Latest news with #RichLyons
The Guardian
5 hours ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
US university leaders challenge campus antisemitism claims in House hearing
Rich Lyons, the chancellor of the University of California, Berkeley, challenged US House Republicans on Tuesday as they questioned him 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, who has just completed 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. Robert 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. This article was amended on 16 July 2025. An earlier version misnamed Robert Groves as 'Richard' Groves and said that Rich Lyons was in his first year as chancellor of UC, Berkeley, when he is in his second year.
The Guardian
15 hours ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
US university leaders challenge campus antisemitism claims in House hearing
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.
The Guardian
15 hours ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
‘Political theatre': key takeaways from US universities' House antisemitism hearing
Lawmakers questioned the leaders of the University of California at Berkeley, Georgetown University and the City University of New York in the final antisemitism hearing the House of Representatives has held since the 7 October attacks and ensuing war in Gaza broke out in 2023. Georgetown University's interim president Robert Groves, Cuny's chancellor Félix V Matos Rodríguez and UC Berkeley's chancellor Rich Lyons faced scrutiny from Republican representatives – who questioned the universities' hiring practices, faculty unions, Middle East study centers, foreign funding and DEI initiatives. Congress's preceding antisemitism hearings featured tense exchanges between Republican lawmakers such as representative Elise Stefanik, and precipitated the resignations of the presidents of the University of Pennsylvania, Harvard and Columbia. While denouncing antisemitism, Democratic lawmakers spoke out against the focus of the hearing, calling it 'political theatre' and criticizing the Trump administration's gutting of the government agencies that enforce civil rights protections. 'I'd be remiss if I did not point out that this is our ninth hearing on antisemitism in 18 months,' said ranking member Bobby Scott, a Democrat from Virginia. 'I'll also note that since this committee's first antisemitism hearing in December 2023 we have not held a single hearing addressing racism, xenophobia, sexism, Islamophobia or other challenges affecting other student groups on American college campuses.' In their opening statements, each of the university leaders present at Tuesday's hearings began their remarks by condemning antisemitism, and in many cases listing actions their campuses had undertaken to prevent future antisemitism. Georgetown was one of the first campuses to condemn the 7 October attacks, Groves said, adding: that 'Antisemitism is incompatible with living our mission; the same applies to Islamophobia and racism.' 'Berkeley unequivocally condemns antisemitism,' Lyons echoed. He added: 'I am the first to say we have more work to do. Berkeley, like our nation, has not been immune to the disturbing rise in antisemitism.' Matos Rodríguez shared a similar remark: 'Our university has not been immune, but let me be clear: antisemitism has no place at Cuny.' He added that the university now has a zero-tolerance policy toward encampments, like those students established at City College and Brooklyn College in 2024. Democratic lawmakers and witnesses noted that the Trump administration's decision to shutter federal agencies tasked with enforcing civil rights protections will not protect Jewish students on college campuses. 'Antisemitism in America and on campuses is real' but 'this administration's approach is contradictory and counterproductive,' said Matt Nosanchuck, a former deputy assistant secretary for the education department's office for civil rights under the Obama administration. He urged that 'Congress must fulfill its core responsibilites' to give agencies appropriate resources, not conduct political theatre. In his opening remarks, Scott criticized his fellow committee members for saying 'nothing about the firings attacking the office of civil rights' or the supreme court decision allowing the Trump administration to dismantle the Department of Education. The Trump administration closed seven of the office of civil rights' 12 regional offices in March. 'If the majority wanted to fight antisemitism and protect Jewish students, they should condemn antisemitism in their own party and at the highest level of government,' said Democratic representative Suzanne Bonamici of Oregon. 'They have failed to do so. Multiple White House officials have ties to antisemitic extremists.' To begin the hearing, Walberg said that the committee would 'be examining several factors that incite antisemitism on college campuses' including faculty unions and faculty membership in the group Faculty and Staff for Justice in Palestine. He later questioned Matos-Rodríguez about a Hunter College faculty job posting looking for candidates who could 'take a critical lense' to issues such as 'settler colonialsm, genocide, human rights, apartheid' and others. Matos-Rodríguez called the listing 'entirely inappropriate' and said he ordered it revised immediately upon learning about it. Representative Virginia Foxx, a Republican from North Carolina, focused her questioning on questions around faculty hiring and union practices. She questioned Matos-Rodríguez on the fact that the president of Cuny's faculty union supports the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement. She also questioned Lyons on Columbia's hiring practices, which she said had allowed antisemitic faculty to join the staff. 'We use academic standards to hire faculty. We don't use ideological conditions to hire faculty,' Lyons said. 'I'm concerned by what I see happening here. Because instead of solving a problem, we're watching some try to use antisemitism as a reason to go after higher education,' said representative Alma Adams, a Democrat from North Carolina. 'Let's not forget as we sit here today, the Department of Education is withholding more than $6bn in congressionally mandated funding from our K-12 schools,' she added. During her questioning Bonamici also questioned whether the antisemitism hearings were motivated by 'plans to defund colleges and universities'. Following an exchange between representative Elise Stefanik of New York and Cuny chancellor Matos Rodríguez, California representative Mark DeSaulnier yielded his time so Matos Rodríguez could 'respond to that outrageous attack by my colleague'. Stefanik had denounced the university for having on its staff an attorney also leading the legal defense fund for Mahmoud Khalil, who she called 'chief pro-Hamas agitator that led to the anti-semitic encampments at Columbia'. Earlier in the hearing, California representative Mark Takano called the committee's hearing 'a kangaroo court'.
