Source: Tom Williams / Getty
WASHINGTON — Lawmakers are still reacting to the congressional hearing that happened last week on Capitol Hill in which university presidents from prominent Ivy League schools were questioned.
The hearing discussed what many are calling anti-Semitic protests and rallies that took place on these campuses and received little to no response from these presidents and school leaders.
Many Republicans are calling these presidents hypocrites for not holding anti-Semitic rhetoric to the same standard as other forms of “hate speech” under these school’s rules that clamp down on hate speech. Harvard President Claudine Gay has since apologized for not being more emphatic in decrying these demonstrations on her campus in the hearing.
“It was horrifying to me that they could not condemn (anti-Semitic protests),” said Rep. Erin Houchin (R-IN-9th) who sat in on the hearing, on NEWSMAX. “I don’t think the apology is enough. I think all those university presidents who appeared on our panel should be fired.”
Gay said in her testimony that Harvard’s rules on speaking on campus are “guided by the second amendment” when asked why anti-Semitic protests were allowed to proceed on Harvard’s campus.
“There is such a thing as free speech, but on these campuses, you can get a code of conduct violation for a micro-aggression, but it seems you can’t get a code of conduct violation for calling for the death of Jews,” Houchin said. “It’s unacceptable.”
Houchin is also of the belief that what is fueling anti-Semitism on college campuses in the U.S. is foreign influence, mainly from Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
“Part of our Deterrent Act calls for reducing the amount of foreign influence to our colleges and universities,” she said. “It has to stop. At a minimum, it has to be exposed.”
The University of Pennsylvania’s president said they get a “small number” of gifts from families of university alumni who are from foreign countries like Qatar, but said no government money is being given to the school by the Qatari government.
Houchin said the bill they are pushing also clamps down on China. For example, she said it would crack down on universities, such as Valparaiso University in Indiana, that have a “Confucius Institute” on campus, which she says is an organization propped up by the Chinese government. Valparaiso University closed its Confucius Institute in 2022.
