The presidents of three prominent colleges forcefully condemned antisemitism at their schools Tuesday, while highlighting the challenge of protecting free speech amid rising tension on college campuses over the past several weeks.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Claudine Gay, the president of Harvard University, told lawmakers Tuesday that “antisemitism has no place at Harvard” and that she has heard “reckless and hateful language on our campus.” At the same time, she noted that the school is “deeply committed to protecting free expression even of views that we find objectionable and outrageous and offensive.”
“What we seek is not simply free expression but the reasoned dialogue that leads to truth and discovery and that does the work of moving us all forward,” she said. “We don’t always get it right and our students don’t always get it right and when they transgress they are held accountable.”
The comments came as part of a hearing on Capitol Hill focused on antisemitism on college campuses. Gay joined Sally Kornbuth, the president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Elizabeth Magill, president of the University of Pennsylvania, testifying before the House of Representatives Education and Workforce Committee.
Though the hearing was centered around antisemitism on college campuses, it highlighted the broader culture wars taking place at the nation’s colleges and universities. Republican lawmakers criticized diversity, equity and inclusion efforts on college campuses and the schools’ approach to conservative causes and faculty. It also touched on the debate surrounding universities’ commitment to protecting free speech and the challenge of identifying when speech crosses into behavior that the schools have a responsibility to address.
“We need both safety and free expression for universities and ultimately democracy to thrive,” Magill said. “At these times, these competing principles can be difficult to balance, but I am determined to get it right.”
Israeli-Palestinian conflict has long been contentious on campus
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has been a contentious issue on college campuses for decades. But since the events of October 7, protest activity surrounding the war in Israel and Gaza has spiked — along with incidents of antisemitism and Islamaphobia, according to those who track them. On that day Hamas attacked southern Israel, killing about 1,200 people and taking more than 200 hostage. In response, Israel launched ground and air attacks in Gaza that so far have killed more than 15,000 people, according to Hamas-controlled health authorities in Gaza.
The Department of Education wrote to schools in November reminding them of their responsibility to provide students, “including students who are or are perceived to be Jewish, Israeli, Muslim, Arab, or Palestinian,” with an environment to learn free from discrimination. Schools that fail to live up to their responsibilities under the law could lose federal funding.
Multiple colleges have been sued by students and outside groups alleging antisemitism on campus. Prominent employers, Jewish high schools and others have warned colleges about the impact antisemitism is having on their students — and their relationships with these institutions.
Episodes at Harvard, Penn and MIT have offered some of the most prominent examples of the ways in which the debate is playing out on college campuses and across the country.
At MIT, the school suspended some students in November after a pro-Palestinian protest and counterprotest turned disruptive. After concerns were raised, including regarding students’ visa issues, the school said it was suspending students from non-academic activities, according to the Associated Press, a decision that was criticized by both pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel students.
“When the protest was started, I ordered a police presence to ensure safety,” Kornbluth said at the hearing. “We avoided altercations and we kept everyone safe. We are now entering a process of ensuring accountability.”
Prominent donors revolt
At both Harvard and Penn, prominent donors revolted in response to what they say is too lax of an approach towards antisemitism on the schools’ campuses.
Bill Ackman, the hedge fund billionaire and Harvard alumnus, wrote to Gay in November saying he had “lost confidence that you and the university will do what is required” to combat antisemitism on campus. Other alumni launched a pledge to only give $1 to the school, writing that “Harvard’s response to the Hamas terrorist attacks of October 7th revealed that the University has lost its way.”
Mark Rowan, the head of Apollo Global Management, a big private equity firm, said he would stop donating to Penn over the way the school responded to the October 7 attack. Rowan told The Wall Street Journal that Magill’s initial response to the attack wasn’t “forceful.”
“I don’t think the university gives a crap, to be candid,” he told the Journal.
In November, antisemtic messages were projected on buildings in Penn’s campus and the school said it received threatening antisemetic emails. Also that month, the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights opened an investigation into Penn and six other schools after receiving complaints of antisemitism and Islamaphobia. Penn has said it’s fully cooperating with the investigation.
During the hearing, Magill condemned the Hamas attack as well as recent protests in Philadelphia that targeted an Israeli and Jewish-owned restaurant, which she described as “a troubling and shameful act of antisemitism.”
“These events have understandably left many in our community upset and afraid,” she said.
The Department’s Office of Civil Rights also opened an investigation into antisemitism at Harvard last week. During the hearing, Gay said the school would work with the office to answer its questions. Amid Republican proposals to cut funding for the office, she added, “I fully support the work that they do and hope that the office gets the resources that it needs to be effective.”
The investigation comes following months of scrutiny on the school’s approach to the debate surrounding the conflict. On the night of the Hamas attack, a coalition of student organizations penned a letter, saying they held “the Israeli regime entirely responsible for all unfolding violence.”
Though the letter was anonymous, a conservative organization tracked down the names of affiliated students and published their information on a truck roaming the streets near the school. Others outside groups published do not hire lists.
Larry Summers, the former Treasury Secretary and Harvard president, criticized the school’s initial response to the Hamas attack and the events on campus, saying “after a long month of delay, the kinds of statements that many of us have been insisting on from the first day have come from university leaders.”
But in a social media post Tuesday, he continued to deride the university’s approach to antisemitism, writing that “despite much public and private advice,” the Harvard administration is “failing in their core obligation to create a safe environment conducive to learning and free expression for all students.”
During the hearing, Gay defended her response and said that on the first day following the attack school officials were focused on identifying whether they had any students or faculty who were in Israel and needed assistance.
“In the days after not only did I condemn the attacks, I’ve continued to condemn the attacks and furthermore have continued to stay in conversation with our Jewish community on campus about their evolving needs,” she said.
Later, Gay added that she might have responded to the letter differently.
“Had I known that the statement issued by the students would have been wrongly attributed to the university, I would have spoken sooner about it. But I was focused on action that weekend, not statements.”
