CUNY, Georgetown, Berkeley presidents called to testify before House committee over campus anti-Semitism
Leaders from CUNY, Georgetown, and UC Berkeley are slated to testify before Congress on July 9 regarding ongoing allegations of anti-Semitism on their campuses.
The hearing will investigate suspected root causes such as foreign funding and campus groups promoting anti-Israel rhetoric, including a UC Berkeley course describing Hamas as a 'revolutionary resistance force.'
The House Committee on Education and the Workforce requested testimony from the leaders of the City University of New York (CUNY), Georgetown University, and the University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley) in connection to persistent allegations of anti-Semitism at their respective campuses.
CUNY Chancellor Félix Matos Rodríguez, Georgetown University Interim President Robert Groves, and UC Berkeley Chancellor Rich Lyons will testify before the committee on July 9, according to The New York Post.
Committee Chairman Rep. Tim Walberg (R-MI) criticized what he called “antisemitic hatred festering at schools across the country.”
“While much of the discussion has focused on the devastating effects of antisemitism, this hearing will focus on the underlying factors instigating antisemitic upheaval and hatred on campus,” Walberg noted.
He added that, “Until these factors—such as foreign funding and antisemitic student and faculty groups—are addressed, antisemitism will persist on college campuses.”
All three institutions have a recently history of accusations related to anti-Israel rhetoric.
At Georgetown, in April, the school’s police department forcibly removed anti-Israel demonstrators from a building on campus, even though the activists were given “multiple directives from officials to stop disrupting university business.”
During the past spring semester, UC Berkeley offered a course that lauds Hamas as a “revolutionary resistance force” dedicated to fighting “settler colonialism.”
The course description additionally accused the United States of funding “genocide.”
CUNY’s Brooklyn College witnessed a pro-Palestine demonstration on its campus on May 8 in which activists fought with police officers, resulting in 14 arrests.
During the California wildfires earlier this year, a CUNY graduate accused Israel of helping to cause the natural disaster.
Both CUNY and UC Berkeley told Campus Reform that they have pledged to combat anti-Semitism and protect Jewish students on their respective campuses.
“The City University of New York is firmly committed to combating antisemitism and ensuring every student and faculty member is safe from discrimination and harassment,” a CUNY spokesperson said.
“We look forward to discussing the steps we are taking to support Jewish members of our campus community and to uphold CUNY’s values of inclusion, safety and respect for all,” the spokesperson continued.
A UC Berkeley spokesperson stated that the institution is “committed to combating antisemitism and all forms of hate and has taken meaningful action to achieve this.”
“Chancellor Lyons looks forward to testifying before the committee to share how the campus has been investing, and continues to invest, in resources and programs designed to prevent and address antisemitism on the Berkeley campus,” the school representative concluded.
Campus Reform has contacted Georgetown University for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
