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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.
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Trump Team Claims Credit for Israel-Hezbollah Ceasefire
Then-Republican presidential nominee and current US-President-elect Donald Trump looks on during a rally at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, in Uniondale, New York, US, Sept. 18, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
Key members of the incoming Trump administration are taking credit for the newly announced ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hezbollah, arguing that the Jewish state and the Lebanese terrorist group agreed to the deal in response to US-President-elect Donald Trump’s election victory earlier this month.
“Everyone is coming to the table because of President Trump,” US Rep. Mike Waltz (R-FL), Trump’s incoming White House national security adviser, said on X/Twitter. “His resounding victory sent a clear message to the rest of the world that chaos won’t be tolerated. I’m glad to see concrete steps towards deescalation in the Middle East.”
While celebrating the ceasefire, Waltz also warned that Iran, which backs Hezbollah, remains the main obstacle in securing long-standing peace in the Middle East.
“But let’s be clear: The Iran Regime is the root cause of the chaos & terror that has been unleashed across the region. We will not tolerate the status quo of their support for terrorism,” Waltz added.
Israel and Hezbollah agreed to a ceasefire deal on Tuesday that took effect on Wednesday, effectively ending a 14-month period of war between the two parties. The agreement, brokered by the US and France, will allow roughly 70,000 Israelis to return to their homes in the northern portion of the Jewish state after having been displaced by barrages of missiles, rockets, and drones from Hezbollah. Estimates suggest that Hezbollah fired between 100-200 missiles into northern Israel nearly every day since the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas’s massacre across southern Israel last Oct. 7.
The ceasefire agreement will allow for intensified diplomatic efforts in Gaza, where Israel has been embroiled in an ongoing war with Hamas since the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks.
Addressing the press from the White House Rose Garden, Biden touted the new pact between Israel and Hezbollah. However, the president cautioned that Israel retains the right to retaliate should the terrorist group launch another attack against the Jewish state.
“Let’s be clear. Israel did not launch this war. The Lebanese people did not seek that war either. Nor did the United States,” Biden said.
“This is designed to be a permanent cessation of hostilities,” Biden added. “What is left of Hezbollah and other terrorist organizations will not be allowed to threaten the security of Israel again.”
The Biden administration had reportedly been in collaboration with the Trump team as the president-elect continues the transition process to the White House. Waltz and Jake Sullivan, the outgoing national security adviser, had reportedly been in communication regarding the White House’s efforts to secure a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah. However, the Biden administration has said that none of Trump;s senior foreign policy team directly participated in the ceasefire negotiations.
US Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) also credited Trump for the truce.
“I appreciate the hard work of the Biden administration, supported by President Trump, to make this ceasefire a reality,” Graham wrote on social media.
Richard Goldberg, a senior adviser with the Foundation for Defense of Democracies think tank, posted on social media that “Iran is pulling back to regroup ahead of Trump coming into office.”
“It’s a combination of Israeli military success and Trump’s election — the ayatollah has no clothes and he knows we know,” Goldberg said.
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‘Pulp Fiction’ Visionary Lawrence Bender to Executive Produce New Israeli Series Based on Oct. 7 Terror Attack
A poster for “Red Alert.” Photo: Keshet
Legendary “Pulp Fiction” producer Lawrence Bender will be a co-executive producer on a new Israeli television series based on true events that took place during the deadly Hamas terrorist attacks in southern Israel last year.
The action-drama series titled “Red Alert” will premiere on Israel’s leading television channel Keshet 12, it was announced on Tuesday. The title for the series refers to the emergency Red Alert siren in Israel that indicates an imminent rocket fire. The show was developed in collaboration with Oct. 7 survivors and families of victims.
“This multicharacter drama blends incredible human stories of bravery, resilience, and defiance — many of which made news headlines around the world in the aftermath of this shocking terror attack — with intense military action,” according to a synopsis provided by Keshet International, which is the global distributor for the series. The show will begin filming in Israel in the spring in Hebrew, Arabic, and English.
“‘Red Alert’ will embark on an intense and emotional journey that explores the indomitable human spirit,” said Bender, whose credits include “Kill Bill,” “Good Will Hunting,” and “Inglourious Basterds.” “This international action drama will showcase the unwavering resolve of real people who confront unimaginable challenges to create a compelling viewing experience,” he added.
Bender’s films have been nominated for 36 Academy Awards and have won nine. His company, Bender Brown Productions, will co-produce “Red Alert” with Israel’s Green Productions. The series will also receive funding from multiple partners, including the Jewish National Fund USA – Israel Entertainment Fund (IEF). “Red Alert” is created, written, and will be directed by Lior Chefetz; co-created by Ruth Efroni; and co-written by Kineret Peled and Idan Hubel.
“Red Alert” is one of the first scripted dramas about the Oct. 7 massacre, noted Keren Shahar, CEO of Keshet International. She said the new series “will provide a unique perspective, distinct from news or documentaries, to create a powerful testament to the extraordinary capacity for hope and resilience that resides within us all.”
