logo
US university leaders challenge campus antisemitism claims in House hearing

US university leaders challenge campus antisemitism claims in House hearing

The Guardian9 hours ago
Rich Lyons, the University of California, Berkeley, chancellor, challenged US House Republicans on Tuesday as they questioned Lyons and leaders of Georgetown University and the City University of New York in the latest hearing on antisemitism in higher education.
The committee accused the schools of failing to respond adequately to allegations of bias or discrimination, however the university leaders said that disciplinary action had been taken where appropriate and stressed the importance of protecting free speech.
Lyons pushed back on the suggestion that antisemitism was more present on college campuses than anywhere else.
'If somebody is expressing pro-Palestinian beliefs, that's not necessarily antisemitic,' he said.
Lyons, in his first year as chancellor is also the first UC leader to face the House committee during the Trump presidency. In his opening remarks, he defended the campus' commitment to free speech.
'As a public institution, Berkeley has a solemn obligation to protect the quintessential American value of free speech,' Lyons said. 'This obligation does not prevent us, let me repeat, does not prevent us from confronting harassment and discrimination in all its forms, including antisemitism.'
The hearing was the ninth in a series Republicans have held to scrutinize university leadership over allegations of antisemitism on campuses after a wave of protests over Israel's indiscriminate bombing of Gaza, which has killed more than 60,000 people, in retaliation to Hamas' 7 October 2023 attack on Israel. Widely criticized testimony before the committee by the presidents of the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard University in 2023 contributed to their resignations.
At Tuesday's hearing, Democrats blasted Republican committee members for their focus on antisemitism while not speaking on the dismantling of the education department, which is tasked with investigating antisemitism and other civil rights violations in schools.
'They have turned this hearing room into a kangaroo court, where they spend our time litigating a predetermined outcome to do nothing, actually, to help Jewish students, just make public theater out of legitimate pain,' said the California representative Mark Takano.
Republicans said university leaders have allowed campus antisemitism to run unchecked.
'Universities can choose to hire antisemitic faculty, welcome students with a history of antisemitism, accept certain foreign funding, and let the behavior of antisemitic unions go unchecked,' Tim Walberg, a Michigan representative and committee chair, said in his opening statements. 'But we will see today they do so at their own risk.'
The hearing was periodically interrupted by protesters, who shouted pro-Palestinian slogans before being removed by Capitol police. Randy Fine, a Florida representative, berated the college presidents and said they were responsible because of the attitudes they had permitted on their campuses.
Republicans pressed the three college leaders on whether they had disciplined or fired faculty and employees for behavior they said was antisemitic. Elise Stefanik, a Republican representative of New York, pressed the CUNY chancellor, Félix Matos Rodríguez, on the employment of a law professor who worked on the legal defense of Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian activist the Trump administration attempted to deport over his role in protests at Columbia University.
Stefanik pushed Matos Rodríguez to answer whether the professor should be fired. Without responding directly, Matos Rodríguez defended CUNY and said antisemitism had no place at the school. He said any student or employee who broke CUNY rules would be investigated.
University leaders also emphasized the importance of free speech on campuses for students and faculty.
Richard Groves, the interim president at Georgetown, said that as a Jesuit university, fostering interfaith dialogue and understanding was a key part of the school's mission. He said the university has not experienced any encampments or physical violence since the Hamas attack in October 2023.
'Given our Jesuit values, we expose students to different viewpoints on the Middle East,' Groves said. 'In addition to speakers on Gaza, we've hosted IDF soldiers, families of Israelis and Palestinians who've lost their lives. US families of US hostages in Gaza. Georgetown is not perfect, and as events evolve, we've had to clarify rules of student behavior.'
Lyons, as well, said his campus has 'more work to do' to prevent antisemitism.
'I am the first to say that we have more work to do. Berkeley, like our nation, has not been immune to the disturbing rise in antisemitism. And as a public university, we have a solemn obligation to protect our community from discrimination and harassment, while also upholding the first amendment right to free speech,' he said.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Three Republican senators break with Trump to vote against codifying DOGE spending cuts
Three Republican senators break with Trump to vote against codifying DOGE spending cuts

