Many of them very old many of them very young and some of them American citizens the attack represents the largest loss of Jewish life in a single day since the conclusion of the Holocaust here in the United States the Jewish Community has had little time to mourn the steady rise
In anti-Semitism in this country over the past several years has now reached fever pitch and few places have had to Bear the weight of that Trend more than our college and university campuses where according to an audit published by the Anti-Defamation League months before the October 7th attack anti-semitic
Activity had increased by 41% in the last year alone in many ways the conduct we need to discuss most urgently goes far beyond the title of this hearing free speech on campus Jewish students are being physically threatened and have legitimate cause to fear for their safety on campuses across the country
For example at Cornell University law enforcement officials arrested a student for making violent threats against Jewish students on an internet Message Board these messages included the exhortation that quote if you see a Jewish person on campus follow them home and slit their throats close quote in another post the student threatened to
Quote bring an assault rifle to campus and shoot all you pig Jews close quote we are joined today by a student from Cornell University Amanda Silverstein Miss silin I would just like to say that I am sorry that you and the Jewish Community Cornell have had to endure
These threats simply for being who you are and I am sorry for the fear they have caused you and your fellow students it is unacceptable and we must do better there’s no excuse for that kind of violence at any school against any student and an academic discussion about
The first amendment is mostly beside the point until we can secure these campuses I think that most members here in both sides of the aisle would agree which is not to say Mr chairman that I do not appreciate your calling this hearing Congress can help but first we have to
Put aside the political stunts and academic debates and put our money where it’s mouth where our mouth is the office for civil rights at the Department of Education is the federal agency responsible for enforcing the laws that protect students from discrimination to be clear the office of
Civil rights had an enormous amount of work to do long before the attacks of October 7th the reaction to those attacks in the United States May threaten to overwhelm the agency that is why Anti-Defamation League and their partner organization the Brandy Center which is represented here today have set
Up a help line to Aid Jewish students navigate the process for filing complaints alleging anti-Semitism during this troubling time I would like to commend both organizations for their important work and I encourage Jewish students across the country to make their voices heard Congress also has an obligation to help more than that we
Have an obligation to offer meaningful help if we want to get this situation under control we need to move past debating the various theoretical definitions of the word anti-Semitism we need to move past the meaningless resolutions on the house floor declaring our feelings about bigotry generally we
Need to send assistance where it is urgently needed and we need to do so today earlier this year the Biden Administration outlined a comprehensive National strategy to counter anti-Semitism for that matter the Administration has also announced a national strategy to counter islamophobia these strategies are whole of government efforts to combat bigotry
In every part of American life that the government can touch the president has put enforcement of our civil rights laws at the center of these strategies long before we could have foreseen the wave of violent anti-Semitism that would sweep across the country President Biden requested a 27% increase in funding for
The office of civil rights if my Republican colleagues were serious about this issue they would fully fund that request instead they are fighting to slash the office I’m sorry they are fighting to slash the budget of the office of civil rights and other agencies that would keep our children
Safe their promises about anti-Semitism and their actions disconnect in other ways as well if my Republican colleagues were serious about anti-Semitism they would have spoken up after the 2017 unite the right rally in Charlottesville where neo-nazis chanted that quote Jews will not replace us my Republican colleagues were serious about
Anti-Semitism they would have spoken up when President Trump then declared that there were quote very fine people on both sides of that rally if they were serious about anti-Semitism they would have said something last year when former president Trump shared a meal with Nick Fuentes notorious white supremacist and Holocaust denier unless
You imagine that I am dredging up ancient history let me remind you that if my Republican colleagues were serious about anti-Semitism they would not have just months ago invited Robert F Kennedy Jr to testify in this hearing room after he made appalling claims that Jews
Appeared to be immune from coid 19 a nod to the laughable if not so Insidious conspiracy that the virus was somehow engineered to spare the Jewish Community my friends for too long your silence on these matters has been deafening I’m well for free speech on campuses and
Otherwise that includes the right of my Republican colleagues to say nothing at all about anti-Semitism when silence is politically convenient even when the former president of the United States stes takes aim at us directly but if you mean what you say here today if you believe that the threats and vitri all
That my community faces on college campuses is both unfair and unjust then I’m asking you to move beyond the pointless gestures and political posturing and help us protect our children fully fund the offic of civil rights the administration’s efforts to counter anti-Semitism and other forms of discrimination help us get the boots on
The ground we can do better and our students deserve no less I thank the witnesses and I yield back I thank the gentleman the gentleman yields back um without objection all other opening statements will be included in the record we will now introduce today’s Witnesses our first witness is Mr Connor
Griek uh Mr Orek is a recent graduate of the University of Buffalo while a student at Buffalo he served as the treasure Vice chair and chairman of the University’s Young Americans for Freedom chapter he face threats and protests from fellow students over speakers that his organization invited to campus thank
You for being with us miss Jasmine Jordan Miss Jordan is a student at the University of Iowa she serves as the chairwoman of the University’s Young Americans for Freedom chapter she has received threats from her fellow students over events that her organization has uh invited to campus and their recent pro-israel vigil was
Vandalized and disrupted by protesters we apologize for that thank you for doing that Miss Amanda Silverstein as the ranking member has already talked about Miss Silverstein is a student at Cornell University she serves on the student Board of the Reitman Shabad Center at Cornell the leaders ership of the alpha Capi professional business
Fraternity and as the director of marketing and Communications for a canel Cornell based startup thank you Miss Silverstein for for being with us today Mr Kenneth Marcus Mr Marcus is the founder and chairman of the ls D Brandy Center for human rights under law he previously served as the assistant
Secretary of Education for civil rights the staff director of the US Commission on civil rights and as Deputy assistant Secretary of Housing and Urban Development for fair housing and equal opportunity we appreciate your work Mr Marcus and thank you for being with us Professor Pamela nadell Professor nadell holds the
Patrick Clinton chair in women’s and gender history and is the director of the Jewish studies program at American University she has taught a variety of courses on Judaism and Jewish and women’s history and has published several related books we appreciate you being here Dr and Miss Stacy bdet Miss
Bdet is a public policy strategist and consultant she has previously served as the vice president for government relations advocacy and Community engagement at the Anti-Defamation League and as the director of government and external relations at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum we welcome all our Witnesses and thank them for appearing
Today we will Begin by swearing you in would you please rise and all rise and raise your right hand do you swear or affirm under penalty or perjury of perjury that the testimony you’re about to give is true and correct to the best of your knowledge information and belief so help
You God let the record show that the witnesses have answered in the affirmative uh thank you you may be seated uh please know that your written testimony will be entered into the record and it’s entirely accordingly we ask that you summarize your testimony in 5 minutes I think we’ll just go like
Like we did we’ll start with uh Mr oek and then we’ll move right down the line so you you’re recognized for five minutes thank you chairman Jordan ranking member nler and members of the committee committee will be in order committee will be in order people uh we appreciate people being
Here but uh the committee has to be in order if you Congress tried to silence R to we will we will remove every single person who disrupts the committee Palestinians and Israeli AP which has existed longer than what has happened on October 7 this has existed longer than
That and The Siege onda now and occupation you will not silence us gentleman recognize thank you chairman Jordan ranking member nler and members of the committee my name is Conor ojok and it is an honor to bring my experiences before you today although I had hoped speaking up against genocide become
Anti-Semitism how is that the same will be in order children and students are what right te all of us are not free what [Applause] does again although I had hoped that my arrival pirate a hearing for Palestinian Student Mr agre we’ll we’ll keep trying thank you chairman Jordan ranking member Nadler and members of the committee Palestinians deserve to speak on the genocide of their families all right sit down you Palestinian students deserve to speak on the genocide of their stop Sil [Applause] [Applause] [Applause] Stop people just gentleman’s recognized it is an honor to bring my experiences students should not be censored you want to talk about putting money where your mouth is there are 10,000 over 10,000 Godin dead and more buried half of whom are under the age of 18 and you are
Going to send money and talk about this where are the an in room nowhere you are not offering a morality of opinion you are offering partisanship and you are offering More my name is Connor Orrick and it is an honor to bring my experiences before you today although I hoped that my arrival to higher education would Mark the arrival to a Bastion of free speech many many of my firsthand experiences of freedom of speech violations at the University of Buffalo
Came during my membership of ub’s chapter of Young Americans for Freedom two of the most prominent examples of freedom of speech bias that I witnessed at the University each came in the form of speaker events hosted by my chapter in Spring of 2022 as Vice chair of my
Chapter I had the opportunity to assist with hosting Lieutenant Colonel alen West at UB an event which was preceded by delays in the signing of our contract and a forced venue change which was exposed by a freedom of information request however the most striking action taken against us follow Lieutenant
Colonel West’s speech which had included a discussion of race in America and accounts from his decorated past when the floor was opened to a question and answer session student protesters shouted from their seats before the audiovisual employees from E Student Association the student government cut powers to the events microphones and
Speakers ending the session confrontations continued upon the exit from the event and once outside as you just saw in the video before the opening statements chapter members were chased by a 100 person mob across campus what that footage did not show was the former Chapter Chair being
Forced into a bathroom where she called 911 for rest rescue and another board member being physically attacked with Silence from the University and charges not pressed by the Erie County District Attorney’s Office I’ve since been left to consider the precedent this sets for those who plan to protest future events
On campus though I may not be qualified to determine what constitutes adequate evidence in the eyes of the justice system if those were who were involved in this mob were able to result to fear tactics and violence without consequence what is keeping a pattern of this despicable behavior from being set and
Executed repeatedly this thought remained on my mind throughout the planning of a March 2023 event that I hosted as chairman featuring Michael nolles this event would grow to gain more push back than any event on campus in the previous four years and provide the most clear-cut examples of freedom
Freedom of speech violations this push back included delays in contract signing from EB Student Association that deviated far from their outlined standard course of action condemnation of the event by a local New York state senator and multiple Western New York y based organizations a circulated petition constructed by three University
Professors calling for the cancellation of the lecture which gained thousands of student signatures a forced venue change orchestrated not only by University Administration this time but voted on by a Sunni Council a multitude of threats in torn literature and even a tweet from Governor Kathy hokel on the day of the
