House Republicans on Tuesday grilled the leaders of three of the nation’s top universities over the rising rate of antisemitic incidents on college campuses since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas.

In testimony before the GOP-led House Committee on Education and the Workforce, the presidents of Harvard University, the University of Pennsylvania and Massachusetts Institute of Technology condemned anti-Jewish speech and said they have taken a series of actions — including increasing security, implementing new education initiatives and creating task forces — aimed at ensuring all students feel safe. But they also said they’re committed to protecting a free exchange of diverse viewpoints.

“This is difficult work,” Harvard President Claudine Gay said. “And I know that I have not always gotten it right.”

The school presidents also noted that Islamophobic incidents have increased. 

Republicans on the committee sought to blame Democrats and college leaders for the spike in antisemitism. 

Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., the committee’s chairwoman, called it a “grave danger inherent in assenting to the race-based ideology of the radical left,” adding, “The buck for what has happened must stop on the president's desk.”

But Rep. Bobby Scott of Virginia, the ranking Democrat on the panel, quickly attacked Republican lawmakers for ignoring requests to hold a hearing following the 2017 “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, where demonstrators chanted anti-Jewish messages. 

Several Democrats also attacked their GOP colleagues for proposing significant funding cuts to the Education Department’s Office of Civil Rights, which investigates discrimination claims. 

“You can't have it both ways,” Scott said. “You can't call for action then hamstring the agency charged with taking that action to protect students’ civil rights.”

Foxx accused the schools of fostering a culture of antisemitism “because you have faculty and students who hate Jews, hate Israel and are comfortable apologizing for terror.” She said their professors and curricula are “allowing your campuses to be infected by this intellectual and moral rot.”

Penn President Liz Magill said she was “troubled” by Foxx’s characterization of the institutions’ culture.

“Very contrary to the values that I hold as a leader of University of Pennsylvania,” she said. “ … Antisemitism has a role in the broader society, and that's what we're seeing happening in the society and on our campuses. And I'm committed to combating it in the immediate term and the long term.”

Penn is one of seven schools and districts under investigation by the Office of Civil Rights over alleged antisemitic of anti-Muslim harassment. Magill said she could not comment on the probe but said the university is cooperating with investigators and believes the office’s work is “vitally important.”

Some Republican members attacked the university presidents over what they viewed as a lack of conservatives on faculties and student bodies. 

Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., pressed the leaders on what percentage of their schools’ professors are conservatives. All three said they do not track such data, which Wilson interpreted to mean “there's no diversity inclusion of intellectual thought.”

“And the result of that is antisemitism,” Wilson argued.

The hearing grew especially heated when Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., questioned Gay over on-campus protests supporting an “intifada,” an Arabic term for a civil uprising. Stefanik said the word in the context of the Israeli-Arab conflict is a “call for violent, armed resistance against the State of Israel, including violence against civilians and the genocide of Jews,” although the term has different interpretations and is not always associated with violence.

Stefanik suggested students chanting in favor of an intifada at marches had violated Harvard’s code of conduct. 

Gay said calling for violence against Jews “is personally abhorrent to me,” but would only say the students’ speech was “at odds with the values of Harvard.”

“We embrace a commitment to free expression, even views that are objectionable, offensive, hateful,” she said. “When speech crosses into conduct that violates our policies, including policies against bullying, harassment or intimidation, we take action.”

Gay said some disciplinary actions are underway but declined to discuss specifics, citing student privacy rights. 

A Harvard alum, Stefanik called for Gay to resign in October after the school’s president was accused of being slow to condemn Hamas for attacking Israel or pro-Palestinian student groups who issued a statement justifying the terrorist attacks by blaming Israel.

“Harvard ranks the lowest when it comes to protecting Jewish students,” Stefanik said. “This is why I've called for your resignation, and your testimony today not being able to answer with moral clarity speaks volumes.”

Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, D-Ore., argued the goal of the hearing was to identify bipartisan solutions to combat antisemitism, not attack the universities over their diversity and inclusion work. She, too, called for Congress to approve additional funding for the Office of Civil Rights.

“There are legitimate concerns about antisemitism on college campuses, and that's what we should focus on today,” she said. “Not doing so is a disservice to the students across the country who are looking to Congress for support  … for the institutions.”

According to a survey released last week by the Anti-Defamation League, 73% of Jewish college students say they have experienced or witnessed some form of antisemitism since the start of the 2023-24 academic year.