11 months ago
The House Education and the Workforce Committee is expected to announce an investigation Thursday into Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of Pennsylvania after their institutions’ leaders failed to sufficiently condemn student protests calling for “Jewish genocide.”
“After this week's pathetic and morally bankrupt testimony by university presidents when answering my questions, the Education and Workforce Committee is launching an official Congressional investigation with the full force of subpoena power into Penn, MIT, & Harvard and others,” Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), the fourth-ranking House Republican, said in a statement.
“We will use our full Congressional authority to hold these schools accountable for their failure on the global stage," she said.
Stefanik, along with other Republicans on the House education committee, needled Harvard President Claudine Gay, Penn President Liz Magill and MIT President Sally Kornbluth at a more than five-hour hearing Tuesday over their response to antisemitism on their campuses since Hamas' Oct. 7 attack on Israel. Stefanik has demanded the college leaders outline whether pro-Palestinian student protestors' calls for “intifada” or “the genocide of Jews” violate their codes of conduct on bullying or harassment.
The college presidents, some of whom have since apologized for their testimony, refused to say “calling for Jewish genocide” is classified as bullying, harassment or violates their school policy. They also said while they personally did not agree with the rhetoric used by those students, they are committed to preserving free speech on campus.
This story will be updated.
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