Today, Education and Workforce Committee Chairman Tim Walberg (R-MI) delivered the following statement, as prepared for delivery, at a hearing titled “Beyond the Ivy League: Stopping the Spread of Antisemitism on American Campuses”:
"The Committee on Education and Workforce has been instrumental in exposing the antisemitism that has infected our nation’s oldest and best-known institutions of higher education—schools like Harvard, Columbia, and Northwestern.
"We’ve held and will continue to hold these universities accountable as they choose to stand idly by rather than meaningfully address the harassment of and discrimination against Jewish students on their campuses.
"But as we’ll see today, the scourge of antisemitism has taken root far beyond the country’s best-known ivory towers. And it’s our responsibility as a Committee to unearth and address antisemitism at these schools, too—especially as antisemitism is at a historic high in the United States.
"Antisemitism is proliferating at colleges across the country, both private and public, in rural, urban, and suburban settings.
"What does antisemitism look like? It manifests in faculty who create a hostile environment on campus by expressing support for known terrorist groups, verbally harass Jewish students, and call for the destruction of Israel.
"It manifests itself in students who lob antisemitic slurs at Jewish students and display signs glorifying violence against Jews while shielding their own identities behind masks.
"It manifests itself in organizations like Faculty and Staff for Justice in Palestine, Students for Justice in Palestine, and American Muslims for Palestine, which all support this infrastructure of hate.
"And it manifests itself in the administrators, some of whom appear antisemitic themselves, while others are complicit in creating a hostile environment through their indifference to the harassment of Jewish students.
"We’ll hear today about antisemitism at three institutions: Haverford College, DePaul University, and California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo.
"The incidents we’ll be discussing with our witnesses today are truly appalling and shameful.
"Take Haverford, for instance—a small liberal arts college located in the suburbs outside Philadelphia.
"From the time of the October 7, 2023, terrorist attack in Israel to the present, the Haverford administration has consistently refused to act against severe antisemitic harassment on campus. It has refused to even condemn these incidents of harassment or hostility in a clear, unequivocal statement, much less to meaningfully discipline the students responsible for these incidents.
"Instead, the university has exhibited an all-consuming commitment to 'dialogue,' even when that dialogue is dominated by antisemitic conspiracy theories or calls to violence.
"What’s more, Haverford employs faculty members who engage in blatant antisemitism with no apparent consequence. For example, one professor declared online that 'Zionism is Nazism.'
"The Haverford administration's failure to address antisemitism on campus is taking a painful toll on students, faculty, and staff. Without objection, I'd like to enter into the record a letter from Haverford's Chabad House that was sent yesterday to the Haverford Board of Managers. The letter says, 'Under this administration, Jewish students have been marginalized, ostracized, and at times outright attacked. Meanwhile, their pain has been met with indifference.'
"At DePaul, meanwhile, there have been multiple, yes multiple, instances of physical violence against Jewish students. Last May, the university permitted a multi-week encampment that was so disruptive and violent that the nearby elementary school had to cancel recess. After finally forcibly shutting down the encampment, DePaul still ended up giving in to agitators’ demands.
"And at Cal Poly, at least one faculty member has been complicit in harassing Jewish students who were trying to attend an Israel-related special lecture.
"My colleagues and I are committed to holding these three universities and others accountable for perpetuating antisemitism.
"We’re committed to enacting policies that create a safe environment for Jewish students—one in which faculty, staff, and administrators are held accountable for the antisemitism that consumes their campuses.
"I look forward to hearing your testimony today, as it will certainly inform this Committee’s future work."
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