The Independent

time11 minutes ago

  • The Independent

Three Republican senators break with Trump to vote against codifying DOGE spending cuts

Three Republican senators broke ranks to oppose efforts to codify Department of Government Efficiency spending cuts, prompting Vice President JD Vance to cast a tie-breaking vote. Despite some GOP reservations, Senators voted Tuesday to advance President Donald Trump's proposal to claw back $9.4 billion in foreign aid and pull back spending for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which oversees NPR and PBS. Senators Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, and Mitch McConnell of Kentucky defied party lines to vote with Democrats, resulting in a 50–50 deadlock in the upper chamber. Vance broke the tie to advance the rescissions package out of the Senate Appropriations Committee, clearing the way for full Senate debate set to begin Wednesday morning. A marathon voting session on amendments is expected to begin in the afternoon, followed by a final vote. If that succeeds, the legislation would need to return to the House before Friday's deadline to dodge a Democratic filibuster. Murkowski, McConnell, and Collins, the Republican chair of the committee, faced a wave of MAGA backlash, with their loyalty to the Republican Party called into question. 'Three Republicans opposed the bill, all women: Sens Lisa Murkowski, Susan Collins, and Mitch McConnell,' tweeted right-wing media pundit Ann Coulter. 'With each vote he casts, Mitch McConnell cements himself as one of the WORST Senators in American history!!,' former North Carolina Representative Madison Cawthorn chimed in. 'Time to demand that Senator Thune remove Susan Collins from all committees,' another X user said. 'She is not a Republican. She should not be chairing the Senate Appropriations Committee.' The bill is a top priority for the Trump administration, which, if it passes, reportedly plans to use the same process to enact greater cuts in the future. Last week, Trump gave Senators an ultimatum: vote to defund NPR and PBS, or he will withhold his support for their reelection. Senate Majority Leader John Thune was among GOP lawmakers who balked at the DOGE cuts, leading him to strip some of them from the bill Tuesday to secure votes. It included Senate Republicans stating they would remove $400 million in cuts to the HIV/AIDS relief program, known as PEPFAR, from the package. Those changes, however, were not enough for Collins, McConnell, and Murkowski. After her no-vote, Collins slammed the Office of Management and Budget's rescissions package and claimed that the proposed reductions are unclear. 'The rescissions package has a big problem – nobody really knows what program reductions are in it,' she said in a statement late Tuesday. 'The sparse text that was sent to Congress included very little detail and does not give an accounting of the specific program cuts that would total $9.4 billion.' McConnell said he didn't have any problem with reducing spending but agreed with Collins that the White House failed to provide enough details to lawmakers. 'They would like a blank check is what they would like,' he said. 'And I don't think that's appropriate.' Meanwhile, Murkowski expressed disdain over numerous rounds of rescissions in the Senate. 'We are lawmakers. We should be legislating,' she said. 'What we're getting now is a direction from the White House and being told: 'This is the priority and we want you to execute on it. 'We'll be back with you with another round.' I don't accept that.'

Starmer has worked to ‘cultivate' relationship with Trump, says minister
Starmer has worked to ‘cultivate' relationship with Trump, says minister

