Press Releases

Today, Education and Workforce Committee Chairman Tim Walberg (R-MI) participated in a press conference to address the rise of antisemitism on college campuses across the United States. The press conference comes the day before the Committee's hearing titled “Beyond the Ivy League: Stopping the Spread of Antisemitism on American Campuses.”
 
Chairman Walberg was joined by House Republican Conference Chairwoman Lisa McClain (R-MI), Higher Education and Workforce Development Subcommittee Chairman Burgess Owens (R-UT), Rep. Randy Fine (R-FL), and Michael Kaminsky, a third-year student at DePaul University who was assaulted on campus in the wake of the October 7th attack.
 

Chairman Walberg remarks, as prepared for delivery: 

“Last Congress, our Committee held multiple hearings during which leaders from prestigious universities showed willful indifference towards the antisemitism on their campuses. 
 
“Unfortunately, smaller colleges and universities are not exempt from this rise in antisemitism. 
 
“At Haverford, a liberal arts college with roughly 1,400 students, Jewish students have been ostracized because of their Judaism or their Zionism, or both. Administrators and faculty—whether through indifference or choice—perpetuate campus antisemitism.
 
“At DePaul, a private Catholic university with roughly 14,000 undergraduate students, there have been at least eight alleged instances of physical assault that occurred at antisemitic events since October 7, 2023.
 
“At Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, a university with roughly 22,000 students, Jewish students were reportedly harassed by a faculty member while standing in the lobby of a campus building, and on a separate occasion, professors and students barricaded the entrance to the university.
 
“So you see, this issue goes beyond the Ivy League. It is a problem at schools across this country, big and small, public and private. The schools testifying tomorrow are contributing to this widespread problem. 
 
“Whether it’s an Ivy League university on the east coast or a public school on the west coast, Jewish students deserve a safe learning environment free from antisemitic threats and harassment. Anything less is anti-American.”

 

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