White House rips university presidents who refused to condemn campus calls for genocide against Jews: Top Biden aide says it’s ‘unbelievable’ they didn’t call out ‘monstrous’ and ‘revolting’ demands
The White House on Wednesday joined the chorus of condemnation, a day after the presidents of three of the nation’s most prestigious universities were grilled over their anti-Semitic policies.
The presidents of Harvard, MIT and the University of Pennsylvania hemmed and hawed when asked at congressional hearings whether calls for genocide against Jews violated campus policy.
White House spokesman Andrew Bates criticized their response.
“It’s incredible that this has to be said: calls for genocide are monstrous and contrary to everything we stand for as a country,” he said.
“Any statements promoting the systematic murder of Jews are dangerous and abhorrent—and we must all stand firmly against them, standing on the side of human dignity and the most basic values that unite us as Americans.”
Liz Magill, president of the University of Pennsylvania, was asked on Tuesday whether calls for genocide would be considered persecution: “That decision depends on the context.”
The issue has become widely publicized in the two months since Hamas terrorists killed 1,200 Israelis.
College campuses have become flashpoints for protests against Israel and a bombing campaign that has killed at least 15,000 people in the Gaza Strip, according to the Hamas-controlled enclave’s health ministry.
But from time to time, students used chants such as “From the River to the Sea,” which in some circles are interpreted as calls for the destruction of Israel.
Harvard now faces a federal investigation into allegations of anti-Semitism and Islamophobia on campus.
Republicans on the House Education and Workforce Committee questioned the three presidents about their policies.
Rep. Elise Stefanik wanted to know whether a student calling for genocide of the Jewish people was breaking school rules.
Their answers were far from straightforward, as each wrestled with context and free speech issues.
“It would be considered harassment if it was widespread and severe,” said Sally Kornbooth, president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
University of Pennsylvania President Elizabeth Magill said, “If speech turns into behavior, it can be harassment. Yes.’
Claudine Gay, president of Harvard University, testifies before the House Education and Workforce Committee in the Rayburn Building in the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday
Sally Kornbluth, president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, was also condemned in a fiery White House statement calling for anti-Semitism to be exposed.
“I’m asking, specifically by calling for the genocide of the Jews,” Stefanik responded, “is that intimidation or persecution?”
“If it is targeted, severe and pervasive, then it is persecution,” Magill responded.
“So the answer is yes,” Stefanik said.
“This decision depends on the context,” she replied.
And when Stefanik asked Harvard President Claudine Gay whether calls for the genocide of Jews violated Harvard’s rules on intimidation and harassment, she received the answer: “Maybe…depending on the context.”
This caused an angry wave of condemnation.
Yad Vashem, Israel’s national Holocaust memorial museum, said the remarks showed a “deliberate” lack of accountability.
“The positions taken by the three university presidents in their testimony highlight a basic ignorance of history, including the fact that the Holocaust began not with ghettos or gas chambers, but with hateful anti-Semitic rhetoric, decrees, and the actions of senior scholars, among other leaders. society,” it says.
Bill Ackman says all three women should resign in “disgrace” after testifying
At the White House, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was asked whether the three presidents should resign, but she said it was not for her to decide.
2024 GOP candidate Nikki Haley said she would take action if elected president.
“Calls for genocide of Jews are no different from calls for genocide of any other ethnic, racial or religious group. The ambiguity from college presidents is disgusting,” she wrote on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
“As president, this will end or we will take away their tax-exempt status.”
Billionaire Bill Ackman, a Harvard graduate, led the call for the goals.
“They should all resign in disgrace,” he said. “If the CEO of one of our companies gave a similar answer, he or she would be roasted within an hour.
“Why has anti-Semitism exploded on campus and around the world?
“Because of leaders like Presidents Gay, Magill and Kornbluth who believe that genocide depends on context.”
At the White House, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was asked whether the three presidents should resign.
She said it was not the White House’s business, but added: “It should be very easy to stand up and say … we are going to declare any type of genocide, especially what we see against the Jewish community.” Of course we will shout about anti-Semitism.
“I can’t speak to how their process is going. It’s not for me to talk about this.