Event calling comments from Michael dehumanizing the decry of this event garnered a responding statement from University president Sati trapathy explaining that the Constitution protects speech on campus quote no matter how noxious the content end quote based on the actions taken by faculty and the retoric used by trapathy I
Cannot name more clear examples of evidence that demonstrate the case of a university concerned only with following the letter of the law rather than uplifting conservative values to a level equivalent with the values of the left which are often celebrated in the University’s own distinguished speaker series unfortunately this was forced to
Extend into a federal lawsuit with representation by Alliance defend finding Freedom once our YF chapter was banned from campus as the result of a new National affiliation ban by the student government though I graduated in the previous spring semester and no longer able to engage in discourse with
Opposing students I’m fortunate to still have friends on campus including current yaf board members who can something that has particularly concerned me recently both on campus and off is the outward support for Hamas under the guise of support for Palestinian civilians I will not generalize and tell entire groups however an unsettling
Number of students who appeared both in a 300 person Pro Palestine march on campus as well as a protest against a pro-israel speaker did not solely speak out in support of Palestinian civilians rather these students stated their support for H Hamas directly I would like to be clear regardless of
Background I do not wish for civilian death support for Hamas is not support for Palestinian civilians it is the opposite support for Hamas is support for a terrorist organization and this must not be misconstrued regardless of what side of the political aisle you resed on it should be common ground that no student
Deserves to be threatened mistreated or silenced on campus due to their personal beliefs conservative students currently face a Relentless uphill battle for representation on campus and though we may seek support from outside groups and legislators such as yourselves we will not accept the label of victims standing
Up for your beliefs will never be a waste of time and As Americans we hold this in our hearts I thank you for your time thank you uh Miss Jordan you recognized good morning chairman Jordan ranking member Nadler and the members of the committee my name is Jasmine Jordan
And I’m blessed to have the opportunity to speak with you all today I was raised in the church and homeschooled from preschool through fifth grade both of these were crucial in shaping my early upbringing and my worldview they gave me the strong Foundation of moral beliefs and values that the constitution was
Founded on lessons like iron trens iron be a leader not a follower and so help me God are ingrained into every aspect of my character as I progressed to the public school environment this strong moral compass guided me throughout my journey and I carried it with me to
College in Spring 2022 I joined Iowa Young Americans for Freedom when I discovered that this organization aligned with the Christian conservative values instilled In Me In Me by my church and family the more involved I became in the club the more I discovered that the playing field for freedom of
Speech on college campuses was not equalized the first time I noticed this was when Iowa yaf hosted kellyan Conway as a speaker in response I was doxed in a group chat of over 800 students and was falsely labeled as a Nazi a token a white supremacist and a bigot some
Individuals even expressed that I made them uncomfortable and feared that I might commit a hate crime against them simply because I’m black and hold conservative principles these students believe that if you are conservative you are hateful support oppression and only want to benefit straight white men even though such beliefs are untrue
When we hosted Lieutenant Colonel Alan West speak on campus last year he spoke on the topic of debunking diversity Equity inclusion and prove that America is not racist we use chalk advertisements to promote the lecture which is something many colleges do to effectively let students know about upcoming events immediately our chalk
Was altered which is a violation of school policy new messages were put in place saying that Alan West is racist and that racism is prevalent in schools thus critical race Theory should be supported at Alan West’s lecture a protester stood in the back holding a sign that read
Stop the altright punch your local Nazi today this is blatant irony conservatives are slandered by students and faculty as harmful yet here’s an obvious example of someone openly delivering a violent threat and facing no repercussions the entitlement continues I find that when a conservative doesn’t want to hear a
Speaker they just don’t attend the event but when a leftist doesn’t want to hear a speaker they do everything they can to shut the lecture down our club recently hosted Matt Walsh students and faculty were willing to do anything to cancel the event just because they found Walsh’s speech to be offensive some
People were so dedicated to silencing our voices that literally as one of us was advertising with chalk a lefta student was erasing each of those letters with a wipe we received death threats along with plenty of verbal harassment that night before the speaking event my hall mate who happened
To be the one raising the chalk stalked outside of my bedroom door by putting his ear on it to see if I was in my room because he was just so outraged by my involvement that was a terrifying experience but what I find to be more
Appalling is when I talked to our our Hall coordinator about this and she replied people are allowed to think feel and react however they want to about this upcoming event at the event someone threw two thou 20,000 marbles on the floor to prevent people from entering the venue attendees were spat on outside
A popular pet band well known to our school played loud music to try and drown out the speaker message I share these occurrences with you all to show that despite repeatedly meeting with the University Administration the rurs are continually permitted to be broken by left leaning students they are in fact
Coddled by our school the university expresses affirmations and puts together support solidarity and celebration spaces these individuals act out against conservatives without care or consequence and are empowered to act this way because of the lack of action by the administration and University leaders conservative organizations do not get the same resources that these
Other organizations receive conservatives often have to hide who they are and what they believe in so that they do not lose relationships or receive a lower grade or face constant doxing harassment intimidation or threats I went to college with the expectation that I would hear different
Points of view because I thought it’ be a place where young people could come together disagree and still be friendly and courageous to one another however after two years I’ve realized that this is not the case at all and that students who hold opposing views are often subjected to frequent violent threats
And other forms of harassment with no accountability our founding fathers guaranteed every US citizen the right to free speech in the Constitution it is an important resource for all Americans not just a small percentage of them particularly if they hold different views and ideas than those of others to
Ensure that peaceful continuation of the nation we must all come to together and understand that differing opinions and expressing them we should nevertheless show respect for one another and refrain from causing each other bodily mental or emotional harm thank you for your time thank you Miss Jordan Miss Silverstein you’re
Recognized I was alone in a world gone mad these are the words my grandfather wrote on the day in October 1942 after his father had been shot dead and the Jews in his small polish Town including his entire family were deported to to a death camp he was a teenager alone in a
Labor camp with a bleak future filled with unimaginable suffering I have thought about my grandfather’s words often in the 32 days since October 7th if I have watched what I can only describe as a world gone mad I have seen and heard things on on and around
Cornell’s campus that just over a month ago I could not have imagined Cornell professor Russell rickford publicly Justified and celebrated barbaric acts of Terror as exhilarating and energizing Des desing the torture rape and murder of innocent women and children as resistance I see classmates perpetuating anti agold anti-semitic tropes on social
Media I walk across a campus to face with anti-israel signage and graffiti seeing phrases such as F Israel and Zionism equals genocide anti-zionism and anti-Semitism are inextricably linked this is evidenced by the Jew hatred that consistently and openly accompanies attacks on Zionism on campus I am now confronted daily with
Shouts to free Palestine from The River To The Sea this catchy chant is not about peace or sovereignty for the Palestinian people it is a call for a Palestinian State extending from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea a territory that encompasses the entire state of Israel it is a jew-hating
Genocidal mandate seeking to deny the Jewish right to self-determination in Israel it is a call to exterminate all Jews in accordance with hamas’s open and unequivocal goal this chant is not about Palestinian life it is about Jewish death imagine that you frequent Jewish events on campus imagine that you live
In a Jewish sorority house then imagine scrolling on your phone one day only to discover that a fellow student wants to shoot up the coacher dining hall and and I quote gang rape all Jew Pig woman on campus that is what my peers and I experienced last week when reading the
Multiple online threats made by a fellow student instructing other Cornell students to assault Jews on campus to follow them home and slit their throats this was not just hate speech it was a call to action and an immediate threat the sentiment did not begin with that student professors and student
Organizations have been fueling Jew hatred and spreading it across campus with disregard or potentially even with deliberate intent to incite fre Palestine anti-zionism is not committee will be in war committee will be in order apologize miss silberstein you can continue and even after that student’s arrest professors have continued to
Teach blatant anti-israel lessons in their classrooms students in the course race racism and public policy reported that Professor Lindsay played a video in class claiming that Israel is committing a parthe in which students felt was an attempt to place blame for the terror attack on Israel students in the writing seminar true
Stories taught by Professor globman reported that the professor suggested that Palestine is a textbook case of genocide and sought to pressure students who had previously expressed sympathy for Israel to change their views these not so subtle examples of bullying and attempts at indoctrination have a tangible impact on the pervasive
Jew hatred spreading throughout my campus my grandmother along with many of my family members and close friends live in Israel why are they calling me every day to check in and see how I’m doing do I feel safe on campus is there enough security do other students know that I am
Jewish they live in an active war zone with rockets constantly being fired at them and yet my safety on an American college campus is keeping them up at night growing up with a firsthand account of what my grandfather endured during the Holocaust I could never comprehend how neighbors and Friends
Stood by as Jews were rounded up to be killed and how governments around the world turned a blind eye until now witnessing such unbridled and Unapologetic anti-Semitism unfold on my college campus is a testament to the impacts of Permitting Jew hatred to fester and infect the mob mentality of
Impressionable students it is shocking that college campuses have devolved into Echo Chambers fostering animosity aggression and bigotry a shift that is painfully reminiscent of the vitriol and Terror that my grandfather endured in the 1930s anti-Semitism can no longer be hidden under the guise of anti-zionism disseminating lies about Israel is an
Effort to validate violence against Jews I’m grateful for the supportive words of from the Cornell Administration but actions speak louder than words we require tangible measures including stricted hear to policies that forbid threatening or intimidating behaviors towards any student and ensures that per ERS of violence are removed from campus
No student should ever live in fear for their safety regardless of background or religion what is happening on Cornell’s campus and across universities in this country is not about protecting expressions of free speech or free exchange of ideas it is about enabling and even promoting intimidation and the
Threat of harm to Jewish students and supporters of Israel it is imperative that decisive action is taken to ensure the collective safety of students thank you for your time today thank you Miss Silverstein and thank you for your courage um Mr Marcus you’re recognized for 5 minutes uh chairman Jordan ranking
Member Nadler distinguished members make sure you got the mic make sure your mic’s on there chairman Jordan go ranking member Nadler distinguished members Friends brave students thank you for conducting this important hearing today I am chairman of the Lou D Brandi Center for human rights under law and former head
Of the US Department of education’s office for civil civil rights at the Lou D Brandy Center we fight anti-Semitism on college campuses and I appreciate the kind words from both the chairman and ranking member about the work that we’re doing more work than ever before I would
Have said If This Were October 6th that we have never seen more anti-Semitism on college campuses than we were seeing on October 6th our staff was stretched we were getting more complaints on a daily basis than ever before and by far we look back with Nostalgia at those days
Because in a week since October 7 we’re hearing from more students than we would in a month or more before October 6th incidents have gone through the roof let’s think about that we’re talking about a situation in which there was mass murder of civilians organized rape torture and desecration of corpses and
The immediate reaction on many many college camp campuses was for student organizations to go out and celebrate the murders the rapes the torture for so many students that we work with and you may get a sense of this from the brave words that you’ve heard today from these
Students what they’re facing is an extraordinary shock and the difficulty of realizing that the masks are down and the students who they thought were their friends are celebrating murders of people just like them this is partly about be in order this is an issue of speech and
It’s also an issue of civil rights again and again we are seeing Jewish college students who are being prevented from expressing not only their viewpoints but an integral part of their identity for many Jewish Americans not all but for many Jewish Americans Zionism a commitment to the Jewish state of Israel
Is an important part of their identity and so when they are excluded as zionists they feel this as exclusion as Jews a rule against Zionist is a rule against Jews even before October 7 we were finding that large numbers of college students including strongly self-identified Jewish college students
Such as people who were living in Jewish fraternities and sororities were unwilling on a consistent basis to express their Jewish identity majorities were saying that they sometimes felt it necessary to conceal their Jewish identity including in particular their support for the state of Israel in many
Cases we saw this not just as toxic hostile environments but as specific actions to exclude Jewish students who have that as a part of their identity for instance at Tufts and the University of Southern California clients of the Brandy Center were members of student government facing organized efforts to
Exclude them to throw them out of student government because as Jews they support the state of Israel similarly this is difficult but I have to say at Sunni news we had two clients who were thrown out of a sexual assault survivors group because Zionism was an important part of their identity at the
University of Vermont similar issues as well as a book club in which one could not participate if one was a Zionist here we found Viewpoint discrimination but not just Viewpoint discrimination that is to say people were shunned marginalized and excluded not just because of their political views but
Because who they are and what their identity is as Jews at my own alma mater the University of California at Berkeley School of Law many student organizations including law reviews have adopted rules including bylaws and changes to their constitutions that prevent anyone from speaking to their groups who is a
Zionist or a supporter of the state of Israel and let me be clear they were prevented from speaking and are to this day prevented from speaking on any topic this was not just a statement that if your Viewpoint disagrees with us we don’t want to hear you this was if you
Are a Zionist we don’t want to hear you on any topic if you are a feminist legal scholar we don’t want to hear you on feminist legal issues if you are a supporter of Israel which is to say most Jewish Americans would not be able to speak to these groups because of their
Identity as Jews since October 7th this has skyrocketed we are hearing continually of Jewish students being assaulted Jewish property being vandalized Jewish students being harassed in any number of different ways not just on a few college campuses that one might describe as hotspots but at so many colleges and universities that one
Cannot identify any place that are safe a few quick suggestions if I may first the Department of Education should have the same tools to protect students free speech that it has to protect the very important issues of anti-discrimination second a coordinator within the Department to protect Free Speech third the Department of Education
Has committed to issue a regulation implementing the executive order on combating anti-Semitism and has set a deadline of next month be nice to ask them if they’re going to do it and finally the anti-Semitism awareness act would provide uh for the Department of Education a a cified definition of
Anti-semitism similar to what’s used around the world and has been embraced by this Administration I would suggest that action needs to be taken and I commend you for this opportunity uh thank you Mr Marcus uh Dr nadell you’re you’re recognized for five minutes thank you hit the hit that hit that pull it
Close is the light on oh there let’s try that sorry thanks thank you chairman Jordan ranking member Nadler and the distinguished members of this committee for inviting me to testify today will be in order I am Pamela Nell a professor of history at American University and I am writing
A book called anti-Semitism and American tradition under contract with ww Norton and um I am a recipient of a National Endowment for the Humanity’s public Scholars award to write this book and I am delighted to be able to thank the Congress for supporting the National Endowment for the Humanities for
Supporting work that teaches us about the history of our nation and for this prestigious award anti-semitic behavior that we’re seeing right now on college campuses as we have heard so brilliantly from the students and also from Mr Marcus this anti-Semitism is part of anti-Semitism that is Raging across the
United States the last time that I testified before this Committee in 2017 was um in November of 2017 just after three months after the white nationalists at the rally the unite the right rally in Charlottesville Virginia marched across the University of Virginia campus brandishing tiki torches and they were deliberately
Imitating the Nazi Stormtrooper parades of the 193s during that hearing I was opposed to Congress legislating any definition about anti-Semitism and I remain opposed now because the definition keeps changing it keeps morphing and changing over time what I can do is I can give you some of the themes that are in ins
Sconed in um the word anti-Semitism anti-semites blame Jews for the death of Jesus and believe that their that the Jewish people across eternity should be punished for that crime anti-semites believe that Jews have been corrupted by money since Judas sold Jesus out for 30 pieces of silver and what they’ve done
Since then is they have used different code names over time Rothchild and now George Soros to signify avaricious Jews anti-semites believe that Jews primary loyalty is to their people around the world and not to the Nations that they live in that conspiracy theory gained Traction in the United States when Henry Ford published
In the Dearborn independent over 91 weeks a series called the international Jew the world’s foremost problem today that charge that Jews are international goes under a different code word globalist across American history the people from all walks of life have conveyed these anti-semitic ideas new Amsterdam’s Governor Peter styes tried
To expel quote this deceitful race such hateful enemies and blasphemers of the name of Christ close quote the future President John quiny Adams wrote quote the Jews would steal your eyes out of your head if they possibly could close quote Congressman Albert Johnson a chief architect of the 1924 law establishing
Immigration quotas told a Jewish reporter quote if the Jewish people combined to defeat the immigration bill as reported by the committee their children will regret it close quote that was the past what about today we are just five months out from the massacre at the Tree of Life synagogue and I
Could give you so many other examples as for the campus anti- Zionism meaning opposition to Israel’s policies absolutely crosses the line into anti-Semitism when it leads to discrimination violence harassment intimidation and bullying as we have heard from the students today the barbarity of the Hamas Invasion the
Torture the rapes the murders and The Taking of more than 200 hostages adds a terrible new chapter to Jewish history anyone who CLA claims to care about human rights should denounce these Horrors that so many students on college campuses not only did not but that they claimed that the savagery was
Justified um has caused not just students on campus it has caused Jews around the world deep anguish what happened on October 7th was not anti-zionism it was anti-Semitism I deplore hate speech but in the United States in America hate speech including anti-semitic speech remains protected speech for that speech
Stands at the core of liberal arts education an education which I believe every single member of this committee benefited from when you were students at some of the nation’s Elite colleges and universities and the fine public colleges and universities that our country has the value of free speech does not permit discrimination bias
Threats or violence in any form including on the campus when these occur our institutions of higher education have mechanisms for dealing with them in May 2023 the White House published the US national strategy to counter anti-Semitism the first time I believe that any nation in the world has
Published such a strategy it talks about how to use title 6 to deal with problems of of anti-Semitism on campus I am a proud American and I am a proud Jew I never used to be afraid to identify as a Jew in this world since 2017 since that March in Charlottesville
I am afraid we can work together in this country to resolve this problem but it’s not just a problem on campus thank you chairman thank you doct miss bdet you recognized for five minutes thank you chairman Jordan for inviting me and for having these students uh able to bring their voices
Here we have too many conversations about them without them and chairman Nadler thank you for always being a voice of conscience in this country against anti-Semitism and for the civil rights of all Americans and listening to these students if I had a Sharpie I’d want to change my name tag just to say
Mom because I too have a son processing these events on a college campus a campus is the most diverse place most people will ever encounter for the rest of their lives graduates will sort themselves into the right neighborhoods the right book clubs the right school districts or houses of worship filled
With people who agree with them but in college they live in the reality that a free Society isn’t only about what you get to say it’s what you have to hear and managing that experience for young adults is a very hard work is a very hard job for University ities but
Students who can navigate the discomfort of conflicting ideas and we’ve heard some here today they will be leaders who can engage in the kind of give and take that we need to solve the world’s biggest problems and we’re living in what it looks like to not be able to
Have give and take to solve problems now just because speech is legal doesn’t mean it can’t be harmful and University presidents and Deans have made crystal clear that anti-Semitism goes against their values protecting expression also means making clear when it crosses a line into threats or harassment support for Palestinian
Rights solidarity with Palestinian suffering is not anti-Semitism it is not anti-Semitism to advocate for curing cancer either but when your advocacy turns into threats of violence eliminationist speech hostility that ju goes from online threats and translates into hate incidents against people because of their identity well then we need to see
And we have seen schools enforcing their rules protest permits suspending perpetrators schools have been working with law enforcement to have people arrested and to open investigations but that’s not enough the anti-Semitism task forces that that have announced been announced in some schools can go deeper they can make transformative chains
Change across systems they can touch every aspect of student life and what they learn the national strategy to counter anti-Semitism did that kind of stocktaking they spoke to a thousand community members and experts and it commits our government to Serious action with time-bound deadlines and federal agencies have already been fulfilling
Those commitments including some uh ad mentioned by my longtime colleague Mr Marcus in addition to the Department of Education eight other federal agencies have affirmed in writing for the first time that title six bans anti-semitic discrimination in all federally funded programs so if you ride on a transit system that gets Department of
Transportation money you are covered these changes and commitments are important and dramatic and meaningful and even the little actions matter making a new Complaint Form so that it says on the form and makes clear that if you’re a Jew victim of harassment you are covered making information available
In Hebrew and Yiddish for orthodox Jews who walk to and from synagogue and face attacks they need to know their rights and they need to know what recourse is available to them and this strategy this is those are just a few examples of why the action recommendations in this strategy are a
