What a fiasco. The presidents of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the University of Pennsylvania, and Harvard University, Sally Kornbluth, Liz Magill, and Claudine Gay, respectively, engulfed their institutions in a public relations nightmare when they refused to condemn calls for Jewish genocide. All three campuses are awash with vile antisemites and neo-jihadists who have been harassing Jewish students since Israeli forces began military operations against Hamas.
We now know that calling for the genocide against Jews isn’t necessarily against the code against bullying and harassment at @Harvard and @Penn
— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) December 6, 2023
Let’s see how things are at MIT…
Turns lot that calling for genocide of Jews is OK as long as it’s only “public statements” pic.twitter.com/SY2cdEuhmC
In these places for higher education, such calls and chants do not constitute harassment. It was an appalling exchange in front of the House Committee on Education on December 5. All three women tried to pivot, claiming that context was necessary. The clips were so appalling that the Biden White House was forced to offer some cover, though they also torched the college heads for being inordinately dense on the subject:
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.
— Josh Kraushaar (@JoshKraushaar) December 6, 2023
From Biden spox @AndrewJBates46:
"It’s unbelievable that this needs to be said: calls for genocide are monstrous…
"It’s unbelievable that this needs to be said: calls for genocide are monstrous and antithetical to everything we represent as a country,” said Biden spokesperson Andrew 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."
Leah wrote about how some are doing damage control, whereas some publications, like The New York Times, are trying to provide some protection. However, it was ineffective if the White House weighed in—the Times’ defense of the presidents was that the GOP pounced on them. Oh, and Republicans weren’t interested in speaking in the language of academia on this topic. That’s because genocide isn’t an academic matter. There is no “but” in these discussions. Liberal academics sprint to the defense of radical Islamic terrorists but want to analyze antisemitism on a case-by-case basis when the latter is on the rise. It shows how prevalent antisemitism is on the far left, who have compared Israelis to Nazis for wanting to annihilate Hamas. These students think Hamas is the good guy, and these college heads have all but explicitly endorsed it with their institution’s letterhead.
Put it this way, their answers were so abysmal that the Biden White House, who can’t do anything right, was able to get it correct here on the messaging front because it’s insanely easy to denounce calls for genocide. Even John Fetterman, who might have permanent brain damage from the stroke that almost killed him in 2022, knows better.
These women are a disgrace.
.@RepJames to Presidents of @MIT, @Harvard & @Penn: Remind us what each of you are doing on your college campuses to fight antisemitism.
— Canary Mission (@canarymission) December 6, 2023
SILENCE
"Will each of you commit to doing a review of what is being taught & report back to this committee about these topics?"
SILENCE pic.twitter.com/renPjWAtNP
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