US college presidents back in the antisemitism firing line

The latest US congressional hearing on college antisemitism highlighted more disturbing reports of antisemitic attacks; a Berkeley professor celebrating October 7; and Georgetown University awarding a Qatari royal who praised Yahya Sinwar.

The hearing summoned leaders from the City University of New York (CUNY), Georgetown University and the University of California, Berkeley to appear before the Education and Workforce Committee.

It is the ninth hearing focused on antisemitism in just 18 months, with previous hearings about Ivy League campuses leading to the resignations of several college presidents.

Republican lawmakers again grilled university administrators for creating a hostile environment for Jewish students on their campuses, employing professors who glorified terrorism online, and their failure to uphold safety policies.

Republican congressman Tim Walberg, the chairman of the committee, said the purpose of the hearing, which was held on July 16, was to examine “several factors that incite antisemitism on campus,” including student groups, faculty unions, Middle Eastern studies centers, foreign funding, and diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.

But several Democratic lawmakers criticised the focus of the hearings, calling it “political theatre,” while blaming the Trump administration for closing several of the education department’s offices of civil rights. “Instead of solving the problem, we’re watching some try to use antisemitism as a reason to go after higher education,” alleged Democrat Alma Adams.