A House education committee investigating antisemitism on college campuses will hear testimony from Northwestern and Rutgers University presidents on May 23 — with the panel’s chair citing “gravely concerning actions” that have enabled anti-Israel demonstrators.
The House Education and Workforce Committee announced the hearing would address “Stopping Antisemitic College Chaos” with Northwestern President Michael Schill, Rutgers President Jonathan Holloway and University of California, Los Angeles Chancellor Gene Block.
Block had previously been invited as a panel witness alongside Yale University President Peter Salovey and University of Michigan President Santa Ono.
“Over the last several days, the presidents of Northwestern and Rutgers have made shocking concessions to the unlawful antisemitic encampments on their campuses,” committee chairwoman Virginia Foxx (R-NC) said in a statement. “They have surrendered to antisemitic radicals in despicable displays of cowardice.”
“Yale and Michigan are by no means off the hook,” she added. “Presidents Salovey and Ono will be required to appear before the Committee for transcribed interviews at a later date or risk deposition and subpoena.”
A Northwestern University spokesman told The Post in a statement that the school’s “foremost responsibility is ensuring the safety of our students.”
“We are confident in the actions we have taken to address antisemitism on our campus and President Schill looks forward to discussing them with the House Committee on Education and the Workforce,” the spokesman said.
The university north of Chicago caved last week to demands from anti-Israel protestors who erected a tent city on campus — one of dozens nationwide calling for their schools to divest from Israel.
Schill conceded that Northwestern will now give full-ride scholarships to five Palestinian students per year and faculty posts for Palestinian academics.
Protestors have been seen wearing clothing bearing the image of a Hamas terrorist — and displayed signs with their president, who is Jewish, shown with devil horns and blood and saying, “I [love] genocide.”
On Friday, three Northwestern students filed a lawsuit alleging that their school had failed to protect Jewish students, National Review reported.
An orthodox Jewish professor of music at Rutgers also told Holloway and university chancellor Francine Conway in a Saturday letter that she was leaving as they have allowed antisemitism to run rampant “from the classroom … to the highest offices at the university.”
“Throughout this year, I have found it difficult to breathe. I have lost my taste for my job; the joy that I used to feel in working at Rutgers has disappeared,” wrote Rebecca Cypess, who has accepted a job as dean at Yeshiva University.
She told the administrators that “all I do is confront antisemitism,” as demonstrators have been observed shouting “Hitler would have loved you” at Jewish students and calling for an intifada.
The face of Jewish freshman Rivka Schafer was also featured on a poster urging students to vote “yes” on divesting their school from Israel — which Schafer decried as an act of “unabated antisemitism” in an exclusive interview with The Post.
California Highway Patrol officers raided an anti-Israel tent encampment at UCLA last Thursday, firing smoke bombs and rubber balls as they clashed with the protesters.
At least 132 of them were arrested.
A Morning Consult poll last week showed that 76% of Americans support law enforcement cracking down on the encampments — and nearly half want to ban campus “pro-Palestinian demonstrations” entirely.
Hamas has endorsed the protests for being able to “refute the Zionist narrative” — more than half a year after its terrorists invaded Israel and killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and 33 Americans.
The House Education Committee previously questioned Columbia University President Minouche Shafik, who cowered when asked about antisemitic slogans being used by protestors and admitted to going easy on faculty members who back Hamas.
The testimony has led to a House-wide crackdown on antisemitism in higher education spearheaded by Speaker Mike Johnson.
Johnson (R-La.) told The Post in an interview last weekend that Republicans would not stand on the sidelines and allow “evil” to continue.
“I think we need accountability from top to bottom,” he said. “The idea that some of these professors would be involved in this is outrageous, and I think they need to be called to account and of course the students as well.”
Reps for UCLA and Rutgers did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