Real road map to stem the normalization of anti-Semitism it’s got bipartisan by Camal support and so many organizations rallied around and celebrated this strategy strategy because it’s such a serious plan so first Congress should implement it if they’re serious and second by the time a student files a
Complaint to the Department of Education we failed them their peer networks have failed them their school has failed them and now they will be making a complaint the number is what Mr Marcus called through the roof they will send those complaints to a civil rights staff that is already processing a record
Record number of complaints with less capacity so Congress should fund the office of civil rights put investigators in the chairs for the complaints that we know are going to be coming we are sad but we don’t want those students and families to wait and finally it seems like the only thing communities and
Congress can agree on is to fund security and that’s critical but we can’t legislate regulate tabulate or barricade anti-Semitism out of our society Jews are saying loudly and clearly they feel alienated they feel alone they feel disappointed in their allies they want support prevention and awareness building and community
Building aren’t some kind of extra the Jewish Community Values those opportunities you should see how many groups are working with the US Department of Agriculture that never did before we want these programs we want to engage in prevention and the department of Justice civil rights uh community relations service and those programs
That we sometimes think of as an afterthought they are essential to prevent these incidents before they escalate Jews are a small minority in this country and we are targeted so disproportionately by hate violence that was true before October 7th it was true 10 years ago we don’t have the luxury right now
To be partisans of anything but our safety and right now the national strategy is the best blueprint for Action I have seen in 30 years of writing blueprints for Action the clock is ticking for us and for Jewish students so the question isn’t whether but how quickly is
Congress going to fund and implement it thank you very much thank you miss pet we will now proceed under the five minute rule with questions the chair recognizes the gentleman from California Mr Isa for five minutes thank you Mr chairman the testimony today obviously is concerning I want to touch on a few
Points and then ask a couple of short questions I wish I had more time uh I grew up in a Jewish neighborhood I grew up at a time in which there was uh there were Wars between Arabs and Jews in the in the region those Wars have ended when
This War Began I was in Bahrain a country that has signed diplomatic relations with Israel they didn’t do it because the Palestinians were being treated well or ill treated they did it because in fact Israel is a partner they wanted to have against Iran I’m going to say here today and the
Protesters who have all been escorted out probably don’t understand but they are playing into the hands of Iran they are playing into the hands of the last major Nation to be not just anti-semitic but wanting to destroy the state of Israel and doing it in no small part by funding activities around places
Including college campuses so I’m going to agree personally with Miss uh brette yes we need to fully fund but we need to fully fund investigations into the funding that goes to anti-Semitism into a pattern that we see here today I want to say to all of you who uh
Both Young Americans for freedom and non yaf members thank you for standing up to be conservatives on C campus and taking it um but particularly uh to miss cyber and I have a question for you you know the history of the Holocaust you know that before uh that terrible uh time and and
The mass murders in fact Jews had duck their heads they had been forced to reduce or deny I who they were do you see that as a young Jew do you see that as a pattern that today we are at risk if we don’t use the full power of civil
Rights to protect the right of people to have their religion be proud of it and be proud of all that goes with it thank you for your question uh the Jewish the history of the Jewish people is one of constant oppression and fear for for our lives and for being
Persecuted for who we are and as I’ve mentioned my grandfather experienced this throughout his life and most prominently in his childhood during the Holocaust and his suffering in aitz but we are seeing it very prevalent especially on college campuses today and I never thought twice about putting on
My Jewish star every day about opening my computer with my Hebrew keyboard in class but today I do think twice about that and the thought of being persecuted for who I am being looked at differently and being discriminated against crosses my mind multiple times a day and I do
See I do see a positive path forward for us I think that Jews are we are resilient we are perseverant and we will not stop shouting out and and voicing our concerns and voicing our fear until it is dealt with and I really do appreciate you all considering this
Today Mr Marcus are you concerned that that this uh movement is not just Pro Palestinian or just anti-semitic but in fact massive amounts of of dollars and support not just here but globally is in fact being spent coming from the very country who paid for the 5,000 now
10,000 plus rockets that have fallen on Israel that paid for those weapons and that continues to be virtually the sole funer of attempts to D stabilize Israel and in fact led to the murder of more than 2,000 Israelis thank you Congressman I said for your question and it is well put uh
Yes indeed what we’re seeing today especially post October 7th is not just harassment of Jewish students although we’re seeing that and it certainly isn’t just support of Palestine which in and of itself is simply a political view what we’re seeing is a lethal hatred which Maybe supported by funds from
Other countries and to that extent I believe we need to know first are colleg is making the disclosures that are required by law and if not are there appropriate sanctions being brought on them second we need to know if funds are being brought in from abroad what is the impact not just on
These groups but on University curricular personnel and other decisionmaking well and you have our pledge and my pledge particularly to to that two-pronged approach combat anti-Semitism using the power of this committee and particularly civil rights and look into and root out the continued foreign influence that may affect not
Just here but around the world anti-Semitism and anti-israel Mr chairman thank you for your Indulgence I yield back gentleman yields back the chair now recognizes the ranking member from New York Mr n thank you Mr chairman M Bret do you agree that if Congressional Republic rep an really
Care about enforcing title 6 they would support fully funding rather than trying to cut funding for the office of civil rights at the Department of Education to ensure that the office’s adequate Staffing and anticipation of a surge in title six complaints I would say that anyone who cares about civil rights and enforcement
Uh against anti-semitic actions should fund that office and Miss bdet was the office for civil rights already inundated with complaints of anti-Semitism and islamophobia before October 7th they had their record year of complaints in 2016 I’m sorry to say and that was that record was broken in
2022 um at almost 19,000 complaints they have worked through them um but they are working with uh I think 12% less staff so it just doesn’t make any sense at all and what happened after after October 7th after October 7th we already know from NOS like the one cited uh where my
My my professional alma mater ADL talking about 400 hundreds of percent increase but if you uh ask Mr Nadler the NYPD they even reports coming to them in just three weeks have been skyrocketing and when you compare it to an average month of October um there there are
Three times as many incidents and I’m sure police departments in a lot of congressional districts would say the same and what do you think will happen going forward we know that every time Israel is in the headlines unfortunately attacks against Jews go up so inappropriate there’s there’s no war
There’s no conflict there’s no Injustice that entitles someone to punch their neighbor in the face to spit at them and all the things we’ve heard here from these students I think that this war won’t be a Six-Day War this conflict the tension on campus is going to take a very long time to
Work through it’s really a work in progress and I think we’re going to be dealing with these incidents for a long time that’s why I mention the community relations service I don’t know if we think about it every day but those civil rights tools and instruments and Outreach programs that we have they’re
Going to work first the universities and those programs have the ability to help Miss Silverstein right now without a law and without a markup thank you professor nadell and Miss Beret in your testimony you noted the White House’s National strategy to counter anti-Semitism for the record I
Would also note that the White House is also pursuing an analogous National strategy to counter islamophobia to the extent you are able can you explain the national strategy to counter anti-semitism and highlight why you think it’s valuable and effective thank you um thank you for your question I was one of the 10,000
People that the White House talked to as they were developing the national strategy to counter anti-Semitism this is an extraordinary document it runs to I don’t know 60 70 pages and it is filled with recommendations about what can be done to respond to anti-semitism in different venues and in different agencies in the
United States government as I said in my opening remarks I know of no country that has ever developed such a strategy and believe me as we know from the testimony of Miss Silverstein we know that other countries could have developed this if they had the Good Will
To do so so for example it talks about as um Miss berett was talking about it talks about the what should be done in the office of civil rights in the department of of Education since the Obama Administration title 6 has protected Jewish students under title 6
By um understanding that they need to be protected based on Ancestry and based on ethnicity because title six doesn’t specify based on religion and it to understand Jewish identity it’s a very complicated phenomenon so there are these kinds of measures there but what I’m hearing from Miss berett and I’m not
An expert on funding in the government is that it’s not been sufficiently funded and what is very clear both from Miss burdett’s testimony and from Mr Marcus’s testimony is that it’s going to need more support than ever before thank you thank you let me just
Say to uh Miss Jordan and Mr O gritc I hope I haven’t mispronounced your name uh as a very proud uh left-wing liberal um I hold no truck with trying to silence conservative voices or any other voices um and on college campuses or anywhere else freedom of speech is a
Fundamental value and I I would just say that this is not new when I was a undergraduate of Columbia I was shouted down by the an organization called the students for Democratic Society because I was not left-wing enough in their opinion uh this is something that is an
Ongoing fight and uh um in a liberal Society we must conduct it and I and I I’m sorry for your experience oh and uh I ask unanimous consent to include the following items in the record written testimony of Jonathan green black CEO and National director of the Anon deformation League
A letter dated November 6 2023 from Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona to speaker Mike Johnson outlining the department of education’s efforts to combat anti-Semitism and islamophobia on college campuses and oped piece in the New York Times date of October 30th 2023 co-authored by The deans of the Princeton School of Public and
International Affairs and the Columbia School of International and public affairs and an article from inside higher education titled House Republicans plan to cut education Department’s budget noting that Republican appropriators want to cut about 25% from the Department’s office for civil rights that was a long title without objection so ordered we now recognize
Thank you Mr chairman the gentleman from Colorado for his five minutes thank Mr chairman uh Mr Marcus I want to visit with you for a few minutes I guess about uh an issue I I feel like we’re talking about college campuses right now and we really should be talking at a much
Younger age and how to deal with this problem by the time students get to college campuses they have certain views and and oftentimes ingrained that are then reinforced by other students would you advocate for some type of uh um you know education or other um uh awareness
For uh younger adults in our K through2 system isn’t our K through2 system really uh um letting down the the concept that we have in America for Free Speech but also for responsible free speech for for speech that doesn’t include hate Congressman I would like to be able
To tell you that you don’t need to worry that this is just a campus problem but the fact is that it is is not um K12 is important not only because of the attitudes that students develop and bring to college but also because there are increasing issues that we see
Currently in public elementary and secondary school including any number of different forms of discrimination we see that especially in certain schools especially on the west coast that have a particular form of uh ethnic studies which unfortunately has involved some degree of anti-Semitic stereotypes and defamations there are things that Educators can do