The Independent

time11 minutes ago

  • The Independent

Starmer has worked to ‘cultivate' relationship with Trump, says minister

Sir Keir Starmer has put a 'lot of effort' in to 'cultivate' a relationship with US President Donald Trump, a Cabinet ally of the Prime Minister has said. With Mr Trump having said he will meet Sir Keir in Aberdeen later this month during a private visit to Scotland, Scottish Secretary Ian Murray said holding talks with the president is the 'right thing to do'. He said US tariffs and the situation in Ukraine could be on the agenda for those discussions. Scottish First Minister John Swinney will also meet the president – who recently voiced his support for the oil and gas sector over wind power projects. In a BBC News interview, Mr Trump hailed Aberdeen as the 'oil capital' of Europe and said 'they should get rid of the windmills and bring back the oil'. Mr Trump also said he and Sir Keir will 'refine' the recent trade deal struck between the UK and the US. The agreement reduced tariffs on car and aerospace imports, but questions remain over whether steel imports into America will face 50% tariffs. There is also a baseline tariff of 10% for most other imports – with the Scotch whisky industry now said to be pushing for this to be lowered. Mr Murray said: 'At this stage we have no sight of what the president's programme is, but we do know the First Minister and the Prime Minister will meet him, and it is right for them both to do so.' Speaking on BBC Radio Scotland's Good Morning Scotland programme, the Scottish Secretary added the meetings are 'the right thing to do because those relationships are incredibly important in terms of our own national interest'. He added: 'We should make sure we are working very closely with our allies for the benefit of Scotland and the whole of the United Kingdom.' Saying that doing 'what is in the UK's national interest' is the 'top priority' for the Prime Minister, the Scottish Secretary continued: 'Of course tariffs will be on the agenda I am sure, and the economic situation and the issue of Ukraine and defence. 'All of these issues I am sure will be on the agenda when they speak. 'The bottom line here is that it has taken a lot of effort for the Prime Minister to cultivate this relationship with our strongest ally, that's why we have the lowest tariffs in the world and why we had the first deal done with America in our national interest.' Mr Murray said while the 10% tariff on whisky exports to the US is something the UK Government would like to see lowered, he added the UK's trade deal with India had cut tariffs for sales of the drink there in a 'huge, huge boon to the Scotch whisky industry'.

Ukraine celebrates Trump's weapons reversal, but the 'devil's in the details'
Ukraine celebrates Trump's weapons reversal, but the 'devil's in the details'

BreakingNews.ie

time12 minutes ago

  • BreakingNews.ie

Ukraine celebrates Trump's weapons reversal, but the 'devil's in the details'