“The heroic stories and true events depicted will weave an action-driven tapestry that captures the incredible power of kindness, sacrifice, and altruism in a way that connects on a deeply emotional level,” she explained. Co-executive producer Jordana Reuben Yechiel added that “Red Alert” will highlight the “extraordinary people” who “when faced with life and death choices, rose up to be heroes.”
“For a while, there seemed to be no reasonable dramatic approach to retell such a profound event,” said Karni Ziv, head of drama and comedy for Keshet 12. “We needed time and perspective to find the right project and the right creative partners to help us tell this story in the right way. In ‘Red Alert,’ the human drama transcends the war, which sometimes serves as background and sometimes as the story itself, to deliver a message of hope and solidarity.”
Casting for “Red Alert” is currently in progress. The five-part series is scheduled to premiere on Keshet 12 in October 2025 to coincide with the second anniversary of the Hamas attack in Israel.
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Jewish, Pro-Israel Organizations React to Israel-Hezbollah Ceasefire
Smoke billows over southern Lebanon, amid ongoing cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, as pictured from Marjayoun, near the border with Israel, Sept. 24, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Karamallah Daher
Jewish and pro-Israel groups across the political spectrum came out in favor of the Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire deal brokered by the United States and France that was announced on Tuesday, but they also expressed some degree of skepticism that it will be properly enforced on the Lebanese terrorist organization Hezbollah.
The deal, which took effect on Wednesday morning, ended nearly 14 months of war between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah, which wields significant influence across Lebanon. During the conflict — which began last October, when Hezbollah began launching rockets at northern Israel in solidarity with Hamas in Gaza — about 70,000 Israelis were internally displaced from their homes.
In the past two months, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has had a string of successive battlefield victories against Hezbollah, including killing its leader and the entire top echelon of the organization. Israel has also killed at least 1,730 Hezbollah terrorists since last year, according to open-source intelligence.
Describing the deal, US President Joe Biden said in a speech, “Over the next 60 days, the Lebanese Army and the State Security Forces will deploy and take control of their own territory once again. Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure in southern Lebanon will not be allowed to be rebuilt.”
Israel will also gradually withdraw from Lebanese territory during that period.
Crucially, Biden noted, “If Hezbollah or anyone else breaks the deal and poses a direct threat to Israel, then Israel retains the right to self-defense consistent with international law.”
The American Jewish Committee (AJC) said it welcomed the ceasefire deal but was only cautiously optimistic, writing it “hopes its enforcement can lead to enduring security for both the Israeli and Lebanese people.”
AJC pointed out that “much of this deal is based on the original tenets of UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which has failed to be enforced since its adoption in 2006.” The resolution ended the last Israel-Hezbollah conflict and called for the terrorist group’s disarmament.
“To protect this [new] peace, enforcement from the Lebanese army, the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), and US Central Command will be paramount,” AJC added. “While AJC welcomes the new enforcement mechanisms in this agreement, we will continue to advocate for a reassessment of UNIFIL’s mandate and operations.”
“Our hearts are with the Israeli people who have been forced to flee from their homes in the north of the country and who will disproportionately face the risk of this agreement,” the group concluded.
The American Israel Political Action Committee (AIPAC) also released a statement, writing that it “appreciate[s] the efforts of the Biden administration to work closely together with our ally Israel to forge a ceasefire in Lebanon.”
“With strong support from the United States, including from Democrats and Republicans in Congress who have ensured Israel’s qualitative military edge, Israel was able to significantly degrade Hezbollah’s capabilities,” AIPAC added. “Continuing US-Israel cooperation is essential both to maintain the ceasefire and prevent Iranian aggression in the region.”
It concluded with a call “on the international community to remedy its failures following the 2006 war and ensure Hezbollah can’t rearm or operate south of the Litani River,” signaling some skepticism, similar to AJC, that the deal will actually be enforced on Hezbollah.
J Street, which is AIPAC’s most prominent counterpart and recently called for a partial US arms embargo on Israel, made similar points in its statement, saying that while it welcome sthe deal, the group also “urges that all parties to the agreement ensure that the terms of the ceasefire are fully enforced so that civilians in both Israel and Lebanon can return safely to their homes as soon as possible.”
Specifically, J Street wrote, “The Lebanese government and army, as well as the international community, have important work to do to ensure that this agreement is actually enforced and that Hezbollah is not allowed to return to the south of the country and once again pose a threat to the people of Israel.”
J Street connected this ceasefire deal to pursuing one in Gaza, where Israel is fighting Hamas. It wrote that while this deal was an important step, “the work of US diplomacy will not be complete until a ceasefire and hostage deal is reached for Gaza as well.”
It said that it hoped the announcement “can be a catalyst for progress toward returning the hostages, ending the fighting in the south and surging much-needed humanitarian assistance to the people of Gaza.”
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