Preparing for a House Education and the Workforce Committee hearing on “Columbia University’s Response to Antisemitism,” Columbia University President Nemat “Minouche” Shafik testifies on April 24 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC.
Another president of an Ivy League university was grilled by Congress for almost four hours about antisemitism on campus.
President of Columbia University, Minouche Shafik, made an effort to steer clear of the issue that drove off two of the three presidents of the university who gave testimony in December on Capitol Hill.
Traveling during that last hearing, Shafik was fortunate to have enough time to escape most of the landmines.
These three conclusions stem from today’s hearing.
improved readiness for a few inquiries
Shafik was better prepared to answer the question about whether demands for the murder of Jews violate university policies, which caught the leaders of Harvard, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and the University of Pennsylvania off guard in December.
Shafik and her three Columbia colleagues rather clearly declared that such calls would be against Columbia’s code of conduct, while the other university presidents responded with lawyerly responses that went viral.
On several more focused topics, though, Shafik faltered and found it difficult to provide concise responses, which provided her detractors with plenty of material to work with.
Rep. Lisa McClain, for example, questioned the president of Columbia about whether chants like “from the river to the sea” or “long live the intifada” are considered antisemitic.
Shafik initially stated that she finds these remarks disrespectful.
When McClain pressed Shafik on whether or not these shouts are antisemitic, he responded, “I hear them as such.” Not everyone does.
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