(The Center Square) – On Tuesday, U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y, asked the presidents of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard University whether calling for the genocide of Jews on their campuses violates their universities’ bullying and harassment policies.
The presidents testified before the House Committee on Education & the Workforce in a hearing entitled, “Holding Campus Leaders Accountable and Confronting Antisemitism,” specifically addressing complaints at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Ivey League universities of Harvard and Penn.
Stefanik asked MIT president, Dr. Sally Kornbluth, “At MIT, does calling for the genocide of Jews violate MIT’s code of conduct or rules regarding bullying and harassment, yes or no?”
Kornbluth replied, “If targeted individuals, not making public statements.”
“Yes or no, calling for the genocide of Jews does not constitute bullying and harassment?” Stefanik asked again.
“I have not heard calling for the genocide of Jews on our campus,” Kornbluth replied.
“But you’ve heard chants for intifada,” Stefanik said, referring to calls for armed uprisings by Palestinians against Israeli “occupiers.”
“I’ve heard chants, which can be antisemitic depending on the context when calling for the elimination of the Jewish people,” Kornbluth replied, which “would be investigated as harassment if pervasive and severe.”
Stefanik asked the same yes or no question of University of Pennsylvania president Liz Magill, who replied, “If the speech turns into conduct, it can be harassment.”
Stefanick repeated the question: “Does calling for the genocide of Jews constitute bullying or harassment.”
“If it is directed and severe and pervasive, it is harassment,” Magill replied.
“So the answer is yes,” Stefanik followed up.
“It is a context-dependent decision,” Magill replied.
“It’s a context-dependent decision, that’s your testimony today, calling for the genocide of Jews is depending upon the context? That is not bullying or harassment? This is the easiest question to answer. ‘Yes,’ Ms. Magill.”
“If the speech becomes conduct, it can be harassment,” she replied.
“Conduct, meaning committing the act of genocide? Speech is not harassment? I’m going to give you one more opportunity for the world to see your answer,” Stefanik said and repeated her question.
Magill, who smiled throughout her answers, said, “It can be harassment.”
In response to public backlash over her testimony, Penn posted a video of Dr. Magill Wednesday evening attempting to clarify her remarks.
“In that moment, I was focused on our university’s long-standing policies aligned with the U.S. Constitution which say that speech alone is not punishable,” she said. “I was not focused on, but I should have been, the irrefutable fact that a call of genocide of Jewish people is a call for some of the most terrible violence human beings can perpetrate … In my view, it would be harassment or intimidation.”
Rep. Stefanik then asked Harvard President Dr. Claudine Gay the same question, who replied, “It can be, depending on the context.”
“What’s the context?” Stefanik asked.
“Targeted at an individual,” she replied.
“It’s targeted at Jewish students, Jewish individuals,” Stefanik said. “Do you understand your testimony is dehumanizing them? Do you understand that dehumanizing them is part of antisemitism?
“I will ask you one more time. Does calling for the genocide of Jews violate Harvard’s rules of bullying and harassment, yes or no?”
“Antisemitic rhetoric when it crosses into conduct, harassment, intimidation, that is actionable conduct, and we do take action,” Gay said.
“So the answer is yes,” Stefanik said, to which Gay replied, “It depends on the context.”
Stefanik said, “It does not depend on the context, and this is why you should resign.”
They also discussed Harvard students protesting this year, chanting, “There is only one solution, intifada revolution,” calling for the destruction of Israel.
Even though that speech is abhorrent to her, Gay said, “We embrace a commitment to free expression and give a wide birth to free expression. It’s when that speech crosses over into conduct that violates our policies.”
“Does that speech not cross that barrier?” Stefanik asked, “Calling for the genocide of Jews and elimination of Israel?”
Gay repeated her commitment to free speech and Harvard’s “robust” policy regarding harassment. Stefanik asked her what actions had been taken against students calling for the genocide of Jews. Gay said she would not comment due to student privacy laws.
In her opening remarks, committee chairwoman U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., asked two questions to the presidents: “Do you have the courage to truly confront and condemn the ideology driving antisemitism? Or will you offer weak, blame-shifting excuses and yet another responsibility-dodging task force?”
“They chose option two,” she said in a statement published after the hearing. “Each came prepared with nearly identical, canned remarks. Each condemned antisemitism” but also equated it to “less pervasive anti-Palestinian sentiments” and pledged to “establish do-nothing task forces.”
“None recognized their campuses as hotbeds of antisemitism. None gave concrete examples of student punishments for violating campus anti-violence codes. Above all, none recognized the direct causal link between campus Left wing ideologies and antisemitism.”
The hearing was held after violent and anti-Jewish incidents occurred on these and other college campuses, reported in multiple news outlets and videos of incidents posted on social media.