To address this certainly there are more school districts that are incorporating Holocaust Education into their programming but what studies are showing is that Holocaust Education isn’t necessarily sufficient and that it’s better to have also education into the ways in which an anti-Semitism manifests itself today so that sort of um
Programming is important but more than that I do think we need to have more attention than we have been about the increasing problem of anti-Semitism also so in K12 uh schools you mentioned funding from uh other countries do you do you have any direct evidence of funding from other countries because I I
Honestly believe that it goes on in a lot of different areas one of the great things about America is we’re open and one of the great vulnerabilities we have is that we’re open and social media is being used to manipulate us in a lot of different ways do you have any evidence
That uh Iran or any other foreign country is using our social media in this country to uh promote promote anti-Semitism during the Trump Administration the Department of Education revealed various kinds of evidence that they were not just significant contributions coming from the Gulf States uh and elsewhere in the
World but also contributions that were not disclosed as required by law and these are the college Camp to college colleges and universities and I believe there was also a um a a effort by the Chinese Communist party to establish uh groups on uh campuses the confucious center I think they were often called
That’s right but if I may Congressman the problem is also going the other way around which is to say the increasing perception that there may be support from college campuses for terrorism abroad not just money coming one way but support coming the other you’re not suggesting that colleges are supporting
Terrorism abroad but but students or or professors on college campuses are are are supporting terrorism there are student groups who have indicated that they are not just in favor of the same issues as Hamas but that they are part of that movement and there is a point at
Which under Federal terrorism law that promoting the program and agenda and ideas of a US state department designated terrorist organization May constitute material support for terrorism so where do we draw the line between speech and where it crosses the line um the Supreme Court has made clear that that any thing that encourages
Violence and I’m not using the the technical words but uh crosses the line but is anti-semetic speech by itself uh uh violative of of the uh first amendment in the case of support for terrorism of course under the absolutely absolutely but I’m just suggesting someone um we we have hateful speech all
Around um and it’s offensive and and frankly I want to be the first and and as all my colleagues on this committee are to condemn anti-semitism M and islamophobia and racism and anti-christian speech um it’s terrible it’s hateful it shouldn’t be in this uh you know Marketplace of ideas that we
Have but is it without threats and of violence is that speech uh violative of the of the First Amendment so what I would say to you congressmen is that the Supreme Court has properly been protective of a wide range of speech including much speech that we would
Describe as hate speech however what we are seeing over and over again on college campuses is that where you see intense anti-jewish hate speech you will almost always also find heedful conduct heedful conduct not just words it can be assault it could be exclusion it’s happening over and over again so in
Order to address the anti-Semitism I think that there is sufficient conduct we need to go after in terms of speech I think there should be the same protections regarding speech in this area as than any others I yield back thank you I think the gentleman we now recognize the gentleman from Georgia Mr
Johnson thank you uh Mr chairman um the chairman when he showed his video this morning uh we witnessed in that video Someone asking the question is Free Speech Dead on Campus I think that question uh applies to Congress it’s ironic that we’re holding this hearing today about
Censorship and uh speech on campus uh but last night uh Maga Republicans and others censured the only Palestinian voice in the House of Representatives because they didn’t like what she had to say she didn’t threaten anybody she did not uh advocate for violence uh she stated a view uh as happens on College
Campuses it happens across the country we have freedom of speech in this country but she was censored last night for exercising Her First Amendment right to freedom of speech and uh we’re not setting a very good example uh here in Congress we are all reeling from the situation in the Middle East passions
Are running High throughout the country but they are especially intense on college campuses every student including students of Jewish Israeli Muslim or Arab backgrounds deserves a safe College learning environment free from threats of violence and discrimination it should go without saying that threatening violence against people because of who they are is
Illegal and never acceptable the department of education’s office of civil rights is primarily responsible for combating anti anti-Semitism islamophobia and other forms of discrimination in higher education the office of civil rights has already seen a dramatic rise entitled six discrimination claims in the wake of the October 7th attack by Hamas but the
Office of civil rights needs sufficient funding to carry out its civil rights enforcement Mission President Biden’s budget requested a 27% increase in funding for the Doe’s office of civil rights but Maga Republicans are pushing to slash its budget Maga Republicans need to stop playing political games with Jewish
Lives with Muslim lives and all students lives by giving the Department of Education the money that it needs to keep students safe uh Professor nadell what lessons can we draw from the long history of anti-semitism and what do you think criticism of the government of Israel or
Let me ask it this way do you think that criticism of the government of Israel is always anti-semitic or does it depend on context and how such criticism is expressed thank you for your question as a historian I think everything depends on context um I think we always need to
Think more broadly it’s very clear the criticism of the government of Israel is not ipsofacto anti-semitic if it were hundreds of thousands of Israelis who he had watched in the past months turning out to throng the streets of Tel Aviv and of every city and hamlet in um Israel would have
Been seen as anti-semitic so criticism of the government’s policies is not by itself anti-semitic however what is anti-Semitic is absolutely is to deny the Jews the right of self-determination a right that is inter internationally protected and to um call for the destruction of the state of Israel so
There’s no question about that what we know from the long history of anti-Semitism is we know that Jews live with memories of hate against their people that go back to ancient times and that they live with the fear or with the sense that they may encounter it in
Their lifetimes and that they are afraid that it will continue forever we know that anti-Semitism in those three little examples I gave you that anti-Semitism has coursed across American history it has risen in sometime periods and it has been more under the radar in others historians used to call the years
Between 1933 and 1945 the high tide of American anti-Semitism I have been saying not just since October 7th I have been saying for far longer that we are living in the high tide of of American anti-Semitism but I won’t be around to write about that but we are what we hear
From the students but also what we hear from those who are afraid to walk into their synagogues who are concerned about the future of the of their of their children of their grandchildren my my niece did not send her daughter one second my niece did not send her
Daughter to a Jewish preschool on the day of global Jihad because she was afraid it would be attacked we need to deal with that in the United States thank you and it wasn’t made easier when uh ex-president Trump made his remarks about there’s good people on both sides
When he’s talking about down in Charlottesville but thank you and I yield back than the gentlemen heeld back we now recognize a gentleman from Florida Mr Gates I want Israel to win and Hamas to lose but this is is not an armed services Committee hearing about the military it’s a Judiciary hearing about
Speech and in that vein I am reminded of the great words of the philosopher Austin Powers who said there’s only two things I can’t stand people who are intolerant of other people and the Dutch and a similar tension seems to be on display today because on one side of the
Witness table we have people saying we have we have speech that we would like to have Vindicated ated and we’re under this tremendous pressure from these entities that offer a heckler’s veto of what we’re trying to get out and then on the other side of the table you have
People saying well there’s speech we really don’t like that’s anti-semitic and problematic and we got to figure out ways to root it out there is an inherent tension in having that discussion on those terms and increasingly it feels as though if we like speech then any effort to constrain that speech is really
Problematic and the commit needs to explore it and if we don’t like speech we’re increasingly censuring it on the house floor we’re increasingly uh confronting it on on pretty negative terms so like I guess I want to just go through some of the statements some of our Witnesses made
Like so Mr Marcus a celebration of what happened on October 7th let me let me disclaim is offensive horrid but is it constitutionally protected speech um thank you Congressman it may be but it depends and I’ll give you an example okay if you say I’m going to celebrate Kamas and then you celebrate
Them by giving a big talk doing a little dance that can be deeply offensive and protected right but if you say I celebrate Kamas I am part of Hamas their mission is my mission and I will do what I can to advance them that may be material support for terrorism depending
On what exactly you do no I think that’s right but what you focused on there is the conduct I think that was a really good a good explanation and parsing of it because speech is different than conduct when someone says I associate with this known terrorist movement then
That Association has more sort of a conduct flavor than someone saying I think what happened on October 7th was good right so I think that’s right Congressman but with one caveat from the law um interpreting the terrorism act which is the following U material support doesn’t need to be dollars it
Could be guns it doesn’t need to be guns it could be pens and it can be the sort of PR activity that could be done by a commercial front man see that’s the thing PR activity sounds a lot like people talking uh and so I I just think
We have to be careful with that but I do want to move on because um I think it was Dr Adell is it possible to criticize George Soros without being anti-semitic I don’t know all the all the tropes that people use to associate with George Soros but when they talk
About a no no no no no no no no no no not when they talk about something else it it is is criticism against George Soros ever not anti-semitic that’s the question um Miss berett is offered to answer that no no no but you mentioned
Mr Sor I want you to answer this there’s no phone a friend here in the Judiciary Committee what ha what has happened in the United States is that we use different code words right no I’m not not that’s not the question no wait I’m answering your question we use different
Code words to disguise anti-Semitism and so Soros has become the code word that rep placed Rothchild is it possible to criticize him without being anti-semitic yes or no I don’t know the context I’m not going to talk without no cont that is just an astonishing thing and and similarly you
Said any critique of globalism is anti-Semitic now that really is an Austin power no what I said was that the word globalist I didn’t say any critique of globalism what I said was the word globalist had become the new code word or the internationalist code word from the previous Peri you ascribe that
Motive see when I criticize globalism I’m often criticizing the UN which then in turn goes around and criticizes Israel so if if critiquing a globalist entity that criticizes Israel is anti-Semitic so why use the word globalist instead of the UN well because the un’s goals are to have
A global order over things that deprive countries of their sovereignty one of those countries is Israel that is that is the great hypocrisy of what what I think is frankly a reverse Trope that any criticism of Soros or any criticism of globalism is somehow anti-semitic sometimes they’re just criticisms of
Soros and of globalism but I see my time’s expired and I yield back I think the gentleman yield back we now recognize the gentleman from California Mr Schiff thank you Mr chairman uh thank you all for being here to testify um like so many millions of people I watched the events of October
7th with unbridled horror I found it hard to wrap my head around the magnitude of the brutality uh the nature of The Butchery um the murder of whole families uh the rape of women the desecration of bodies the burning families alive families clutching each other lying in bed as they were machine
Gunned um and I asked myself how is it possible that people could commit such acts of barbarism and I think I probably speak for many in the Jewish Community when I say that as as horrifying and traumatizing it was to witness that it was it Amplified the pain to see the
