Commonwealth Policy Center

The presidents of several prestigious universities are under fire over tolerating antisemitism on their campuses. Rep. Elise Stefanik asked the presidents of Harvard, the University of Pennsylvania, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology if calling for the genocide of Jews violated university codes of conduct. Stefanik asked “I am asking, specifically calling for the genocide of Jews, does that constitute bullying or harassment?” The presidents dodged questions about vicious antisemitism and threats to Jewish faculty and students. UPenn’s president has since resigned, and her peers are facing pressure to do the same. This congressional hearing, and the antisemitic protests that initiated it, have been a moral test, and many major university presidents have failed it. The right response to a riot and anti-semitism is not equivocation and compromise, but it is moral courage to stand against evil and tell the truth.