Ivy League presidents defend their response to anti-Semitism on-campus: are they doing enough?

Tonight I was shocked by the testimonies of Claudine Gay, President of Harvard University and Liz Magill, President of the University of Pennsylvania. 

During their session on Capitol Hill with Republic House members (as part of the Republican members of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce), the Presidents of Harvard, University of Pennsylvania and MIT were questioned about their response to the increasingly heated environment on-campus between pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel students.  Nationwide, some pro-Palestinian protests have crossed over into frankly anti-Jewish speech and action.   At NYU, Jewish students were taunted with pro-Nazi speech and in one instance, were purportedly forced to shelter in place in a library during altercations that occurred during protests on- campus. Many of these students have subsequently taken legal action against New York University for failing to ensure their safety.

In a particularly contentious (and to my mind, disappointing exchange), Representative Elise Stefanik, Republican of New York, asked Ms. Magill of the University of Pennsylvania, “Does calling for the genocide of Jews violate Penn’s rules or code of conduct, yes or no?”

 President Magill stated that such behavior would only constitute harassment if “it crossed over into action”. 

But I ask you: Is marching and spewing hate speech not action?  Wouldn’t we be outraged if groups on campus were calling for the annihilation of any other ethnic, racial, or cultural group?

I am concerned and saddened by this apparent lack of action and concern for the safety and rights of Jewish and Israeli students on these campuses.  Frankly, as a graduate of both Harvard and the University of Pennsylvania, I am disappointed that both of my alma maters have failed to defend the rights and safety of all their students.

Dr. Gay, to her credit, did attend a Harvard Hillel solidarity dinner, trying to support Jewish students, and had worked to ensure that Harvard students and faculty were safe following the October 7th Hamas attacks.

You might recall that many of the Ivy League’s largest donors have begun a movement among the elite alumni of these schools to halt donations.  These include Marc Rowan, CEO of Apollo Management (alumnus of the University of Pennsylvania) and Bill Ackman of Pershing Square Capital Management (alumnus of Harvard).

Rowan has called on fellow Penn donors and alumni to close their checkbooks until the university’s president, Elizabeth Magill, and the institution’s chairman, Scott Bok, both resign.  Penn’s president hasn’t resigned but promised a university-wide effort on antisemitism. 

I sincerely hope that President Magill, and the other leaders of these elite institutions, can do a better job of eradicating anti-Semitism and hate speech of any kind, on their campuses.

Our universities are a vital part of our community intellectual life, and of our democratic way of life.  Laxity and tolerance of hate speech toward any group threaten the very bedrock of our nation’s philosophy, and must be eradicated at the root. While free speech is fundamental to our nation, it is the responsibility of university leaders to ensure that free speech does not become a veil for hate speech and hateful actions.