Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) and other politicians applauded the resignation of now-former University of Pennsylvania President Liz Magill, who resigned following disastrous congressional testimony about anti-Semitism on campus.
“One down. Two to go,” said Stefanik, the chairwoman of the House Republican conference who questioned Magill and the presidents of Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology during last week’s tense hearing.
“This is just the beginning of addressing the pervasive rot of anti-Semitism that has destroyed America’s most ‘prestigious’ institutions of higher education,” he added in a statement.
Magill announced his resignation Saturday, as did University of Pennsylvania Board of Trustees President Scott Bok.
It came after Magill was criticized for dodging questions about whether students who shouted in favor of genocide against Jews should be punished during a congressional hearing on Tuesday.
Stefanik pressed Magill and the university’s other presidents, Claudine Gay of Harvard and Sally Kornbluth of MIT, about student chants, including in favor of the “intifada,” which she said was a call for “genocide of the Jews”.
Elise Stefanik’s grilling of university presidents last week quickly went viral. fake images
Magill later apologized and clarified that calls for the genocide of Jews are “wrong, plain and simple.”
Other politicians on Sunday criticized Magill and his fellow university leaders for their responses during the discordant hearing.
“Any college president in this country who cannot condemn anti-Semitism, cannot condemn Jewish genocide, must resign or be fired,” Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) told “Fox News Sunday.”
“It’s disgusting. It’s shameful and it shouldn’t be happening on our college campuses.”
Elizabeth Magill later apologized for her mistakes but chose to resign. The Washington Post via Getty Images
Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) emphasized that he was not going to tell the remaining presidents what to do, but called their responses during that congressional hearing an “extraordinary failure.”
“What they did at that hearing was absolutely disgusting, it was outrageous, incomprehensible. “It would have violated the very premises of American unity,” Romney told NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday.
Former House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), who now heads Trump Media & Technology Group, similarly expressed his astonishment at the hearing.
“There is rarely a congressional hearing where something happens so quickly,” Nunes told “Sunday Morning Futures.”
Mitt Romney called the presidents’ comments “disgusting,” “scandalous” and “incomprehensible.” fake images
“I would give a lot of credit to Republicans for exposing what really is stupidity at some of the smartest and best-known universities in the country,” he said.
“Glad to hear you are resigning,” Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) wrote simply on X.
“UPenn fired its pathetic president and now faces a tougher choice: (1) expand speech codes to add anti-Semitism to the list of views they already prohibit, OR (2) embrace true free speech and abandon censorship completely. Number 2 would be admirable, but number 1 is where they will probably land,” said presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy.
UPenn fired its pathetic president and now faces a tougher choice:
(1) Expand speech codes to add anti-Semitism to the list of views they already prohibit, OR
(2) Embrace true freedom of expression and abandon censorship altogether.
Number 2 would be admirable, but number 1 is where they will likely land.
—Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) December 10, 2023
Magill’s resignation came against the backdrop of campus donors becoming apprehensive amid a growing backlash to his testimony.
During the exchange, Stefanik delved into the Ivy Leagy institution’s policies toward harassment of Jews on campus.
“Calling for genocide of the Jews,” Stefanik asked during the hearing, “does that constitute intimidation or harassment?”
Vivek Ramaswamy called on campuses to adopt more consistent policies on freedom of expression. AP
“If it is targeted and severe, widespread, it is harassment,” Magill responded.
“It’s a decision that depends on the context, congressman,” he added later.
“Is that your testimony today? Does calling for the genocide of the Jews depend on the context? Stefanik responded.
Following the hearing before the House Education and Workforce Committee to examine the prestigious institutions’ policies to combat anti-Semitism on campuses, Stefanik demanded the resignation of the three presidents.
Even the White House seemed taken aback by the hearing.
“It is incredible that this needs to be said: Calls for genocide are monstrous and antithetical to everything we stand for as a country,” said Andrew Bates, senior communications adviser and deputy White House press secretary. saying in a sentence.
The GOP-led panel chaired by Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC) announced Thursday that it will launch a broader investigation into anti-Semitism on college campuses.
This comes against the backdrop of anti-Semitic episodes on university campuses across the country that have spiked since the Hamas surprise attack on October 7.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn