A new Congressional report accuses top American universities, medical institutions and the Biden Administration of failing to respond properly to the ourbreak of antisemitism that followed the October 7 massacre, the New York Post reported.
The 42-page report from House Republicans found that there have been “systemic” and “astounding” shortcomings in these institutions' response to antisemitism and that “antisemitism has been allowed to fester unchecked” as the result of “a disturbing pattern of defensiveness and denial."
The report states, “Across the nation, Jewish Americans have been harassed, assaulted, intimidated, and subjected to hostile environments — violations that stand in stark contrast to America’s fundamental values, including a foundational commitment to religious freedom for all."
“The failure of our federal government departments and agencies is astounding,” the report added.
While even hate speech is usually protected under the First Amendment in the US, the report noted that federal law prohibits institutions that tolerate discrimination from receiving federal funding and that the US government therefore has leverage under Title VI to compel institutions that tolerate antisemitic discrimination and harassment to take stronger action to ensure Jewish students, faculty, and employees are treated equally.
“The executive branch should aggressively enforce Title VI and hold schools accountable for their failures to protect students. Universities that fail to fulfill the obligations upon which their federal funding is predicated or whose actions make clear they are unfit stewards of taxpayer dollars should be treated accordingly," it states.
The report focuses on Columbia University, which has seen numerous antisemitic incidents over the last year, as an institution that has failed to take the apporpriate dsciplinary action in response to these cases of antisemitism.
In one case cited by the report, a student heard two staff members at Columbia’s medical school debating whether they would provide her with medical treatment on the basis of her Jewish identity.
The report further noted that after Columbia vowed to expel the students who took over the school's Hamilton Hall last Spring, only a small fraction of the students who were arrested for the illegal building takeover received full suspensions.
The report also accused Columbia of treating Jewish students who responded to the antisemites in an unequal manner, such as when the school came down hard and gave a year-and-a-half suspension to Jewish students who were accused of committing a "chemical attack" but had in fact used a harmless fart spray, a harsher punishment than any anti-Israel activist who committed acts of true violence received.
One of the suspended Jewish students was later awared nearly $400,000 in a settlement with the university.
The report accused the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security of failing to respond in a timely manner to Congressional inquiries regarding the visa statuses of students engaged in extreme anti-Israel or antisemitic activism on campuses.
“Rather than confronting the severity of the problem, many institutions have dismissed congressional and public criticism and abdicated responsibility for the hostile environments they have enabled,” the report stated. “This refusal to acknowledge or address the issue has allowed antisemitism to take root and thrive in spaces that contravene the values of this great nation.”
This week, Fox News reported that Joseph Massad, a Columbia University professor who referred to Hamas’ October 7, 2023 attacks on Israel as “awesome” is set to teach an upcoming course on Zionism at the Ivy League institution. The course will explore the “History of the Jewish Enlightenment (Haskala) in 19th century Europe and the development of Zionism through the current peace process between the state of Israel and the Arab states and the Palestinian national movement,” according to Columbia’s website.
Massad infamously published a column the day after Hamas’ deadly assault on Israel, published on the website The Electronic Intifada, in which he wrote, “The sight of the Palestinian resistance fighters storming Israeli checkpoints separating Gaza from Israel was astounding, not only to the Israelis but especially to the Palestinian and Arab peoples who came out across the region to march in support of the Palestinians in their battle against their cruel colonizers.”
Columbia has come under increased scrutiny over the rise in antisemitism on campus since October 7, 2023.
Pro-Palestinian Arab demonstrators at Columbia set up dozens of tents in April, demanding that the university divest from its Israeli assets. The university administration called in police to dismantle the encampments.
On April 30, at the request of university leaders, hundreds of officers with the New York Police Department stormed onto campus, gaining access to the building through a second-story window and making dozens of arrests of the pro-Palestinian Arab demonstrators who had taken over Hamilton Hall.
Before the anti-Israel encampment on campus, the Chabad rabbi of Columbia University and a group of Jewish students were forced to leave the university campus for their own safety during a pro-Hamas demonstration.
In August, three Columbia University deans resigned from the school, after it was discovered that they had exchanged “very troubling” texts that “disturbingly touched on ancient antisemitic tropes”.
Later that month, Columbia University President Dr. Minouche Shafik announced her resignation, following months of criticism for her handling of campus antisemitism.
The antisemitism has continued into the current school year. On the first day of classes, dozens of masked anti-Israel protesters gathered at the entrance to Columbia and at Barnard College.
Days later, pro-Palestinian Arab protesters at Columbia University staged a sit-in at the Institute of Global Politics in the School of International and Public Affairs, where former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was teaching a course.
Last week, a Jewish Columbia University student was punched in the face in an incident that the New York City Police Department (NYPD) is treating as a potential hate crime.