Nine Jewish students from a prestigious university told lawmakers on Thursday they felt unsafe on campus, but university administration has dismissed their complaints of anti-Semitism.
At a bipartisan roundtable organized by the House Education and Workforce Committee, students described various anti-Semitic incidents they have experienced on campus since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel, accusing their schools of pandering to violence and destruction sexual protesters while minimizing the threat to Jewish students.
“I’ve been told over and over again that schools are taking these issues seriously, but no action has been taken,” said Noah Rubin, a student at the University of Pennsylvania.
The Washington roundtable was moderated by Rep. Virginia Foxx, a Republican from North Carolina. The 20 members of Congress, including Ms. Foxx, are evenly split between Republicans and Democrats.
The nine students — from Harvard, the University of Pennsylvania, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Columbia University and five other universities — were selected by a House committee with a Republican majority, according to an aide to Ms. Fox. More power in choosing them. Committee members sought out students from colleges where high-profile incidents of anti-Semitism had occurred.
Several Jewish groups had representatives in the audience Thursday to express support for the congressional committee’s efforts. But some critics dismissed hearings on the issue as part of a broader Republican-driven culture war against colleges and universities, considered bastions of liberalism.
The discussion, less formal than testimony at a congressional hearing, was a continuation of a Dec. 5 hearing in which the presidents of MIT, Harvard and the University of Pennsylvania were criticized for anti-Semitism on their campuses. cross-examination. Leaders were asked whether calling for the genocide of Jews on campus would be punishable, and their answers — which would depend on the circumstances — sparked a backlash and led to the resignations of two presidents.
The question of how to maintain free speech while suppressing disruptive protests has rocked universities across the country since the Oct. 7 attacks. As Jewish students push the university to take action against anti-Semitism, some of whom have filed lawsuits against the school, Muslim students and other Palestinian supporters have also filed complaints describing harassment and discrimination against them.
Multiple investigations are ongoing to examine claims of anti-Semitism and anti-Muslim bias on campus. The Education Department has launched an investigation into discrimination against Muslim students at Harvard and other universities. House committees are investigating anti-Semitism at Harvard University, the University of Pennsylvania, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Columbia University, and Ms. Fox said the probe could expand. She said the roundtable will help inform next steps in the investigation.
Students were passionate, angry and defiant Thursday, repeatedly expressing feelings of fear and abandonment despite their efforts to make their voices heard by university officials.
Shabbos Kestenbaum, a student at Harvard Divinity School, said: “By inviting me, you have actually done more for Harvard to do for the Jewish people, because Harvard is listening to us .” Kestenbaum is one of six Jewish students at Harvard who are suing the school for discrimination.
Unsworn students discussed incidents of violence and verbal aggression experienced and witnessed on campus. Some said they stopped wearing Star of David necklaces and skullcaps after being spat on and cursed at.
They also said campus police at their schools appeared to be told not to stop demonstrators during war-related protests, some of which had turned violent.
Jacob Khalili, a student at Cooper Union, described staying in the library when pro-Palestinian protests took place outside. He said protesters rattled doors, banged on windows and “shouted anti-Israel, anti-Semitic slogans.” He recalled some people he was with asking police for help but said authorities did not intervene.
Rutgers University student Joe Kindy said protesters once screamed at him, “We don’t want the Zionists here!” and called him a “European colonizer,” even though his family is from Syria. He also said that police and management staff at the scene did not stop the demonstrators.
Lawmakers at the roundtable seemed shocked by the reports and expressed sympathy for the students. House members said they are working to translate information gleaned from hearings and discussions into legislation.
But some viewers Thursday noted that Jewish students are not the only ones facing discrimination on campus. A small group of demonstrators from the anti-war, pro-Palestinian group Code Pink said Muslim and Arab students also suffered abuse and their voices deserved to be heard.
“Islamophobia is a very real problem,” said Moataz Salim, a graduate student at George Washington University. He said about 40 of his family members had been displaced from their homes in Gaza and others had been killed. He said he knew a professor who was accused of anti-Semitism for being outspoken about Palestinian rights and inviting speakers whom Jewish students objected to.
Khalil Gibran Muhammad, a professor of history, race and public policy at the Harvard Kennedy School, said limiting Thursday’s discussion to anti-Semitism “ignores the many forms of prejudice that exist on campus.”