University of Pennsylvania President Liz Magill resigned Saturday night after her reluctance to forcefully condemn antisemitic hate speech on campus, and the representative who exposed the weakness is hailing the ouster with an X post declaring "one down; two to go."
"This is only the very beginning of addressing the pervasive rot of antisemitism that has destroyed the most 'prestigious' higher education institutions in America," Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., the House GOP's conference chair, wrote Saturday.
"This forced resignation of the president of @Penn is the bare minimum of what is required. These universities can anticipate a robust and comprehensive congressional investigation of all facets of their institutions negligent perpetration of antisemitism including administrative, faculty, funding, and overall leadership and governance."
Magill's resignation comes amid backlash from her shaky testimony before a House committee this week under the grilling by Stefanik.
"Does calling for the genocide of Jews violate Penn's rules or code of conduct, yes or no?" Stefanik asked Magill on Tuesday, along with presidents of Harvard and MIT.
"If the speech turns into conduct, it can be harassment, yes" Magill said.
"It is a context-dependent decision, congresswoman."
There is no context needed, Stefanik shot back in rebuke.
"Conduct meaning committing the act of genocide?" Stefanik asked, calling for those unable to condemn antisemitic hate speech on campus to resign.
"The speech is not harassment? This is unacceptable."
Magill officially resigned Saturday night, apparently under pressure from the loss of donors and widespread condemnation.
Harvard and MIT should also act on their rresidents, Claudine Gay and Sally Kornbluth, Stefanik added.
"@Harvard and @MIT, do the right thing," her post continued. "The world is watching. In the case of @Harvard, Dr. Gay was asked by me 17x whether calling for the genocide of Jews violates Harvard's code of conduct. She spoke her truth 17x. And the world heard.
"In the case of @MIT, Dr. Kornbluth answered the question, 'If targeted at individuals, not public statements' ie dehumanizing the Jewish people in her antisemitic answer."
Penn Trustee Board Chair Scott Bok also resigned Saturday.
The boards of Harvard, MIT, and Penn have been urged by more than 70 lawmakers Friday to remove their presidents, Politico reported.
Antisemitic incidents in the U.S. rose by about 400% in the two weeks after the Hamas attack on Israel, according to the Anti-Defamation League.
Eyal Yakoby, a University of Pennsylvania student who has sued the school alleging insufficient response to antisemitism, told CNN that Magill's resignation was one step toward a broader change at the university.
"This has been something that myself and many alumni and fellow students, parents, been working on for a while," he told CNN. "This is just the first domino in a culture for many leaders including Chairman Bok who have allowed this to happen."
Information from Reuters was used in this report.
Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
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