White House Shames University Presidents Over Anti-Semitism Hearing: ‘Unbelievable That This Needs to Be Said’
A Biden White House spokesman shamed major university presidents for their performance at a congressional hearing on anti-Semitism Tuesday, remarking that it was “unbelievable” that he felt obligated to weigh in with a statement on Wednesday.
Harvard President Dr. Claudine Gay was criticized for her performance at the hearing, and in particular her repeated refusal to answer whether calls “to commit genocide against the Jewish people in Israel and globally” violated Harvard’s code of conduct.
“We embrace a commitment to free expression and give a wide berth to free expression, even of views that are objectionable,” said Gay during a testy exchange with GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik (R-NY).
University of Pennsylvania President Liz McGill also drew fire for her assertion that whether calls for genocide constituted harassment were “context dependent.”
Andrew Bates, White House deputy press secretary and senior communications advisor, issued a scathing and unequivocal statement about the hearing on Wednesday.
“It’s unbelievable that this needs to be said: calls for genocide are monstrous and antithetical to everything we represent as a country,” declared Bates. “Any statements that advocate for the systematic murder of Jews are dangerous and revolting – and we should all stand firmly against them, on the side of human dignity and the most basic values that unite us as Americans.”
The White House weighs in on the disastrous Hill hearing for university presidents, who were unable to say it’s harassment to call for the genocide of Jewish people.
From Biden spox @AndrewJBates46:
“It’s unbelievable that this needs to be said: calls for genocide are monstrous…
— Josh Kraushaar (@JoshKraushaar) December 6, 2023
American Jews are victimized by hate crimes more often than any other religious group by a wide margin.
The number of anti-Semitic hate crimes has skyrocketed in the wake of the October 7 terror attack on Israel. In October, New York City saw a 214% year-over-year increase in hate crimes committed against Jews.
