Washington, D.C. – House Republican Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik joined House Committee on Education and the Workforce Chairwoman Foxx and students from Columbia University ahead of today’s hearing with Columbia University President Minouche Shafik about the rise in antisemitic attacks at the university and Columbia’s failure to keep members of its Jewish community safe since the horrific October 7th Hamas terrorist attacks against Israel.
Stefanik highlighted how today’s hearing is an important step towards transparency and holding Columbia University's leadership accountable for their failure to combat antisemitism on their campus and their failure to protect Jewish students.
Watch her full interview here.
Find her full remarks below.
“Today, House Republicans led by Chairwoman Foxx will continue our investigation of the heinous scourge of antisemitism running rampant on America's college campuses.
A few months ago, when the university presidents of Harvard, Penn, and MIT testified, they made history for their morally bankrupt answers as the most viewed testimony in the history of the United States Congress. And two are now former presidents.
And after billions of views and world outcry, it set off a long overdue earthquake in higher education. The Columbia University President was invited to that hearing but did not attend. Today, the Columbia President will appear in front of the Education and Workforce Committee along with board of trustee leaders, and we will hold them accountable for their failure to combat antisemitism on their campus and their failure to protect Jewish students.
For over 200 years, Columbia University has held the same motto “in thy light shall we see light”. Taken from Psalms, Columbia claims to work in God’s light. Sadly, for all the Jewish students on their campus, this could not be further from the truth. Fueled by hatred and ignorance, unchecked antisemitism has become commonplace on Columbia’s campus: Nazi-era antisemitic propaganda litters the grounds, Swastikas graffiti school property, and mobs assaulting Jewish students, professors openly supporting Hamas and calling for genocide of the Jewish people. Meanwhile, despite claims otherwise, Columbia’s leadership refuses to enforce their own policies and condemn Jewish hatred on campus creating a breeding ground for antisemitism and a hotbed of support for terrorism from radicalized faculty and students.
Just look at the campus reaction following the tragic events of October 7th. Over 150 Columbia faculty justified the terrorist attack on Israel resulting in the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust. A Columbia Professor penned an article glorifying Hamas, and anti-Israel student groups invited known members of a terrorist group to speak in support of the terrorist slaughter.
This hearing is an important step towards transparency and accountability in Chairwoman Foxx’s investigation and in our oversight of the failure of colleges and universities to condemn and combat antisemitism and their failure to protect Jewish students.
Before our hearing, we wanted to make sure America hears the firsthand experiences directly from Jewish students studying at Columbia. We are joined today by Eden Yadegar, a junior at Columbia University, and Yola Ashkenazie, a senior at Barnard College."