Reaction the almost immediate reaction in the United States and around the world uh was to not condemn The Butchers but to condemn the victims um to celebrate hamas’s acts of unbridled Terror uh and then I asked myself a different question how is it possible that people could justify The Butchery of whole families
The um the the want and deliberate violence directed against these innocent civilians how could that be celebrated and I don’t think it can be celebrated unless you view Israeli life unless you View Jewish life as somehow less than a human life um we we spent a lot of time debating the definition of
Anti-semitism I’m not sure I could give you a clear uh analytic answer to that question but seems to me at its most most uh basic viewing Jewish life as less than human life is the very definition of anti-semitism or it’s certainly anti-Semitism in its most extreme
Form um and what I see happening on college campuses with a glorification with people talking about how empowered they felt uh at seeing um women butchered peace activists mowed down um the fact that that many Jewish students don’t feel comfortable expressing their Jewish identity
Um uh at a time of their lives when they should be free to discuss whatever issues they want free to be themselves is just horrifying I remember years ago talking to the president of the Jewish community in France uh at a time when many Jews were leaving France because they didn’t feel safe
There and he told me the French government was doing what they could to protect the Jewish Community but who wanted to live in a country that where you needed protection and I remember thinking years ago thank God that’s not the case in the United States but now it is the case
And and and not for Jews alone we’ve seen a horrific rise of islamophobia uh even as we mourn the death of a older Jewish man in Los Angeles who died uh when struck at a protest we mourn the loss of a six-year-old a Muslim child just horrifying Dr nadell I’d be interested
Your thoughts on how you see anti-i ISM today uh how is it different in character than what we’ve seen in the past Miss bdet I’d be interested in your thoughts on how hate online leaps into the real world and what we might do to combat that the anti-Semitism that we see today
Since youve closed with hate online is horrifically magnified in a way that it has never been this magnified before because it is you can reach Millions ions and millions of people by expressing anti-semitic ideas including all of these old ideas about Jews as internationalists and old ideas about
Jews as um as corrupted by money and so what we have in this moment in time is we have millions of people especially when leading personalities whether they are members of the government or they are entertainment figures when they post the these kinds of anti-Semitic messages
And then they it just explodes it go it goes viral I don’t spend time looking at the social media because I think you could just spend all your time doing it but I had a student last semester in my course anti-Semitism enduring hatred who told me that she had spent the previous
Week 40 hours looking at Tik Tok videos so I looked at her I said when did you ever do any of your schoolwork and I was a little concerned but the point is is that anti-Semitism is magnified in a way today because of of social media that
Was just unimaginable in earlier eras I thank the gentlemen we now recognize a gentleman from Arizona Mr Bigs thank you Mr chairman thank you for our panelists for for all of you to the flag of the United States of America to the rep for stands Nation God indivisible withy and justice for all
Thank the gentlemen we’ll now begin with opening statements chair recognize himself number six years ago we had a hearing about attempts to curtail free speech on college campuses right next door in the oversight committee the hearing touched on emerging threats to the First Amendment safe spaces cancel culture and the targeting of
Conservative activist student groups unfortunately this was not a fad in the hostility towards certain points of view in particularly conservative points point of view has only grown worse and it’s no longer universities just censoring their students we now know that American universities were working with the federal government to
Systematically Target speech on the internet just this week the committee released uh committee Republicans released information showing Stanford University worked with the cyber security and infrastructure Security Agency or cisa and the state Department’s Global engagement Center to censor certain speech in the lead up to the 2020 election big government big
Academia and big Tech all colluding to limit Americans first amendment Free Speech rights they were targeting jokes political opinions most importantly they targeted true information but the speech that was censored all leaned a certain way what used to be the bastions of free speech and the marketplace of ideas
Evolved into institutions of activism and suppression with quote safe spaces and Free Speech zones aimed to protect students from violence one would think Jewish students would have some somewhere to turn as violent pramas students take to their demonstrations and have harmed students on college campuses but that’s not the case as we
Will see in today’s hearing nearly a 400% increase in anti-semitic incidents including harassment vandalism and assault in the two weeks after the Hamas attacks against Israel we need to be doing more to protect the freedom of expression we’re actually uh working with uh with the ranking member Nadler
On some legislation introduced by one of our colleagues trying to see if we can uh put some legislation forward that would help in this area I want to thank my colleagues including represent uh representative Virginia Fox chairwoman of the education Workforce committee for her important work on these issues want
To thank representative Murphy who is a leader on this topic has introduced two bills to advance free speech on campus and co-chair of the uh campus Free Speech caucus Miss kamik for her work and passion for this issue I also want to recognize Mr Kylie one of our members
Who introduced a bill just last week that denounced anti-semitism ISM on college campuses we look forward to hearing from all our Witnesses today and again I want to thank you for coming and now uh we’ll turn to the ranking member for his opening statement and then we’ll get right to our Witnesses thank
Actually actually M I forgot well I’ll I’ll wait till yours done then I’ll play a short video we have a short 90 second video I wanted to show it you we’ll play it right now let’s play it right now 90c video if we can if you can cue that up
We’ll play this about what’s going on on college campuses Free Speech debates have Royal college campuses would protest against conservative guest speakers the fight against conservative speakers on college campuses escalated administrators failed to stop some students from heckling a conservative speaker on campus former College swimmer Riley gain says she was
Assaulted after giving a speech at San Francisco State University I understand and share your objections to a speaker whose roric is offensive and clearly intended to shock and provoke I don’t think they’re less able to listen to opposing views I just think they take less crap students have been making National headlines protesting
Controversial speakers on campuses across the country is Free Speech Dead on Campus um no we don’t want him to speak hopefully we can drown him out that’s conservative podcaster Michael NES being burned in effigy at the University of Pittsburgh your opinions from the bench land as absolute disenfranchisement of their rights the
President of the University of Pennsylvania critics say she is not sending a strong enough message against anti-Semitism I don’t hear people talking about is violent Hamas has shifted the balance of power Hamas has changed the terms of debate the Jewish fraternity was uh hit with a graffiti
Attack of the Jews are Nazis this is our [Applause] University U I thank our our staff for putting that together and chair I recognizes the the ranking member the gentleman from New York for an opening statement thank you Mr chairman Mr chairman one month ago yesterday on October 7th Kamas launched a barbarian
Attack on the people of Israel Hamas killed more than 1400 people and kidnapped 250 more many of them very old many of them very young and some of them American citizens the attack represents the largest loss of Jewish life in a single day since the conclusion of the
Holocaust here in the United States the Jewish Community has had little time to mourn the steady RIS in anti-Semitism in this country over the past several years has now reached fever pitch and few places have had to Bear the weight of that Trend more than our college and university campuses where according to
An audit published by the Anti-Defamation League months before the October 7th attack anti-semitic activity had increased by 41% in the last year alone in many ways the conduct we need to discuss most urgently goes far beyond the title of this hearing free speech on campus Jewish students are being physically threatened and have
Legitimate cause to fear for their safety on campuses across the country for examp example at Cornell University law enforcement officials arrested a student for making violent threats against Jewish students on an internet Message Board these messages included the exhortation that quote if you see a Jewish person on campus follow them home
And slit their throats close quote in another post the student threatened to quote bring an assault rifle to campus and shoot all you pig Jews close quote we are joined today by a student from Cornell University Amanda Silverstein Miss silberstein I would just like to
Say that I am sorry that you and the Jewish Community Cornell have had to endure these threats simply for being who you are and I am sorry for the fear they have caused you and your fellow students it is unacceptable and we must do better there is no excuse for that
Kind of violence at any school against any student and an academic discussion about the first amendment is mostly beside the point until we can secure these campuses I think that most members here in both sides of the is would agree which is not to say Mr chairman that I
Do not appreciate your calling this hearing Congress can help but first we have to put aside the political stunts and academic debates and put our money where it’s mouth where our mouth is the office for civil rights at the Department of Education is the federal agency responsible for enforcing the
Laws that protect students from discrimination to be clear the office of civil rights had an enormous amount of work to do long before the attacks of October 7th the reaction to those attacks in the United States May threaten to overwhelm the agency that is why the Anti-Defamation League and their partner
Organization the Brandy Center which is represented here today have set up a helpl line to Aid Jewish students navigate the process for filing complaints alleging anti-Semitism during this troubling time I would like to commend both organizations for their important work and encourage Jewish students across the country to make
Their voices heard Congress also has an obligation to to help more than that we have an obligation to offer meaningful help if we want to get this situation under control we need to move past debating the various theoretical definitions of the word anti-Semitism we need to move past the meaningless
Resolutions in the house floor declaring our feelings about bigotry generally we need to send assistance where it is urgently needed and we need to do so today earlier this year the Biden Administration outlined a comprehensive National strategy to counter anti-semitism for that matter the Administration has also announced a national strategy to counter
Islamophobia these strategies are whole of government efforts to combat bigotry in every part of American life that the government can touch the president has put enforcement of our civil rights laws at the center of these strategies long before we could have foreseen the wave of violent anti-Semitism that would
Sweep across the country President Biden requested a 27% increase in funding for the office of civil rights if my Republican colleagues were serious about this issue they would fully fund that request instead they are fighting to slash the office I’m sorry they are fighting to slash the budget of the
Office of civil rights and other agencies that would keep our children safe their promises about anti-Semitism and their actions disconnect in other ways as well if my Republican colleagues were serious about anti-Semitism they would have spoken up after the 2017 unite the right rally in Charlottesville when neo-nazis chanted that quote Jews
Will not replace us my Republican colleagues were serious about anti-Semitism they would have spoken up when President Trump then declared that there were quote very fine people on both sides of that rally if they were serious about anti-Semitism they would have said something last year when former president Trump shared a
Meal with Nick Fuentes notorious white supremacist and Holocaust denier unless you imagine that I am dredging up ancient history let me remind you that if my Republican colleagues were serious about anti-semitism they would not have just months ago invited Robert F Kennedy Jr to testify in this hearing room after
He made appalling claims that Jews appear to be immune from coid 19 a nod to the laughable if not so Insidious conspiracy that the virus was somehow engineered to spare the Jewish Community my friends for too long your silence on these matters has been deafening I’m well for free speech on campuses and
