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US Lawmakers Grill Elite University Presidents on Raging Campus Antisemitism
University of Pennsylvania President Elizabeth Magill testifies about campus antisemitism before the US House Committee on Education and the Workforce on Dec. 5, 2023. Photo: Screenshot
US lawmakers on Tuesday held a highly anticipated hearing on surging antisemitism at American universities, with members of both political parties directing sharp questions at three elite university presidents about deep hostility to Israel and the Jewish community on their campuses.
The House Committee on Education and the Workforce organized the hearing — titled “Holding Campus Leaders Accountable and Confronting Antisemitism” — amid an alarming spike in antisemitic incidents, including demonstrations calling for Israel’s destruction and the intimidation and harassment of Jewish students, at college campuses across the US.
Some of America’s most elite universities have become hubs of such activity, including Harvard University, the University of Pennsylvania (Penn), and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
For over three hours, presidents Claudine Gay of Harvard, Elizabeth Magill of Penn, and Sally Kornbluth of MIT largely evaded questions about the consequences of antisemitic incidents on their campuses, citing the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act — which governs access to educational information and records by public entities — while declining to confirm whether students had been disciplined for antisemitic harassment.
All three administrators vowed to vigorously combat antisemitism but denied that their universities were responsible for fostering it, calling the rise in anti-Jewish hate a societal problem.
Addressing Jewish students’ complaints of anti-Israel bias in the classroom, Rep. Glenn Grothman (R-WI) asked Gay whether a lack of intellectual diversity on elite college campuses tips the balance of ideas in favor of far left academics who use their platforms to promote extremist anti-Zionist viewpoints.
“What I’m focused on is making sure that we are bringing the most academically talented faculty to the campus and that they’re effective in the classroom,” Gay said.
Magill also came under fire. Since September, her administration has been excoriated for refusing to cancel an anti-Zionist festival that featured several speakers who have been accused of promoting antisemitic conspiracies and violence against Israel. The school refused to cancel the event or ask that it be hosted off-campus. Last month, Magill expressed regret and apologized for not promptly condemning the festival.
“Antisemitism has no place at Penn, and our free speech policies are guided by the United States Constitution,” Magill said, responding to questions about former Pink Floyd vocalist Roger Waters’ invitation to the event. A recent documentary exposed several of Waters’ inflammatory antisemitic statements.
“Our approach to speech, as I identified, it follows and is guided by the United States Constitution, which allows for robust perspectives,” Magill said.
During questioning by Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), who was recently accused of minimizing the Hamas terror group’s mass rapes of Israeli women during its Oct. 7 massacre, Kornbluth said she was “deeply troubled” by recent events and overseeing several faculty attempts aimed at cooling the campus climate.
“There have been lunches, there have been meetings for our Israeli and Jewish students with Jewish faculty, for our Arab students with Arab and Muslim faculty, but now they’re working to figure out how to bring them together,” she said. “If we’re all going to live together and work together collectively, we have to move beyond formal training, which we are committed to, but to actually real dialogue, and to actually model constructive and civil dialogue for our students. That’s what being in university is all about.”
MIT officials last month told Jewish students to avoid the campus’ main building after it was taken over by anti-Israel activists.
During Tuesday’s hearing, both Democratic and Republican lawmakers condemned antisemitism but also blamed the other side for allowing anti-Jewish hate to fester.
Republicans on the committee alleged that diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs supported by the political left have fostered the kinds of tribalism that unleash antisemitism, and that progressives coddled pro-Hamas supporters. Democrats, meanwhile, claimed that Republicans have ignored Islamophobia and aimed to defund federal institutions that monitor civil rights violations.
Nonetheless, attempts were made at bipartisanship. Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC), the committee’s chairwoman, quoted a Nov. 29 speech by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) denouncing antisemitism, although she argued he fell short of recognizing how “race-based ideology” has augmented the problem.
“Senator Schumer hasn’t put the pieces together, but the picture is all too clear now to American Jews,” Foxx said to the university presidents. “Institutional antisemitism and hate are among the poison fruits of your institution’s cultures.”
Throughout her remarks, Foxx linked what she described as Harvard’s far left curriculum to its students blaming Israel for the Hamas atrocities across southern Israeli communities on Oct. 7. In the aftermath of the onslaught, and amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, anti-Israel students at Harvard mobbed a Jewish law student, surrounded him, and screamed “Shame!” into his ears.
In his opening remarks, the committee’s ranking member, Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA), argued that antisemitism on college campuses “did not start with diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives,” while charging that Republicans squandered previous opportunities to discuss campus discrimination.
“While my colleagues claim to be committed to combating discrimination on campus, they’re also contradictorily and simultaneously stoking culture wars that can be divisive and discriminatory,” Scott charged. “Moreover, House Republicans are proposing significant cuts to the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, the very office responsible for upholding students’ civil rights and investigating discrimination claims. You can’t have it both ways.”
