House to vote to condemn college presidents’ antisemitism testimony

The House is set to vote Wednesday on a bipartisan resolution condemning the congressional testimony of three university presidents at a hearing last week that centered on the rise of antisemitism on college campuses.

Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) — whose direct line of questioning during the hearing has gone viral — introduced the resolution Tuesday with House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) and Reps. Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.) and Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.).

“This is not a partisan issue but a question of moral clarity,” Stefanik wrote in a press release introducing the resolution. “Which is why our colleagues from across the aisle have come together with us to introduce a resolution condemning antisemitism on university campuses as well as the morally bankrupt testimonies of the University Presidents from Harvard, [University of Pennsylvania], and MIT during last week’s House Committee on Education and the Workforce hearing.”

During the hearing, Stefanik had pressed the university presidents on whether calling for the genocide of Jews violated their schools’ respective codes of conduct, and all three struggled to respond directly.

The moment was captured on video and widely circulated, resulting in broad international backlash. The university presidents have subsequently apologized, and Penn President Liz Magill resigned Saturday.

The resolution calls on the other two university presidents to “follow suit” and resign. The resolution, announced in Scalise’s daily floor schedule, also broadly condemns the rise of antisemitism on university campuses around the country.

“These are Ivy League university presidents that were asked a softball question: ‘Does calling for the genocide of Jews count as harassment under their school’s policies?’ That’s not a trick question, and it’s infuriating that these leaders of young people would try to equivocate with some nonsense about ‘it depends on the context,’” Moskowitz said.

“Sub out Jews for any other persecuted minority group and they would never have given that answer. They failed the test, and just like their students there are no makeups,” he added.

“We must, as a nation, stand united with the Jewish people and Jewish students who no longer feel safe in the United States or on our campuses against the hateful antisemitism they are facing today. We must stand up for what is right,” Scalise wrote. “I applaud Chair Stefanik for introducing this resolution condemning the despicable testimony of those three university presidents and am proud to join her in denouncing the antisemitism running rampant on college campuses.”

Stefanik pledged to continue fighting to address antisemitism on college campuses.

“We are only just beginning to address the pervasive rot of antisemitism that has infected America’s higher education system and we will not stop until it is rooted out and those responsible for fostering its growth are held accountable. Antisemitism has no place in America,” Stefanik wrote.