Of Course, calling for the genocide of Jews not NOT violate THEIR policies of institutions run amok, run by weak fearful women, promoted on gender or color, and socialist indoctrination, where before strong democratic men of action would have nipped these infected branches from the tree of liberty, the minute the debilitating socialist fungus appeared among us. Instead of arresting and tossing out the sit-in sob sister socially deranged rebellious students, they would attack the poor Jewish students who had to hide under their desks during the social attacking Hamas supporting demonstrations, apparently believing that individually hiding under a desk was the same thing as blocking laying down en mass, entrance to the classrooms and libraries? Nikki Haley indeed is correct in denying student loans to the foreign educated students who just become future educators in Big Brother student mind bending. Why is the American taxpayer forced to financially fund their own social demise and loss of American peace and prosperity? Let the Universities fund those scholarships from their own benefacting donors, who once educated in the social destruction they are funding will melt faster than the Wicked Witches of the Whitehouse West Wing, along with their legions of political attacking flying monkeys. All these current MIT, Harvard Witching Warlock leaders can do, is turn over the hour glass as our Jewish and Christian American Democrat Dorthy’s watch their time of peace and prosperity run out.
SINCE all four of these presidents, are whammen, THIS SHOULD PUT PAID to the idea “We need More women in positions of power”..
THe TEACHERS UNION, support the democrat Party.
HENCE why we need to find a way to some how scorch into oblivion, EVERY Darn teachers union. NONE of them imo are worth saving.
“Clearly, a civilization that feels guilty for everything it is and does will lack the energy and conviction to defend itself.” Jean-François Revel, a French philosopher
I bet if they had asked if the students were talking about the genocide of trans people or homosexuals they would have replied in an instant. Thus revealing their stance is for free speech only when it applies to whom they want it to.
The One thing you can’t say about politicians that you can say About Universities is, -That Once Bought-Off By Middle East, Muslims, They Stay Bought-Off
Even if a White person uses the “N” word in public they are condemned. It doesn’t matter what the context is, that person would be condemned!
So why wouldn’t the irrefutable fact that a call of genocide of Jewish people has been made at colleges also condemned and stopped?
” The Hamas Chant, ” From The River To The Sea..” Muslims Don’t like the Jewish People Much it Seems.
BECAUSE rules, laws, ethics etc only seem to ever work AGAINST conservatives, never liberals.
The Chinese have advanced themselves In Their Communist Agenda against America China has been buying up American Acraaage, mostly around military bases and along with China’s TIC-TOK, have been weaking America’s Resistence. China must have read SUNTZU’ ” THE ART OF WAR” in which SUNTZU writes,” Hence to Fight and Conquer in all yoir Battles is not Sipreme Excellence; Supreme Excellence consists in breaking the Enemy’s Resistence Without Fighting.”
I am thankful to not be among the hard working parents who saved sacraficed and borrowed to send an offspring to one of these institutes of lower learning . Imagine : sitting with a Jewish friend ,the break room t.v.is on screaming Hamas flags everywhere,an anti Israel protest at Penn. There is you’re little princess .leading the jeers ,screeching like a mad banshee “from the river to the sea ” Meanwhile you’re friend is on the phone with his son who is barrecaded in a closet and a mob is trying to break in . You guys were once proud that the kids went to the same school .
I was frankly outraged that colleges didn’t immediately declare on Oct 8th that faculty & students would be automatically fired or expelled if they organize or take part, individually or collectively, in actions, conduct, demonstrations or protests that threaten, berate, shame or otherwise harass Jews or any other group.
This type of revolting vicious attack against Jews would be immediately banned & prohibited if it was mass protests by white Christians or Jews supporting an intifada style rebellion & use of terrorism to eradicate all black people or Muslims from American soil.
Islamophobia be damned; it is suicidal for citizens of US or any other Western nation to allow the fatally flawed Islam belief system &/or liberal left globalist tyranny to live & breathe among us.
And how is it they can claim “THese folk ARE violating our rules” when NOT a single thing has happened to ANYONE???
The people overtly or covertly participating in these vicious attacks against Israel & Jews can’t be trusted with any leadership roles in our govt, our military or our schools.
The people who condemn Israel for killing the mad dog butcherous Islamists whose main desire & goal in life is to destroy.Israel & eradicate every Jew on earth are the same kind of people who want to punish white people for being born white & want to punish America & other Western nations for past “colonialism” , which in fact actually brought educational, economical & industrial improvements into otherwise primitive lands.
If you won’t stand with Israel to do whatever necessary to prevent Islamists from slaughtering them then I consider you to be more Nazi than Hitler was & you are too untrustworthy & unworthy to live among free people.
There can never be a 2 state solution while Islamists refuse to accept peace with Israel & Jews.
There would be no Palestinian civilian deaths or suffering if Hamas & Hezbollah would surrender & lay down arms.
That’s what US, UN & the protesters should be demanding if they had any real concern for human suffering, be it Palestinian or Israeli.
these folks should be removed immediateley from office.
AMERICA WE NEED TO TAKE OUT THE TRASH IN THIS NATION BEFORE IT IS TO LATE!
Did you have in mind,”The SQUAD, whem you said in your Reply,” TAKE OUT THE TRASH.?
Fire all of these presidents – that’s what you get when you make a “diversity hire” instead of the best qualified person. Deplorable management.
Exactly. DOn’t give them the dignity (AND Paycheck) from retiring.
NEW BOOK TITLED, ” WHEN RACE TRUMPS MERIT,” By Heather Macdonald
Two-Tiered Justice System,
” FOR THEE, BUT NOT FOR ME.”
“Yes or no, calling for the genocide of Jews does not constitute bullying and harassment?” Stefanik asked again.
“I have not heard calling for the genocide of Jews on our campus,” Kornbluth replied.
Yet call someone a he when IT thinks it’s a she and it’s a whole other story.