Tuesday’s hearing came days after a new poll, released by Hillel International, found that 37 percent of Jewish college students have felt the need to hide their Jewish identity on campus since Hamas’ Oct. 7 massacre, in which some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were murdered and 240 others taken as hostages into Gaza. The survey also found that 35 percent of respondents said there have been acts of hate or violence against Jews on campus. A majority of those surveyed said they were unsatisfied with their university’s response to those incidents.
Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.
The post US Lawmakers Grill Elite University Presidents on Raging Campus Antisemitism first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Columbia University Newspaper Endorses Mamdani for New York City Mayor
Candidate Zohran Mamdani speaks during a Democratic New York City mayoral primary debate, June 4, 2025, in New York, US. Photo: Yuki Iwamura/Pool via REUTERS
Columbia University’s flagship newspaper, The Columbia Daily Spectator, has endorsed a far-left New York City mayoral candidate who has been accused of antisemitism and made anti-Israel activism a cornerstone of his political career.
The Spectator’s editorial board issued the endorsement of Zohran Mamdani, a representative in the New York State Assembly, in a rare moment of summer activity, as most of the university’s student body is on holiday. It comes as the university’s leadership is reportedly taking steps to deal with a surge of campus antisemitism that captured national attention and led the Trump administration to pull federal funding over the school’s alleged failure to combat the crisis.
“Our endorsements reflect the consensus opinion of the editorial board, but we recognize that voters may weigh these issues differently,” the paper said on Tuesday. “As Spectator‘s editorial board, we endorse Zohran Mamdani as our top choice for New York City Mayor. Currently ranked second in most polls, the New York State Assembly member and his campaign have resonated with New Yorkers who have been repeatedly disappointed by the current administration.”
It added, “The Democratic Socialist has grounded his campaign in bread-and-butter issues such as universal child care, free public transportation, and affordable housing, echoing Sen. Bernie Sanders’ brand of economic populism.”
The paper’s choice of Mamdani prompted a slew of responses on social media. A native of Uganda born to parents from India, one of whom is an Oscar nominated filmmaker, Mamdani has refused to recognize the Jewish state of Israel, advocated adoption of the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel, and suggested that New York City — home to the world’s largest Jewish community outside of Israel — will divest from the country if he is elected.
Earlier this month, he refused to distance himself from the phrase “globalize the intifada,” a slogan that is believed to have inspired a wave of anti-Jewish violence which culminated in the murder of two young Israeli diplomats outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, DC in May. The Democratic mayoral candidate went as far as comparing the phrase to the motivations behind the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, prompting a rebuke from the US Holocaust Memorial Museum.
“I think what’s difficult is that the very word has been used by the Holocaust Museum when translating the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising into Arabic, because it’s a word that means struggle,” Mamdani said on the Bulwark podcast. “And as a Muslim man who grew up post-9/11, I’m too familiar in the way in which Arabic words can be twisted, can be distorted, can be used to justify any kind of meaning.”
The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising was an effort by Jews in Nazi-occupied Poland to fight back as they were set to be deported to concentration camps and killed during the Holocaust. In contrast, the slogan “globalize the intifada” references previous periods of sustained Palestinian terrorism against Jews and Israels known as intifadas, or uprisings.
On another occasion, years before he emerged as a candidate for mayor, Mamdani appeared to threaten that a “third intifada” was forthcoming.
Following the Spectator’s declaration of support for his campaign, Columbia University professor Shai Davidai charged that the paper had violated laws which prevent nonprofit entities, such as the Spectator, from entering the fray of electoral politics.
“The Columbia Spectator has just breached its non-profit status by endorsing a political candidate,” Davidai said. “Please join me in filing a formal complaint with the IRS against the Spectator Publishing Company. It’s time to make our colleges a partisan-free space for education.”
Elisha Baker, who studies Middle East History at Columbia University, said in a statement shared with The Algemeiner and other outlets that the Spectator is essentially throwing its support behind a surge of antisemitic violence called for by anti-Zionists of Mamdani’s mold.
“Zohran Mamdani is a threat to Jews in NYC and Americans everywhere. He marches with the antisemitic and anti-American mob,” Baker said. “A vote for Mamdani is a vote for antisemitism and continued pro-terror chaos on our streets. Especially since the tragic attacks in DC and Boulder, a vote for Mamdani is nothing short of a vote for Jews to stay inside.”
New York City will ultimately determine the merit of the case against the mayoral candidate, who would be the favorite to win the November general election if he prevails over his Democratic opponents, including former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, during Tuesday’s primary.
During the campaign, Cuomo criticized Mamdani’s links to the anti-Zionist movement.
“Yesterday when Zohran Mamdani was asked a direct question about what he thought of the phrase ‘globalize the intifada,’ he dismissed it as ‘language’ ‘that is subject to interpretation,’ Cuomo said in a statement earlier this month. “That is not only wrong – it is dangerous. At a time when we are seeing antisemitism on the rise and in fact witnessing once again violence against Jews resulting in their deaths in Washington DC or their burning in Denver – we know all too well that words matter. They fuel hate. They fuel murder. As the US Holocaust Museum so aptly said, all leaders or those running for office must condemn the use of this battle cry. There are no two sides here.”
Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.
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Gaza Humanitarian Foundation Calls for UN to Condemn Attacks on Aid Workers, Collaborate Amid Mass ‘Disinformation’
Palestinians collect aid supplies from the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, June 9, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Hatem Khaled
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) has called on the United Nations to publicly condemn the killing of aid workers in Gaza and to collaborate in order to provide relief to the enclave’s population, accusing the UN of perpetuating a “vast disinformation campaign” aimed at tarnishing the US- and Israel-backed foundation’s image.
In a letter sent to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday, GHF executive chairman Rev. Johnnie Moore defended the foundation’s efforts to distribute aid to the civilians of Gaza, the Palestinian enclave that has been ruled by the Hamas terrorist group for nearly two decades.
“Nearly 40 million meals have been distributed in our first month of operations from our Secure Distribution Sites,” Moore wrote, adding that the program has successfully distributed emergency aid to Palestinians in “desperate need” despite constantly operating “under grave threat.”
Moore also criticized the UN, saying that the GHF has “shared our data and our logistical approach” with the global body in hopes of forging a collaboration effort between the two entities. He lamented that the UN has “neither partnered with GHF nor even acknowledged our operational successes.”
“Our work has continued with normal operations amidst an expanding regional conflict, and also a vast disinformation campaign which has sought to stop us from feeding people from the moment we started,” Moore continued. “We regret that your own office has been a victim of this disinformation campaign which has only threatened to further harm the Gazan people.”
The GHF was created because Hamas routinely steals humanitarian aid, leaving civilians facing severe shortages. Documents released by the Israeli military earlier this month showed that Hamas operatives violently took control of approximately 25 percent of incoming aid shipments, which they then resold to civilians at inflated prices.
The GHF operates independently from UN-backed mechanisms, which Hamas has sought to reinstate, arguing that these frameworks are more neutral. Israeli and American officials have rejected those calls, saying Hamas previously exploited UN-run systems to siphon aid for its war effort. The UN has denied those allegations while expressing concerns that the GHF’s approach forces civilians to risk their safety by traveling long distances across active conflict zones to reach food distribution points.
Since the GHF launched operations in late May, there have been reports of Palestinians being shot near distribution sites. In specific cases, Israel has acknowledged targeting what it believed to be armed Hamas operatives using civilians as cover.
In his letter, Moore also criticized the UN for staying “absolutely silent in the wake of a targeted killing of GHF personnel nearly two weeks ago.”
“Their murder was not only a violation of international law, it was an affront to the very principles the UN purports to defend,” the GHF chairman added. He called on the UN to “publicly condemn the targeting of humanitarian workers in Gaza, and to denounce the obstruction of aid by Hamas and other armed factions.”
Moore’s letter came about two weeks after the GHF said that, on the night of June 11, several of its aid workers were killed when Hamas gunmen attacked a bus transporting local staffers.
The group said the vehicle was targeted as it carried more than 20 workers to a distribution site near the city of Khan Younis. In a statement Thursday, GHF said that at least people people were killed and several more were injured.
The bus attack followed days of threats from Hamas directed at the foundation and its workers.
According to Moore, the UN can help the humanitarian crisis in Gaza by working directly with GHD to help distribute aid “at scale” to needy civilians while bypassing “intermediaries.”
“The only credible response to food insecurity is food delivery. Anything less is a deferral of responsibility. We are ready to work with other humanitarian providers to deliver food straight to the Palestinian people and restore order to a system plagued by desperation and disorder,” Moore wrote.
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Netanyahu Declares Historic Win, Says Israel Removed Iran’s Nuclear Threat in 12-Day War
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference, in Jerusalem, May 21, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun/Pool
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that Israel in its 12 days of war with Iran had removed the threat of nuclear annihilation and was determined to thwart any attempt by Tehran to revive its program.
“We have removed two immediate existential threats to us – the threat of nuclear annihilation and the threat of annihilation by 20,000 ballistic missiles,” he said in video remarks issued by his office.
“If anyone in Iran tries to revive this project, we will work with the same determination and strength to thwart any such attempt. I repeat, Iran will not have nuclear weapons.”
Netanyahu called it a historic victory that would stand for generations.
He said Israel never had a better friend in the White House than President Donald Trump, whose US military had dropped massive bunker-buster bombs on Iran’s underground nuclear sites in an attack over the weekend.
“Our friend President Trump has rallied to our side in an unprecedented way. Under his direction, the United States military destroyed the underground enrichment site at Fordow,” Netanyahu said.
He spoke hours after Trump directed stinging criticism at Israel over the scale of strikes Trump said had violated a truce with Iran negotiated by Washington, Israel‘s closest ally.
Netanyahu said Israel‘s work was unfinished. He cited the war against Iran’s ally Hamas in Gaza, where 50 hostages remain in captivity since the Palestinian terrorist group carried out a surprise attack on October 7, 2023.
About 20 are believed to be alive.
“We must complete the campaign against the Iranian axis, defeat Hamas, and bring about the release of all the hostages, both living and dead,” he said.
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