Otherwise that includes the right of my Republican colleagues to say nothing at all about anti-Semitism when silence is politically convenient even when the former president of the United States takes aim at us directly but if you mean what you say here today if you believe that the threats and vitual that my
Community faces on college campuses is both unfair and unjust then I’m asking you to move beyond the pointless gestures and political posturing and help us protect our children fully fund the office of civil rights the administration’s efforts to counter anti-Semitism and other forms of discrimination help us get the boots on
The ground we can do better and our students deserve no less I thank the witnesses and I yield back I think the gentleman the gentleman yields back um without objection all other opening statements will be included in the record we will now introduce today’s Witnesses our first witness is Mr Connor
Ogek uh Mr Orek is a recent graduate of the University of Buffalo while student at Buffalo he served as the treasure Vice chair and chairman of the University’s Young Americans for Freedom chapter he face threats and protests from fellow students over speakers that his organization invited to campus thank
You for being with us Miss Jasmine Jordan Miss Jordan is a student at the University of Iowa she serves as the chairwoman of the University’s Young Americans for Freedom chapter she has received threats from her fellow students over events that her organization has uh invited to campus and their recent pro-israel vigil was
Vandalized and disrupted by protesters we apologize for that thank you for doing that Miss Amanda Silverstein as the ranking member has already talked about Miss Silverstein is a a student at Cornell University she serves on the student Board of the roitman Shabad Center at Cornell the leadership of the Alpac capai professional business
Fraternity and as the director of marketing and Communications for a canel Cornell based startup thank you Miss Silverstein for for being with us today Mr Kenneth Marcus Mr Marcus is the founder and chairman of the ls D Brandy Center for human rights under law he previously served as the assistant
Secretary of Education for civil rights the staff director of the US Commission on civil rights and as Deputy assistant Secretary of Housing and Urban Development for fair housing and equal opportunity we appreciate your work Mr Marcus and thank you for being with us professor pamin nadell professor nadell
Holds the Patrick Clinton chair in women’s and gender history and is the director of the Jewish studies program at American University she has taught a variety of courses on Judaism and Jewish and women’s history and has published several related books we appreciate you being here dror and Miss Stacy bdet Miss
Bdet is a public policy strategist and consultant she has previously served as vice president for government relations advocacy and Community engagement at the Anti-Defamation League and as the Director of government and external relations at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum we welcome all our Witnesses and thank them for appearing today we will
Begin by swearing you in would you please rise and all rise and raise your right hand do you swear or affirm under penalty or perjury of perjury that the testimony you’re about to give is true and correct to the best of your knowledge information and belief so help
You God let the record show that the witnesses have answered in the affirmative uh thank you you may be seated uh please not that your written testimony will be entered into the record in its entirely accordingly we ask that you summarize your testimony in five minutes I think we’ll just go like
Like we did we’ll start with uh Mr ojek and then we’ll move right down the line so you you’re recognized for five minutes thank you chairman Jordan ranking member nler and members of the committee committee will be in order committee will be in order uh we appreciate people being here
But uh the committee has to be in order if you Congress tried to silence we will we will remove every single person who disrupts the committee Palestinians and Israeli apide which has existed longer than what has happened October 7 this has existed longer than that and The Siege onda now and the
Occupation you will not silence us gentleman recognize thank you chairman Jordan ranking member Nadler and members of the the committee my name is Conor OJ and it is an honor to bring my experiences before you today although I hope speaking up against genocide become anti-Semitism how is that the fing will be in
Order children and students what all of us are not free what does [Applause] mean again although I had hoped that my arrival to H hearing for Palestinian Students Mr agre we’ll we’ll keep trying thank you chairman Jordan ranking member Nadler and members of the committee Palestinians deserve to speak on the genocide of their families all right sit down Palestinian students deserve to speak on the the genocide of their families stop [Applause] silencing [Applause] [Applause] Stop these people just removed arrested gentleman’s recognize it is an honor to bring my experiences CN students should not be censored you want to talk about putting money where your mouth is there are 10,000 over 10,000 Goins dead and more buried half of whom are under the age of
18 and you are going to send money and talk about this where are the an in this room nowhere are not offering plurality of opinion you are offering partisanship and you are offering murder to more Go my name is Conor orre jock and it is an honor to bring my experiences before you today although I hoped that my arrival to higher education would Mark the arrival to a Bastion of free speech many many of my firsthand experiences of freedom of speech violations at the University un at
Buffalo came during my membership of ub’s chapter of Young Americans for Freedom two of the most prominent examples of freedom of speech bias that I witnessed at the University each came in the form of speaker events hosted by my chapter in Spring of 2022 as Vice chair of my chapter I had the
Opportunity to assist with hosting Lieutenant Colonel alen West at UB an event which was preceded by delays in the signing of our contract and a forced venue change which was exposed by a freedom of information request however the most striking action taken against us followed Lieutenant Colonel West’s
Speech which had included a discussion of race in America and accounts from his decorated past when the floor was opened to a question and answer session student protesters shouted from their seats before the audiovisual employees from E Student Association the student government cut powers to the events’s microphones and speakers ending the
Session confrontations continued upon the exit from the event and once outside as you just saw in the video before the opening statements chapter members were chased by a 100 person mob across campus what that footage did not show was the former Chapter Chair being forced into a
Bathroom where she called 911 for Rescue and another board member being physically attacked with Silence from the University and charges not pressed by the Erie County District Attorney’s Office I’ve since been left to consider the precedent this sets for those who plan to protest future events on campus
Though I may not be qualified to determine what constitutes adequate evidence in the eyes of the justice system if those were who were involved in this mob were able to result to fear tactics and violence without consequence what is keeping a pattern of this despicable behavior from being set and
Executed repeatedly this thought remained on my mind throughout the planning of a March 2023 event that I hosted as chairman featuring Michael nolles this event would grow to gain more push back than any event on campus in the previous four years and provide the most clear-cut examples of freedom
Freedom of speech violations this push back included delays in contract signing from EB Student Association that deviated far from their outline standard course of action condemnation of the event by a local New York state senator and multiple Western new york-based organizations a circulated petition constructed by three University professors calling for the cancellation
Of the lecture which gained thousands of student signatures a forced venue change orchestrated not only by University Administration this time but voted on by a Sunni Council a multitude of threats and torn literature and even a tweet from Governor Kathy hokel on the day of the event calling comments from Michael dehumanizing
The decry of this event garnered a responding statement from University president Sati trapathy explaining that the constitution protects speech on campus quote no matter how noxious the content end quote based on the actions taken by faculty and the rhetoric used by trapathy I cannot name more clear examples of evidence that demonstrate
The case of a university concerned only with following the letter of the law rather than uplifting conservative values to a level equivalent with the values of the left which are often celebrated in the University’s own distinguished speaker series unfortunately this was forced to extend into a federal lawsuit with representation by Alliance defending
Freedom once our YF chapter was banned from campus as the result of a new National affiliation ban by the student government though I graduated in the previous spring semester and I’m no longer able to engage in discourse with opposing students I’m fortunate to still have friends on campus including current
Yaf board members who can something that has particularly concerned me recently both on campus and off is the outward support for Hamas under the guise of support for Palestinian civilians I will not generalize in entire groups however in in subing number of students who appeared both in
A 300 person Pro Palestine march on campus as well as a protest against a pro-israel speaker did not solely speak out in support of Palestinian civilians rather these students stated their support for H Hamas directly I would like to be clear regardless of background I do not wish for civilian
Death support for Hamas is not support for for Palestinian civilians it is the opposite support for Hamas is support for a terrorist organization and this must not be misconstrued regardless of what side of the political aisle you resed on it should be common ground that no student deserves to be threatened mistreated or
Silenced on campus due to their personal beliefs conservative students currently face a Relentless uphill battle for representation on campus and though we may seek support from outside groups and legislators such as yourselves we will not accept the label of victims standing up for your beliefs will never be a
Waste of time and As Americans we hold this in our hearts I thank you for your time thank you uh Miss Jordan you are recognized good morning chairman Jordan ranking member Nadler and the members of the committee my name is Jasmine Jordan and I’m blessed to have the opportunity
To speak with you all today I was raised in the church and homeschooled from preschool through fifth grade both of these were crucial in shaping my early upbringing and my worldview they gave me the strong Foundation of moral beliefs and values that the constitution was founded on lessons like iron trens iron
Be a leader not a follower and so help me God are ingrained into every aspect of my character as I progress to the public school environment the strong moral compass guided me throughout my journey and I carried it with me to college in Spring 2022 I joined Iowa
Young Americans for Freedom when I discovered that this organization aligned with the Christian conservative values instilled in in me by my church and family the more involved I became in the club the more I discovered that the playing field for freedom of speech on college campuses was not equalized the
First time I noticed this was when Iowa yaf hosted kellyan Conway as a speaker in response I was doxed in a group chat of over 800 students and was falsely labeled as a Nazi a token a white supremacist and a bigot some individuals even expressed that I made them
Uncomfortable and feared that I might commit a hate crime against them simply because I’m black and hold conservative principles these students believe that if you are conservative you are hateful support oppression and only want to benefit straight white men even though such beliefs are untrue when we hosted
Lieutenant Colonel Alan West speak on campus last year he spoke on the topic of debunking diversity Equity inclusion and proved that America is not racist we use chalk advertisements to promote the lecture which is something many colleges do to effectively let students know about upcoming events immediately our
Chalk was altered which is a violation of school policy new messages were put in place saying that Alan West is racist and that racism is prevalent in schools thus critical race Theory should be supported at Alan West’s lecture a protester stood in the back holding a sign that read stop the altright punch
Your local Nazi today this is blatant irony conservatives are slandered by students and faculty as harmful yet here’s an obvious example of someone openly delivering a violent threat and facing no repercussions the entitlement continues I find that when a conservative doesn’t want to hear a speaker they just don’t attend the event
But when a leftist doesn’t want to hear a speaker they do everything they can to shut the lecture down our club recently hosted Matt Walsh students and faculty were willing to do anything to cancel the event just because they found Walsh’s speech to be offensive some people were so dedicated to silencing
