  Alex Kent/Getty Images The committee’s lengthy report illustrates the extent to which many elite campuses have become rife with antisemitismBy Marc Rod Two days after the Oct. 7 Hamas attack, Harvard administrators had drafted a statement condemning the terror group and expressing condolences for those taken hostage. Those key elements of the statement were softened or removed. At Columbia, the current and past board chairs said in private messages that they hoped that Democrats would win back the House of Representatives to avoid continued investigations. And at Northwestern University, a professor told a colleague he was hoping to secure “some amazing wins” for the student demonstrators in his role as a negotiator for Northwestern. The above examples, culled from the just-released House Committee on Education and the Workforce’s more than 100-page report on its year-long probe of antisemitism on U.S. college campuses, paint a vivid portrait of missteps at some of the country’s leading universities as antisemitism and anti-Zionism mounted. The report comes after months of hearings, transcribed interviews, document requests and unprecedented subpoenas targeting some of the country’s most prestigious colleges and universities. The committee said that the incidents investigated reflect “a broader environment on these campuses that is hostile to Jewish students,” in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. “Instead of fulfilling these legal obligations, in numerous cases, university leaders turned their backs on their campuses’ Jewish communities, intentionally withholding support in a time of need,” the report states. “And while university leaders publicly projected a commitment toward combating antisemitism and respect for congressional efforts on the subject, in their private communications they viewed antisemitism as a PR issue rather than a campus problem.” The report also accuses the Department of Education of failing to adequately respond to these violations. “The Committee’s findings indicate the need for a fundamental reassessment of federal support for postsecondary institutions that have failed to meet their obligations to protect Jewish students, faculty, and staff, and to maintain a safe and uninterrupted learning environment for all students,” the report concludes. You May Have MissedCOFFEE SHOP CHAOSFather and son kicked out of Oakland cafe over Star of David hatThe owner of Jerusalem Coffee House, whose family is from Gaza, said the hat, with a Jewish star emblazoned on the front, was ‘violent.’ WAR WORRIESSkepticism as Israeli officials indicate war with Lebanon is nearing end Experts have doubts about the ability to enforce a cease-fire. Read more...      |
10.31.2024
House Education Committee: University leaders ‘turned their backs’ on Jewish students
