Republican lawmakers, grilling the leaders of Georgetown University, the City University of New York, and the University of California, Berkeley for more than three hours over campus antisemitism, were interrupted at times by protesters shouting out about the proceedings.
The demonstrators, using a stretched-out approach with their interruptions of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce hearing, accused lawmakers of being "complicit in the genocide of Palestinians," and used other slogans, reports The New York Times on Tuesday.
The fourth protester, however, was stopped by Rep. Randy Fine, R-Fla., who shouted at a fourth protester who interrupted his time on the floor.
"Get out of here, you loser," Fine yelled, before adding that he holds university presidents responsible for such behavior, adding that they tolerate such actions on their campuses.
The City University of New York (CUNY) was singled out by Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-NY, and other lawmakers over campus protests and faculty members supportive of Palestinians' rights.
Stefanik questioned CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez over the university's staffing choices, which included one law professor who represented Mahmoud Khalil, the Columbia University graduate student detained by the Trump administration for his role in pro-Palestinian protests.
She further questioned CUNY's hiring of Saly Abd Alla, a former civil rights director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) in Minnesota, as its chief diversity officer. Stefanic claimed the Muslim civil rights organization is a terrorist organization and tied to Hamas, a claim CAIR has denied.
Rodríguez said that Abd Alla does not deal directly with antisemitism complaints, and said that her hiring was not inappropriate.
The lawmakers also questioned Georgetown interim president Robert Groves about statements faculty members made on social media, appearing to support the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
Groves said that Georgetown, a Jesuit university, was among the first to condemn the attacks. Further, he said the university focuses on interfaith dialogue and employs several different faith leaders.
Groves acknowledged that Georgetown is "not perfect," but also pointed out that after the Oct. 7 attacks, it also did not have any encampments or violent protests on its campus.
Committee Chairman Tim Walberg, R-Mich., in calling for the hearings, has blamed campus antisemitism on diversity, equity, and inclusion policies, foreign funding, faculty, and Middle East studies centers, among other factors.
"The D.E.I. ideology embraced by so many university bureaucrats categorizes Jews as white oppressors and therefore, excuses, or even justifies, antisemitic harassment," Walberg has said, in comments echoing those made by President Donald Trump, whose campaign focused on punishing universities that he claimed did not do enough to stop antisemitism.
The administration has pulled away billions of dollars from top universities, particularly Harvard, but critics of the Republicans' efforts say the congressional hearings are designed to quell anti-Israel speech, not protect the schools' Jewish students.
Berkeley Chancellor Rich Lyons, during his testimony, used a First Amendment stance while answering questions about the opinions expressed by the school's faculty and staff members.
"If someone is expressing pro-Palestinian beliefs, that's not necessarily antisemitism," he commented.
Overall, the three university leaders said they do not believe language calling for antisemitic violence is acceptable, but did not discuss details of disciplinary actions taken for individual incidents on their campuses.
In closing remarks, Walberg said the hearings concerning colleges will continue, as campuses are wanted that are "secure for all students."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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