Hamilton Spectator
17 hours ago
- Politics
- Hamilton Spectator
Republicans press leaders of Georgetown, Berkeley and CUNY on antisemitism complaints
WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans on Tuesday grilled the leaders of Georgetown University, the City University of New York and the University of California, Berkeley in the latest hearing on antisemitism in higher education, accusing the schools of failing to respond adequately to allegations of bias or discrimination. In their appearance before the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, the three university leaders said that they had taken disciplinary action where appropriate and stressed the importance of protecting free speech. UC Berkeley Chancellor Rich 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. 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 following Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023 attacks 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 out 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,' Rep. Mark Takano , D-CA. Republicans said the 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,' Michigan Rep. Tim Walberg , 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. Rep. Randy Fine, R-FL, 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. Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., pressed 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. Interim Georgetown President Richard Groves 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 Israeli and Palestinians who've lost their lives. U.S. families of U.S. hostages in Gaza. Georgetown is not perfect, and as events evolve, we've had to clarify rules of student behavior.' ___ The Associated Press' education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at . Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
Boston Globe
18 hours ago
- Politics
- Boston Globe
University leaders reject Republican attacks on campus antisemitism
On Tuesday, Republicans accused the university leaders of fostering an antisemitic climate and failing to rein in professors and students the lawmakers said were antisemitic. Democrats on the committee argued the hearing was part of a crackdown on speech that attempted to scapegoat academia for a broader societal problem. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up The university leaders, meanwhile, seemed to have learned from the past. They attempted, with apparent success, to avoid the kinds of viral moments that have characterized previous antisemitism hearings and brought down other university presidents. Advertisement And they tried to walk a fine line. They said that language seeming to call for violence against Jews was unacceptable. But they largely declined to discuss the details of discipline for individual incidents and argued that professors and students have speech rights. Rich Lyons, who has been chancellor of Berkeley for a year, challenged the committee at times. He pointed out that not all pro-Palestinian beliefs were antisemitic and described a professor who was criticized for making antisemitic statements as a 'fine scholar.' Advertisement 'If someone is expressing pro-Palestinian beliefs, that's not necessarily antisemitism,' he told lawmakers. Robert M. Groves, the interim president of Georgetown University, said his institution was among the first to condemn the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. He also noted that as a Jesuit university, Georgetown focuses on interfaith dialogue and employs many different faith leaders. 'Georgetown is not perfect,' he said in the hearing, but since Oct. 7 it has not experienced violence, encampments, or city police actions on campus. Lawmakers seemed especially to single out the City University of New York over campus protests and staff members supportive of Palestinian rights. Representative Elise Stefanik, Republican of New York, said that Ramzi Kassem, a CUNY law professor, should be disciplined or fired for serving as a lawyer for Mahmoud Khalil, a permanent resident who was detained by the Trump administration, which continues to seek to deport him. She attacked CUNY for hiring a former employee of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a Muslim civil rights organization, inaccurately suggesting that CAIR had been a 'co-conspirator in a terrorist financing case.' (The group was listed as an 'unindicted co-conspirator or joint venturer' in a case against a charity, the Holy Land Foundation, along with more than 200 other groups and individuals. It was not accused of a crime.) Stefanik also highlighted an episode where a swastika was drawn on a university building, arguing that a school administrator had been dismissive about concerns that it was not removed sooner. Félix V. Matos Rodríguez, the university's chancellor, defended the school and its employees, saying, 'Antisemitism has no place at CUNY,' and noting that the offensive emblem had remained to allow the police department to respond. Advertisement Responding to Stefanik's attacks Tuesday, CAIR's national deputy director, Edward Ahmed Mitchell, said the 'spirit of Joseph McCarthy is alive and well.' College leaders said they had made changes to address antisemitic behavior, but also defended free speech protections for students and faculty and stressed the importance of civil discourse on divisive issues. They said they had tightened protest policies, bolstered antisemitism training, and focused on making campus life more welcoming to Jews. The Republican-led hearings Tuesday were the latest in a series that began before the second Trump administration, months after the Hamas attack and the start of the war in Gaza. Earlier hearings with Ivy League university leaders turned into a disastrous spectacle for the educators. Since then, Republicans have widened their lens to other kinds of educational institutions, which they say also failed to keep Jewish students safe when pro-Palestinian protests swept campuses around the country. It was not precisely clear why the three universities at Tuesday's hearing were selected. All have faced tensions on their campuses related to student safety and free expression since the Hamas attack, as have many colleges. The Republican lines of attack echo those of President Trump, who has taken away major sums of money from top universities, arguing they have not done enough to curb antisemitism. A federal task force on antisemitism has singled out many institutions for investigation, and federal agents have detained international students, like Kahlil, who were involved in pro-Palestinian activism. Representative Tim Walberg, Republican of Michigan, the committee's chair, blamed episodes of antisemitism on a series of factors Republicans have long railed against, including centers for Middle East studies, faculty unions, foreign funding and diversity, equity and inclusion policies. Advertisement 'The DEI ideology embraced by so many university bureaucrats categorizes Jews as white oppressors and therefore, excuses, or even justifies, antisemitic harassment,' Walberg said. The committee's ranking Democrat, Representative Robert C. Scott of Virginia, criticized Republicans for what he portrayed as a blinkered focus on antisemitism that excluded consideration of other issues. 'Since this committee's first antisemitism hearing on December 2023,' Scott said, 'we've not held a single hearing addressing racism, xenophobia, sexism, Islamophobia, or other challenges affecting other student groups on American college campuses.'
