel culture again.
— Peter Beinart (@PeterBeinart) December 10, 2023
Amazing how far right conservative guys who cry all day about free speech on campus have decided that anti-zionist free speech is woke and bad and harvard makes jews feel unsafe, but then the very next tweet is about establishing a fascist Christian theocracy lol pic.twitter.com/nAPf85QQ8I
— wydna (@wydna777) December 12, 2023
The college presidents were basically correct about anti-Semitism and free speech, and the trap questions were a sham https://t.co/YDCFazqbdy
— Jonathan Chait (@jonathanchait) December 9, 2023
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