The Biden administration, top universities and medical institutions failed completely To crack down on anti-Semitism The blast came in the wake of Hamas’ October 7, 2023 terrorist attack, according to a scathing House Republican report released Thursday that exposed “systemic” and “staggering” shortcomings.
Six GOP-led House committees declared in a joint report that “antisemitism has been allowed to flourish unchecked” because of a “troubling pattern of defensiveness and denial,” according to a copy obtained exclusively by The Post. .
“Across the country, Jewish Americans have been Harassed, attacked, intimidated and subjected to hostile environment “—violations that run counter to America’s core values, including our fundamental commitment to religious freedom for all,” the 42-page report said.
“The failure of our federal government departments and agencies is astonishing.”
The flood of anti-Israel and anti-Semitic comments and actions tested America’s free speech principles and the fact that hate speech is generally legal in the United States, unless it amounts to harassment or a criminal offense such as assault. Not be an aggravating factor in the act.
However, the Republican-led report notes that federal law generally prohibits recipients of taxpayer money from tolerating discrimination — giving recipients a leg up to tighten policies on campuses and medical settings, federal officials say. should do this.
In almost every case, institutions took almost no disciplinary action against alleged anti-Semites and made no changes to codes of conduct, and there was no loss of grants meant to curb rapidly spreading Jew hatred.
Report Focuses heavily on Columbia University and its recommendations Urge federal agencies Using the money to encourage more stringent anti-discrimination policies – and also proposes potential legislation to that effect.
“The executive branch must aggressively enforce Title VI (the anti-discrimination rule) and hold schools accountable for their failures to protect students. Universities that fail to meet the obligations on which their federal funding depends or whose actions make it clear that they are incompetent stewards of the taxpayer
The dollars should be treated accordingly,” the Republican panel said.
According to the investigation, high-profile reports of anti-Semitism – reflected by anti-Palestinian incidents that occurred particularly during rallies and counter-rallies over the Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip – were just the tip of the iceberg.
In one disturbing incident, a student overheard two health care providers at Columbia’s medical school discussing “whether or not to treat her because she was Israeli.”
“She sat in the room for 10 minutes until someone finally came to address her health needs. As of mid-December 2024, representatives of Columbia University have not provided any information to the committees as part of this investigation after October 2, 2024. , reacting to the basics.
The Ivy League school, which was the site of a large camp on the outskirts of which were several documented instances of pro-Israel activists and anti-Semitic comments directed at Jewish students, also vowed to punish students accused of breaking rules to protest . Against Israel.
“Columbia says 22 students arrested for criminal takeover of Hamilton Hall face expulsion. Instead, the university lifted the students’ interim suspension after radical faculty protests, allowing 7 to graduate, reinstating 11 in good standing, and leaving 3 already suspended and 1 on probation. ,” the report said.
“Despite dozens of students being arrested for conduct related to Hamilton Hall and the camp,
or faced discipline for other gross anti-Semitic incidents; Columbia failed to expel the students and issued final suspensions to only four students.
Some anti-Israel protesters in Colombia were Jewish themselves and argued that the protests were not broadly anti-Semitic – despite reported instances.
The document states that, unexpectedly, “many colleges took different disciplinary actions for Jewish students versus their opponents—students who engaged in anti-Semitic behavior, intimidation tactics such as camps and campus checkpoints, and tax-exempt organizations.” engaged in, enabling and funding violent campus protests.”
For example, Columbia “allowed a false story that Jewish students had carried out a ‘chemical attack’ at an anti-Israel rally, despite knowing that it was false, to persist for months and that the students involved were merely interested in the novelty.” Sprayed ‘fart spray’.
“In a clear case of disparate treatment, the Jewish students responsible were given excessive one-and-a-half-year suspensions, significantly longer than any suspension given for violations of anti-Semitic conduct,” the report said.
“Columbia failed to correct the record despite requests from the Jewish community, even as anti-Israel students alleged military-grade ‘skunks’ for demonizing Jewish students and calling for the exclusion of Israelis Used the false story of ‘chemical attack’ related to ‘Spray’.
“According to the settlement with one of the highly disciplined Jewish students, in August 2024 Columbia finally acknowledged that the incident was not a ‘chemical attack,’ which also awarded the student $395,000 and changed the suspension to conditional disciplinary probation “
Allegedly biased institutions such as Columbia University, the University of Southern California, UCLA, George Washington University, Harvard University, and Yale University contributed $2.7 billion in federal funds in fiscal year 2023 to combat attacks on the Jewish state by Hamas terrorists and killings. Was completed just before. More than 1,200 people – including 33 Americans – were killed, the report said.
The investigation, which was launched after House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and other Republicans visited an anti-Israel camp in Colombia, affected multiple federal agencies.
The State Department and the Department of Homeland Security reportedly blocked records requests about the visa status of people who allegedly harassed Jewish students with terror-inspired comments — or who were discovered to have spent government money on tax-exempt charities. Was going.
“Rather than confronting the gravity of the problem, many institutions have shrugged off congressional and public criticism and shirked responsibility for the hostile environment they have created,” the report said.
“The refusal to acknowledge or address this issue has allowed anti-Semitism to take root and flourish in places that violate the values of this great nation.”
(TagstoTranslate)Politics(T)US News(T)Antisemitism(T)Columbia University(T)Joe Biden(T)Republican