Our voices that literally as one of us was advertising with chalk a lefta student was erasing each of those letters with a wipe we received death threats along with plenty of verbal harassment that night before the speaking event my hall mate who happened to be the one raising the chalk stalked
Outside of my bedroom door by putting his ear on it to see if I was in my room because he was just so outraged by my involvement that was a terrifying experience but what I find to be more appalling is when I talk to a our Hall coordinator about this and she replied
People are allowed to think feel and react however they want to about this upcoming event at the event someone threw two thou 20,000 marbles on the floor to prevent people from entering the venue at attendees were spat on outside a popular pet band well known to
Our school played loud music to try and drown out the speaker’s message I share these occurrences with you all to show that despite repeatedly meeting with the University Administration the ruls are continually permitted to be broken by left leaning students they are in fact coddled by our school the university
Expresses affirmations and puts together support solidarity and celebration spaces these individuals act out against conservatives without or consequence and are empowered to act this way because of the lack of action by the administration and University leaders conservative organizations do not get the same resources that these other organizations
Receive conservatives often have to hide who they are and what they believe in so that they do not lose relationships or receive a lower grade or face constant doxing harassment intimidation or threats I went to college with the expectation that I would hear different points of view because I thought it
Would be a place where young people could come together disagree and still be friendly and courageous to one another however after 2 years I’ve realized that this is not the case at all and that students who hold opposing views are often subjected to frequent violent threats and other forms of harassment with no
Accountability our founding fathers guaranteed every US citizen the right to free speech in the Constitution it is an important resource for all Americans not just a small percentage of them particularly if they hold different views and ideas than those of others to ensure that peaceful continuation of the
Nation we must all come together and understand that different opinions and expressing them we should nevertheless show respect for one another and refrain from causing each other bodily mental or emotional harm thank you for your time thank you Miss Jordan Miss Silverstein you’re recognized I was alone in a world gone
Mad these are the words my grandfather wrote on the day in October 1942 after after his father had been shot dead and the Jews in his small polish Town including his entire family were deported to a death camp he was a teenager alone in a labor camp with a
Bleak future filled with unimaginable suffering I have thought about my grandfather’s words often in the 32 days since October 7th if I have watched what I can only describe as a world gone mad I have seen and heard things on on and around Cornell’s campus that just over a
Month ago I could not have imagined Cornell professor Russell rickford publicly Justified and celebrated barbaric acts of Terror as exhilarating and energizing describing the torture rape and murder of innocent women and children as resistance I see classmates perpetuating anti age-old anti-semitic tropes on social media I walk across a
Campus toac with anti-israel signage and graffiti seeing phrases such as F Israel and Zionism equals genocide anti-zionism and anti-Semitism are inextricably linked linked this is evidenced by the Jew hatred that consistently and openly accompanies attacks on Zionism on campus I am now confronted daily with shouts to free Palestine from
The River To The Sea this catchy chant is not about peace or sovereignty for the Palestinian people it is a call for a Palestinian State extending from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea a territory that encompasses the entire state of Israel it is a jew-hating genocidal mandate seeking to deny the
Jewish right to self-determination in Israel it is a call to exterminate all Jews in accordance with hamas’s open and unequivocal goal this chant is not about Palestinian life it is about Jewish death imagine that you frequent Jewish events on campus imagine that you live in a Jewish sorority house then imagine
Scrolling on your phone one day only to discover that a fellow student wants to shoot up the coacher dining call and and I quote gang rape all Jew Pig woman on campus that is what my peers and I experienced last week when reading the multiple online threats made by a fellow
Student instructing other Cornell students to assault Jews on campus to follow them home and slit their throats this was not just hate speech it was a call to action and an immediate threat the sentiment did not begin with that student professors and student organizations have been fueling Jew
Hatred and spreading it across campus with disregard or potentially even with deliberate intent to incite Palestine anti-m is not anti committee will be in war will be in order apologize Miss Silverstein you can continue and even after that student’s arrest professors have continued to teach blatant anti-israel lessons in
Their classrooms students in the course race racism and public policy reported that Professor Lindsay played a video in class claiming that that Israel is committing a paride in which students felt was an attempt to place blame for the terror attack on Israel students in the writing seminar true stories taught
By Professor globman reported that the professor suggested that Palestine is a textbook case of genocide and sought to pressure students who had previously expressed sympathy for Israel to change their views these not so subtle examples of bullying and attempts at indoctrination have a tangible impact on the pervasive Jew hatred spreading throughout my
Campus my grandmother along with many of my family members and close friends live in Israel why are they calling me every day to check in and see how I’m doing do I feel safe on campus is there enough security do other students know that I am
Jewish they live in an active war zone with rockets constantly being fired at them and yet my safety on an American college campus is keeping them up at night growing up with a firsthand account of what my grandfather endured during the Holocaust I could never comprehend how
Neighbors and Friends stood by as Jews were rounded up to be killed and how governments around the world turned a blind eye until now witnessing such unbridled and Unapologetic anti-Semitism unfold on my college campus is a testament to the impacts of Permitting Jew hatred to fester and infect the mob
Mentality of impressionable students it is shocking that college campuses have devolved into Echo Chambers fostering animosity aggression and bigotry a shift that is painfully reminiscent of the vital and Terror that my grandfather endured in the 1930s anti-Semitism can no longer be hidden under the guise of anti-zionism disseminating lies about Israel is an
Effort to validate violence against Jews I’m grateful for the supportive words of from the Cornel Administration but actions speak louder than words we require tangible measures including strict adherence to policies that forbid threatening or intimidating behaviors towards any student and ensures that purveyors of violence are removed from
Campus no student should ever live in fear for their safety regardless of background or religion what is happening on Cornell’s campus and across universities in this country is not about protecting expressions of free speech or free exchange of ideas it is about enabling and even promoting intimidation and the threat of harm to
Jewish students and supporters of Israel it is imperative that decisive action is taken to ensure the collective safety of students thank you for your time today thank you Miss Sil and thank you for your courage um Mr Marcus you’re recognized for five minutes uh chairman Jordan ranking member Nadler
Distinguished members make sure you got the mic make sure your mic’s on there chairman Jordan ranking member Nadler distinguished members Friends brave students thank you for conducting this important hearing today I am chairman of the Lou D Brandi Center for human rights under law and former head of the US Department of education’s
Office for civil rights at the Lou D Brandy Center we fight anti-Semitism on college campuses and I appreciate the kind words from both the chairman and ranking member about the work that we’re doing more work than ever before I would have said If This Were October 6th that
We have never seen more anti-Semitism on college campuses than we were seeing on October 6th our staff was stretched we were getting more complaints on a daily basis than ever before and by far we look back with Nostalgia at those days because in a week since October 7 we’re
Hearing from more students than we would in a month or more before October 6th incidents have gone through the roof let’s think about that we’re talking about a situation in which there was mass murder of civilians organized rape torture and desecration of corpses and the immediate reaction on many many
College campuses was for student organizations to go out and celebrate the murders the rapes the torture for so many students that we work with and you may get a sense of this from the brave words that you’ve heard today from these students what they’re facing is an extraordinary shock and the difficulty
Of realizing that the masks are and the students who they thought were their friends are celebrating murders of people just like them this is partly about will be in order this is an issue of speech and it’s also an issue of civil rights again and again we are seeing Jewish college
Students who are being prevented from expressing not only their viewpoints but an integral part of their identity for many Jewish Americans not all but for many Jewish Americans Zionism a commitment to the Jewish state of Israel is an important part of their identity and so when they are excluded as
Zionists they feel this as exclusion as Jews a rule against Zionist is a rule against Jews even before October 7th we were finding that large numbers of college students including strongly self-identified Jewish college students such as people who were living in Jewish fraternities and sororities were unwilling on a consistent basis to
Express their Jewish identity majorities were saying that they sometimes felt it necessary to conceal their Jewish identity including in particular their support for the state of Israel in many cases we saw this not just as toxic hostile environments but as specific actions to exclude Jewish students who
Have that as a part of their identity for instance at Tufts and the University of Southern California clients of the Brandy Center were members of student government facing organized efforts to exclude them to throw them out of student government because as Jews they support the state of Israel
Similarly this is difficult but I have to say at Sunni news we had two clients who were thrown out of a sexual assault survivors group because Zionism was an important part of their identity at the University of Vermont similar issues as well as a book club in which one could
Not participate if one was a Zionist here we found Viewpoint discrimination but not just Viewpoint discrimination that is to say people were shunned marginalized and excluded not just because of their political views but because who they are and what their identity is as Jews at my own alma mater
The University of California at Berkeley School of Law many student organizations including law reviews have adopted rules including bylaws and changes to their constitutions that prevent anyone from speaking to their groups who is a Zionist or a supporter of the state of Israel and let me be clear they were
Prevented from speaking and are to this day prevented from speaking on any topic this was not just a statement that if your Viewpoint disagrees with us we don’t want to hear you this was if you are a Zionist we don’t want to hear you on any topic if you are a feminist legal
Scholar we don’t want to hear you on feminist legal issues if you are a supporter of Israel which is to say most Jewish Americans would not be able to speak to these groups because of their identity as Jews since October 7th this has skyrocketed we are hearing continually of Jewish students being
Assaulted Jewish property being vandalized Jewish students being harassed in any number of different ways not just on a few college campuses that one might describe as hotspots but at so many colleges and universities that one cannot identify any places that are safe a few quick suggestions if I may first
The Department of Education should have the same tools to protect students free speech that it to protect the very important issues of anti-discrimination second a coordinator within the department to protect Free Speech third the Department of Education has committed to issue a regulation implementing the executive order on
Combating anti-Semitism and has set a deadline of next month be nice to ask them if they’re going to do it and finally the anti-Semitism awareness act would provide uh for the Department of Education a a cified definition of anti-Semitism similar to what’s used around the world and has been embraced
By this Administration I would suggest that action needs to be taken and I commend you for this opportunity uh thank you Mr Marcus uh Dr nadell you’re you’re recognized for five minutes thank you hit the hit that hit that pull it close
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