The US House Committee on Education and the Workforce on Thursday released a 122-page report detailing the antisemitism on American college campuses and the response of college administrations to this phenomenon, titled 'Antisemitism on College Campuses Exposed.'
The Committee declared alongside the release of the report that "University administrators FAILED to keep Jewish students safe in the face of antisemitism on campus."
The report detailed what it termed "astonishing concessions" by officials at numerous schools, including Harvard, Columbia, Yale, MIT, UCLA, and Rutgers to antisemitic protesters who disrupted campuses and threatened Jewish students and staff.
In one example, the report found that Columbia University actually considered bowing to protesters' demands to divest from all companies connected to Israel and to give all protesters complete amnesty for acts that violated school policy or were even illegal.
"Information obtained by the Committee reveals a stunning lack of accountability by university leaders for students engaging in antisemitic harassment, assault, trespass, and destruction of school property. At every school investigated by the Committee, the overwhelming majority of students facing disciplinary action for antisemitic harassment or other violations of policy received only minimal discipline. At some schools, such as Columbia and Harvard, radical faculty members worked to prevent disciplinary action from being taken against students who violated official policies and even the law," the report states.
Columbia University's response to the illegal occupation of Hamilton Hall in the Spring of 2024 was noted to have been inadequate. While the school vowed to expel 22 of the students who participated in the takeover of the building, where a janitor was held against his will by anti-Israel protesters, no students have been expelled and only four have faced any form of disciplinary consequences. The Committee accused Columbia of “appeasing” the protesters.
“By rewarding egregious conduct violations with staggering concessions rather than enforcing university rules, these agreements set dangerous precedents that invite future chaos and could open colleges and universities up to potential violations of Title VI," the report states.
Harvard University was also criticized for toning down its condemnation of the October 7 massacre committed by Hamas to appease antisemitic elements on campus and for failing to condemn the 31 student groups who rushed to hold Israel "entirely responsible" for the massacre of its own citizens rather than the Hamas terrorists who actually committed the murders.
The report also states that ". At Rutgers, protesters faced no consequences for an encampment that disrupted exams for more than 1,000 students. UCLA’s leadership was unwilling to directly confront a violent, antisemitic encampment, even when antisemitic checkpoints denied Jewish students access to areas of campus."
Education Committee Chairwoman Virginia Foxx stated, “For over a year, the American people have watched antisemitic mobs rule over so-called elite universities, but what was happening behind the scenes is arguably worse."
She added, “While Jewish students displayed incredible courage and a refusal to cave to the harassment, university administrators, faculty, and staff were cowards who fully capitulated to the mob and failed the students they were supposed to serve."
Columbia University spokesperson Samantha Slater told the student newspaper the Columbia Spectator following the publication of the report, “Columbia strongly condemns antisemitism and all forms of discrimination, and we are resolute that calls for violence or harm have no place at our University.”
“Since assuming her role in August, Interim President Armstrong and her leadership team have taken decisive actions to reinforce Columbia’s academic mission, make our community safe, and address the Committee’s concerns, including by strengthening and clarifying our disciplinary processes,” Slater said.