Tipsheet

Senators Deliver Message to Biden on Schools Allowing 'Pro-Terrorist Mobs'

Spencer Brown
Spencer Brown  |  April 23, 2024 2:00 PM

The disgusting displays of at-times violent antisemitism that began at Columbia University and spread to several other schools in recent days are a testament to what's wrong with leftist-dominated higher education. After years of unconstitutional attempts to block conservative speakers from their campuses in the name of fragile leftist students' safety, they now have little if any concern that those same intellectually weak leftists are calling for Israel to be eliminated and Jews to be murdered. 

Now, more than 25 members of the United States Senate led by Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) are demanding that schools allowing, tolerating, or encouraging such shocking and often unlawful displays of anti-Jew and anti-Israel hate face accountability and a loss of taxpayer funds. The letter was also signed by Senators Lindsey Graham (R-SC), John Barrasso (R-WY), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Katie Boyd Britt (R-AL), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), John Cornyn (R-TX), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Steve Daines (R-MT), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Josh Hawley (R-MO), John Hoeven (R-ND), Ron Johnson (R-WI), John Kennedy (R-LA), James Lankford (R-OK), Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Jerry Moran (R-KS), Pete Ricketts (R-NE), Jim Risch (R-ID), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Rick Scott (R-FL), Dan Sullivan (R-AK), John Thune (R-SD), and Thom Tillis (R-NC). 

In their letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland and Education Secretary Miguel Cardona, the cadre of upper chamber lawmakers demand action in response to the "outbreak of anti-Semitic, pro-terrorist mobs on college campuses" that have "effectively shut down college campuses and have literally chased Jewish students away from our schools."

"The Department of Education and federal law enforcement must act immediately to restore order, prosecute the mobs who have perpetuated violence and threats against Jewish students, revoke the visas of all foreign nationals (such as exchange students) who have taken part in promoting terrorism, and hold accountable school administration who have stood by instead of protecting their students," the senators write. 

The situation has "so devolved that a prominent Jewish rabbi at Columbia University urged Jewish students to flee campus and stay away for their own safety," but the senators note that it's not just a problem on that campus. "[V]iolence and threats against Jewish students have also been committed at other so-called 'elite' universities in recent days," including at Yale where "a Jewish student journalist was reportedly attacked over the weekend by a pro-Hamas mob while attempting to film a protest."

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Demanding that Garland and Cardona "take action to restore order and protect Jewish students on our college campuses," the senators call on the Biden administration officials to prove Biden's ham-fisted statement mentioning the pro-terror demonstrations from Sunday was serious. His supposed condemnation of the antisemitic mobs, if Biden really meant it, "must be accompanied by immediate action from your departments," the letter emphasizes. 

Ticking off the list of offenses witnessed amid the pro-Hamas campus chaos, the senators make their case for federal action:

Rioting violates federal law. Violence or attempted violence against anyone because of their Jewish heritage violates federal law. School administrators' failure to protect Jewish students from discrimination or harassment violates federal law and is grounds for those schools losing access to federal funds. Espousing support for terrorists such as Hamas violates federal immigration law and is grounds for deportation.

Seeking "prompt attention to this important matter," the senators put a deadline of 5:00 p.m. on April 24 for Garland and Cardona to provide lawmakers with "an update on your efforts to enforce these and related laws on college campuses as soon as practicable."

The senators' sentiment was echoed on Tuesday afternoon by Israeli opposition party leader Yair Lapid in a post on X:


Earlier this week, House Education and Workforce Committee Chairwoman Virginia Foxx (R-NC) sent a letter to Columbia University's leadership stating that the school's failure to quell the antisemitic uprising or protect Jewish students "constitutes a major breach of the University's Title VI obligations upon which federal financial assistance is contingent."