Does Campus Anti-Semitism Start At the Top?
Three top university presidents were asked “Does calling for the genocide of Jews violate (your university’s) rules on bullying and harassment?” on Capitol Hill this week and gave non-answers.
“White House condemns university presidents after contentious congressional hearing on antisemitism,” reported Kyla Guilfoil for NBC News on Wednesday. “The presidents of Harvard University, the University of Pennsylvania and MIT testified before Congress amid an increase in antisemitism on college campuses.”
The three university presidents were presented with a perfect opportunity to reassure the nation and anxious Jewish Americans that on-campus anti-Semitism would not be tolerated by America’s top institutions of higher learning.
They failed to do so. Instead, meandering, outright mystifying answers only served to add fire to the controversy.
“University presidents proved spectacularly inept on Capitol Hill, raged the Chicago Tribune editorial board in a blistering screed on December 7. “Resignations should follow.”
The question, as the Tribune and other outlets have reported, was a simple one: “Does calling for the genocide of Jews violate (your university’s) rules on bullying and harassment?”