As House Republican leader, here's our message on chaos, antisemitism for university presidents
Americans are watching in disgust as chaos spreads at college campuses across our country. Jewish students and faculty fear for their safety as antisemitism goes unchecked, and the rule of law is abandoned by morally bankrupt university leaders taking their lead from President Joe Biden.
Enough is enough. It is time to restore law, order, and moral decency to Columbia and universities across this country.
Speaker Johnson and House Republicans announced our plans to hold our higher education institutions accountable for their failure to protect Jewish students and condemn antisemitism. Billions of taxpayer dollars flow to these institutions in the form of federal student aid, research grants, and favorable tax treatment. To university presidents and administrators, our message is clear -- if you cannot keep your students safe, you will be held accountable.
The New York Police Department (NYPD) had to restore order on Columbia University’s campus Tuesday night after the preventable chaos that engulfed the university campus for weeks escalated to a new level when Hamilton Hall was stormed, defaced, and taken over by a pro-Hamas mob. Facility workers were held inside and the building was barricaded as these terrorist sympathizers hung a banner with a call for "intifada" outside the windows.
It’s not just Columbia. This is a moral rot that has taken root across American higher education institutions.
At Harvard University, a Palestinian flag was hoisted at University Hall where the American flag flies.
Jewish students were barricaded in the library at Cooper Union.
The University of Southern California canceled graduation due to the university being unable to guarantee the safety of students.
At Yale University, a Jewish student was stabbed in the eye with a Palestinian flag at a demonstration.
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY LOCKS DOWN CAMPUS BUILDINGS FOLLOWING OVERNIGHT MUTINY: 'EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY'
A woman was reportedly beaten unconscious by a pro-Palestinian mob at the University of California, Los Angeles for being Jewish.
Dozens of these occupations are happening around the country, often in a manner that breaks university rules and leads to increased targeting and harassment of Jewish students and faculty.
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In December, I exposed just how ingrained antisemitism has become at America’s so-called "elite" institutions of higher education when I questioned the presidents of Harvard, MIT and UPenn in what has become the most-viewed congressional testimony in history. Those three university presidents could not answer the simple question, "does calling for the genocide of Jews violate your university’s code of conduct?"
On April 17th, Columbia University’s President Shafik and board members epitomized the failed leadership in another congressional hearing when they could not account for Columbia’s lack of response to antisemitism and anarchy on campus. Eight days ago, I was the first Member of Congress to demand President Shafik resign for her failure to disband the antisemitic mob consuming Columbia’s campus and ensure the safety of Columbia’s Jewish students. She instead negotiated with these self-proclaimed terrorists, allowing their antisemitic mob to grow.
There can be NO moral equivalency. It is time to send a clear message to the world that antisemitism has no place in America.
The world is watching. And House Republicans are leading where university presidents, far-left Democrats, and Joe Biden have failed.