University heads take bipartisan heat for testimony on Jewish genocide

The presidents of Harvard University, the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have come under bipartisan fire over their responses to questions about antisemitism on campuses during a House hearing Tuesday.  

The presidents were all asked by Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) if a student calling for the genocide of Jewish people violates their schools’ policies.  

Sally Kornbluth, the head of MIT, said there would be an investigation as harassment “if pervasive.” 

“If the speech becomes conduct, it can be harassment,” UPenn President Liz Magill said, with Stefanik firing back, “Conduct meaning committing the act of genocide?”  

Harvard President Claudine Gay said “it can” violate the school’s rules “depending on the context.” 

The responses caused an uproar on social media, with many saying they were appalled the presidents would not outright say a call for a Jewish genocide would be harassment.  

“Calling for the genocide of Jews MUST be condemned. No equivocations, no exceptions,” the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, before which the administrators had appeared, said on X, formerly known as Twitter. “Why is that so hard for college presidents to say?” 

Republican presidential candidate and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley posted the video of the interactions on X, saying such remarks “will end or we’ll pull their tax exempt status.”  

“Calling for genocide of Jews is no different than calling for genocide of any other ethnic, racial, or religious group. The equivocation from these college presidents is disgusting,” Haley said.  

And the White House has weighed in, with spokesperson Andrew Bates calling it “unbelievable” such an issue would even come up.

“It’s unbelievable that this needs to be said: calls for genocide are monstrous and antithetical to everything we represent as a country,” Bates said. “Any statements that advocate for the systematic murder of Jews are dangerous and revolting — and we should all stand firmly against them, on the side of human dignity and the most basic values that unite us as Americans.” 

Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre later on Wednesday said that calls for genocide “unacceptable” and “vile,” adding that if someone who worked in the administration made comments like that, they would be called out.

“Statements that advocate for the systemic murder of Jews are appalling and we should all stand against them,” she said. “I should not have to be saying this at the podium.”

Harvard is now trying to quell the outrage, with Gay releasing a statement Wednesday about the school’s policies for harassment against Jewish students.  

“There are some who have confused a right to free expression with the idea that Harvard will condone 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 vile, they have no place at Harvard, and those who threaten our Jewish students will be held to account,” Gay said.  

The Hill has reached out to UPenn and MIT for comment.  

All the presidents said at the hearing it was a hard balance for their schools in keeping student safety and making individuals comfortable, while also allowing free speech and expression to thrive on campus in these times. They condemned Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack on Israel and defended the nation’s right to exist.

—Updated at 4:06 p.m. Alex Gangitano contributed.