A culture of antisemitism has exploded on American college campuses, even among the more elite schools. Or, perhaps I should say, in particular among the elite schools. The Ivies are the ones making the news with big demonstrations and ugly actions toward Jewish students.

The antisemitism on college campuses has been documented here and it continues. It’s appalling. It’s dangerous. Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.), chairs the House Committee on Education & the Workforce. Two days after a fiery hearing with three prominent university presidents, the committee announced it has opened an investigation into Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and the University of Pennsylvania for their responses to campus antisemitism that came from the committee’s hearing. She warned that other inquiries could follow. Foxx said that the testimony from the three presidents of those universities was “absolutely unacceptable.”

“Committee members have deep concerns with their leadership and their failure to take steps to provide Jewish students the safe learning environment they are due under law,” Foxx said.

“The disgusting targeting and harassment of Jewish students is not limited to these institutions, and other universities should expect investigations as well, as their litany of similar failures has not gone unnoticed,” Foxx said.

The committee is planning to investigate the “learning environment” at the three universities, along with their policies and disciplinary procedures. The probe will include “substantial document requests” and subpoenas.

The three presidents have since tried to offer apologies for their refusal to unequivocally say that calling for the elimination of Israel and Jews during antisemitic demonstrations on campus breaches what is acceptable speech. The word frequently used by the presidents was “context.” They claimed that threats to Jews on campus had to be seen “in context” and not immediately called out. It was shocking to hear how they were so adamant in allowing such behavior. They would not say that calling for genocide was against institutional policy, despite being given many opportunities by committee members to do so during the hearing.

Most of the criticism has gone to Harvard President Claudine Gay and Penn President Liz Magill. Major donors have pulled back on their pledges of financial contributions. President Gay told The Harvard Crimson that the university would comply with the investigation.

Rep. Elise M. Stefanik ’06 (R-N.Y.) announced the investigation in a statement to The Crimson Thursday afternoon.

“After this week’s pathetic and morally bankrupt testimony by university presidents when answering my questions, the Education and Workforce Committee is launching an official Congressional investigation with the full force of subpoena power into Penn, MIT, & Harvard, and others,” Stefanik wrote. “We will use our full Congressional authority to hold these schools accountable for their failure on the global stage.”

The committee announced in a statement on its official X account that it will be taking “additional action to hold Harvard, UPenn, and MIT accountable for failing to provide Jewish students with the safe learning environment they are due under law.”

Stefanik’s questioning during the congressional hearing was stellar. She is a Harvard grad and she pulled no punches with the college presidents. This morning Stefanik took Gay to task for her piece in The Crimson that offers an apology for her testimony.

No, Dr. Gay.

You were given an opportunity to speak your truth. And you did.

Not once.
Not twice
Not 5x.
Not 10x

I asked you 17x(!!!) in the hearing about whether calling for the genocide of Jews violates @Harvard code of conduct.

You spoke your truth under oath 17x. And…

— Elise Stefanik (@EliseStefanik) December 8, 2023

The university presidents are under fire and there are calls for their terminations. There is talk of pulling federal funding for the universities, too. The presidents are trying to hold on to their jobs.

Foxx labeled Harvard “ground zero for antisemitism.” Stefanik has had enough.

Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) called on Gay to resign, arguing Harvard was “corrupted by its apparent desperation to appease the far-left,” though Gay pushed back, saying the university is committed to combating antisemitism.

When asked whether the universities’ hiring practices and curriculum introduce a culture of antisemitism on campus, Gay said Harvard honors “open discourse,” while Magill pushed back at the question, attributing what she sees as a rise in antisemitism to a broader societal phenomenon, saying: “antisemitism has a role in the broader society and that’s what we’re seeing happening in the society and on our campuses.”

Massachusetts Institute of Technology President Sally Kornbluth, who is Jewish, said the university has launched an initiative to combat antisemitism and Islamophobia, acknowledging in her testimony that “antisemitism is real and it is rising in the world,” adding: “We cannot let it poison our community”

At a time when moral clarity is called upon, these presidents have failed miserably to come down on the right side of history. They failed to protect Jewish students and made excuses for antisemitism. There is no excuse. It is unacceptable.

Believe them when they tell you who they are.