House passes resolution condemning testimony by university presidents over antisemitism
By Clare Foran, Melanie Zanona and Haley Talbot, CNN
The House on Wednesday passed a bipartisan resolution condemning antisemitism on college campuses and testimony from three high-profile university presidents over antisemitism at a congressional hearing last week.
The measure condemns the testimony given by the presidents of Harvard, MIT and the University of Pennsylvania during a contentious House hearing, stating that they were “evasive and dismissive” when asked if calls for the genocide of Jews violate university policies on bullying and harassment and failed “to simply condemn such action.”
In the wake of widespread backlash over the testimony, University of Pennsylvania President Liz Magill resigned over the weekend. The resolution states that Harvard President Claudine Gay and MIT President Sally Kornbluth should “follow suit” and resign as well.
Lawmakers approved the resolution in a 303-126 vote, with 125 Democrats and one Republican voting against the measure. Three Democrats voted present.
The resolution was put forward by House GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik of New York, along with House Majority Leader Steve Scalise of Louisiana and Democratic Reps. Jared Moskowitz of Florida and Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey.
Stefanik has been in the spotlight after exchanges from her questioning of the university presidents went viral. The congresswoman had a sharp response to the news that Magill was stepping down from her position: “One down. Two to go.”
The testimony from the university presidents has generated significant criticism and intense scrutiny from business leaders and donors in addition to lawmakers. It comes at a time of heightened attention to the issue of antisemitism in the wake of the October 7 Hamas terror attack on Israel and the Israel-Hamas war.
During the hearing, none of the school leaders explicitly said that calling for the genocide of Jews would necessarily violate their code of conduct. Instead, they said it would depend on the circumstances and conduct.
Gay has the unanimous support of the university’s board, Harvard’s highest governing body said in a statement Tuesday, giving the Harvard President significant cover to remain in her position. Gay apologized last week in an interview with the Harvard Crimson.
The Executive Committee of the MIT Corporation, MIT’s governing board, issued a statement last week saying that Kornbluth has their “full and unreserved support.”
This story and headline have been updated with additional developments.
CNN’s Matt Egan and Jedd Rosche contributed.
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