Nikki Haley compares anti-Semitism on college campuses to the KKK

Nikki Haley compared anti-Semitism in colleges to the KKK and threatened to strip tax-exempt status from universities that refuse to crack down during the fourth Republican debate Wednesday night.

The former South Carolina governor also threatened to crack down on TikTok when asked to respond to college presidents who refused to condemn campus students’ calls for the “genocide” of Jews.

“It was disgusting to see what happened,” she said of the congressional hearings on anti-Semitism that sparked national fury and condemnation from the White House.

“If this were the KKK protesting on campuses, every one of these presidents would be holding a gun, and it would be just as bad.”

Nikki Haley compared anti-Semitism in colleges to the KKK and threatened to revoke tax-exempt status from universities that refuse to crack down on Wednesday night’s fourth Republican debate.

Harvard President Claudine Gay said calls for genocide of Jews do not violate the school’s code of conduct “as long as they do not escalate into action.”

Haley listed many changes in higher education policy:

“We need to get foreign money from our universities, you have Arab money, Chinese money and others and we need to go to every university and say you take either foreign money or American money, but the day of getting both has already passed . And the second thing we need to do is Biden made a mistake by not including anti-Zionism in his definition of anti-Semitism. If you think Israel has no right to exist, that’s anti-Semitism, and thirdly, we need to ban TikTok once and for all.”

She said universities should be put on notice: “If you are not going to protect these students and acknowledge anti-Semitism, we will revoke your tax-exempt status.”

Universities have the status of non-profit organizations, which exempts them from taxes.

Gay said whether calling for genocide violates Harvard’s code of conduct “depends on the context,” although he called such language “disgusting.”

This will only make sense, she said, if hate speech turns into “behavior.”

Following a furious backlash and donor boycott, a gay Harvard woman today issued a statement insisting she was misunderstood.

“Some people confuse the right to freedom of expression with the idea that Harvard will tolerate calls for violence against Jewish students.

“Let me be clear: calls for violence or genocide against the Jewish community or any religious or ethnic group are abhorrent, have no place at Harvard, and those who threaten our Jewish students will be held accountable,” she said.

Harvard President Claudine Gay said at a congressional hearing yesterday that calling for the genocide of Jews does not violate the school’s code of conduct.

Gay released the statement Wednesday amid growing calls for her resignation.

Elizabeth Magill, Penn’s president, also dissented on the question of whether calls for genocide constitute persecution.

Rep. Elise Stefanik asked Magill, “Do calls for genocide of the Jews violate Penn’s rules or code of conduct, yes or no?”

Magill responded: “If the speech escalates into behavior, it could be stalking.”

Stefanik addressed this issue: “I ask specifically: Does calling for the genocide of Jews constitute bullying or persecution?”

Magill, a lawyer who joined Penn State last year with a pledge to promote free speech on campus, responded: “If it is targeted, severe and widespread violence, then it is harassment.”

Stefanik responded, “So the answer is yes.”

Magill said, “This decision depends on the context, Congressman.”

Today, school students, along with some shocked Republicans who attended the hearing, say it is clear all three must resign.

Each school’s boards, which ultimately decide whether women will remain in their positions, have not yet made their position clear.

MIT President Sally Kornbluth, who is Jewish, was also condemned for her remarks. She hasn’t seen them back yet

UPenn President Liz Magill has yet to apologize or retract her comments.

MIT President Sally Kornbluth responded when asked the same question: “I have not heard calls for genocide of Jews on our campus.”

Condemnation poured in from all sides, even from Democrats.

“It’s incredible that this has to be said: Calls for genocide are horrendous and contrary to everything we stand for as a country,” White House spokesman Andrew Bates said.

On Wednesday evening, Magill also apologized for her comments.

“In that moment, I focused on our university’s long-standing policy, consistent with the U.S. Constitution, which states that speech in and of itself is not punishable,” she said in the video. “I was oblivious to the undeniable fact that a call for genocide of the Jewish people is a call for the most horrific violence that a person can commit. This is evil, plain and simple.”