US president Donald Trump has finally found a way to like arming Ukraine: ask European allies to donate their weapons, and sell them American replacements. Now comes the hard part — agreeing on who will actually give up their prized systems, including the Patriot missile batteries that Kyiv has been desperately seeking. "We're going to make top-of-the-line weapons, and they'll be sent to Nato," Mr Trump said in the Oval Office on Monday. Advertisement Some Patriot missile defence systems should arrive in Ukraine "within days," added Mr Trump, who faces resistance from some high-profile figures in the MAGA movement who oppose US support for Ukraine. The costly Patriot systems - in high demand among US allies - have proven effective at destroying Russian ballistic missiles aimed at Ukraine's cities. The US has also signalled willingness under the proposed arrangement with European allies to send additional offensive weapons, said one source familiar with the matter, though Mr Trump has said that Ukraine should refrain from attacking Moscow. The plan, which Mr Trump and Nato secretary general Mark Rutte hatched in recent days, according to two sources familiar with the discussions, has been received positively by Ukraine and its allies. Advertisement Leaders in Kyiv and elsewhere have celebrated a major tonal shift from Mr Trump, who had until recent weeks spoken glowingly of Russian president Vladimir Putin. But since the announcement, it has become clear Mr Trump presented a framework - not a fleshed-out plan. How material any support ends up being for Ukraine will depend on coming negotiations about who provides which equipment, according to 10 officials in the US and Europe. "As always with these things, the devil is in the details," said one northern European ambassador in Washington. The central question is who would donate the Patriot batteries, and when. Advertisement Spare a Patriot? During his Oval Office meeting with Mr Trump on Monday, Mr Rutte mentioned six Nato countries - Finland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, the Netherlands and Canada - that were willing to participate in the weapons-purchasing scheme. High-ranking sources at two of those countries' embassies in the US told Reuters they personally learned of the plan as it was announced. Even close US allies appeared to learn of the proposal in real time. "It is my clear sense that nobody has been briefed about the exact details in advance, and I also suspect that internally in the administration they are only now beginning to sort out what it means in practice," said a separate European ambassador. Kurt Volker, a former US ambassador to Nato, said Mr Trump found a way to balance support for Ukraine with the political realities of the Republican Party. Advertisement Having the European allies underwrite US arms supplies is "very consistent with what he (Trump) said during the campaign," he said. Throughout the campaign, Mr Trump said he would push European countries to spend more on defence, to great applause from MAGA crowds. "You gotta pay," he said. "If they're not going to pay, we're not going to protect, ok?" Mr Volker said Ukraine could ultimately receive 12 to 13 Patriot batteries but it could take a year for them all to be delivered. Asked for comment, a Nato official said the defence alliance would coordinate weapons deliveries through a mechanism known as the Nato Security Assistance and Training for Ukraine, a Nato mission located in Germany that is responsible for coordinating Western military aid for Kyiv. Advertisement "Several European countries have already committed to support this initiative including Germany, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Canada and Finland," the official said. "Details are still under discussion." In response to a request for comment, the Pentagon referred Reuters to Mr Trump's Monday remarks announcing his agreement with Mr Rutte. The White House did not respond to a request for comment, nor did the Ukrainian or Russian embassies in Washington. 'WE ARE READY' The rapid hardening of Mr Trump's rhetoric toward Moscow in recent weeks has come amid an increasingly firm belief that Putin is not engaging in good-faith negotiations, according to two US officials. "At a certain point, you know, ultimately talk doesn't talk. It's got to be action. It's got to be results," Mr Trump said during his meeting with Mr Rutte on Monday. One of the officials said Mr Trump came to realize that Putin's ambitions extend beyond Crimea and four eastern regions of Ukraine, a point Kyiv and European allies have publicly and frequently made. Three Russian sources close to the Kremlin said Putin will not stop the war under pressure from the West and believe that Russia - which has survived the toughest sanctions imposed by the West - can endure further economic hardship, including Mr Trump's Monday threat to impose US tariffs targeting buyers of Russian oil. Now, three US officials involved in weapons matters said, the real work begins. US officials are now talking with Nato allies and gauging who is willing to send what to Ukraine. European officials have been broadly receptive. "We are ready to participate," Danish foreign minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen told reporters in Brussels on Tuesday ahead of a meeting of European Union ministers. Patriot battery One official cited Germany, Greece, the Netherlands and Spain as good candidates to send a Patriot battery to Kyiv, either because they had multiple batteries or the threats they face are relatively remote. Some, including Greece and Spain, have previously resisted appeals from allies to give some of their Patriot systems to Ukraine, arguing that they are essential to defend their own countries and Nato as a whole. Mr Trump's move to take credit for the additional weapons headed to Ukraine has created some mild friction in Europe. "If we pay for these weapons, it's our support," said EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, speaking after the Brussels meeting, adding that she welcomed Mr Trump's decision. "So it's European support, and we are doing as much as we can to help Ukraine ... If you promise to give the weapons, but say that somebody else is going to pay for it, it's not really given by you, is it?" One of the officials said that the Trump administration has been going through Nato inventories to see what's available. Their next effort is to attempt to persuade the allies to gift the equipment to Ukraine in exchange for a "trade" of some sort, the official said. The trade could be a variety of things, the official said, including giving up an impending acceptance of a piece of military equipment through the Foreign Military Sales programme, or sending munitions to Ukraine in exchange for an earlier replenishment date. Confusion Mr Trump told reporters there was one country with 17 Patriots, some of which would go directly to Ukraine. The figure has caused widespread confusion among European allies and on Capitol Hill - many of whom have not been briefed - according to the US and European officials. No Nato member except the US has that number of Patriot systems, said two sources familiar with the matter, causing speculation that Mr Trump may have been referring to particular Patriot components, like launchers or missiles. German defence minister Boris Pistorius, who visited the Pentagon on Monday, said the Germans would discuss sending Patriot batteries to Ukraine with the US in the coming days or weeks. But no Patriot system would arrive in Kyiv for months, he said, likely delaying any receipt until after the tactically crucial summer months. Another official said Mr Trump was engaged directly in negotiations, though talks so far were "squishy". "So far folks have said, 'We can help,'" that official said. "Now, what that means, we don't know."

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store