American taxpayers should not fund antisemitic universities
Posters of hostages ripped down from walls. “Holocaust 2.0” plastered across the grounds of a university. Professors ostracizing students with lessons on “colonialism.” Mobs harassing, assaulting, and making death threats to Jewish citizens. You’d think I was describing protests in Gaza or Israel.
Antisemitism has ticked up 337% since Oct. 7 and Hamas’ massacre of innocent Israelis. Higher education institutions across the United States have erupted with unsettling protests against the Jewish people – leaving many Americans stunned and disturbed.
These threats of violence and intimidation targeting people of Jewish heritage reject the very principle of religious freedom on which our country was founded and continues to stand.
Thomas Jefferson called religious freedom, “the most inalienable and sacred of all human rights.” Ronald Reagan said defending religious freedom is the “most essential element of our defense of freedom.” But university presidents are ignoring those basic principles and instead hiding behind two words: free speech.
Speech that incites violence and genocide is not protected speech.
Upenn, MIT and Harvard presidents embarrassed themselves before Congresss
As I speak with Tennesseans who are horrified by recent events, the question is: how did we get here and how do we turn around before it’s too late?
This abandonment of our virtues didn’t happen overnight – it’s a culmination of years of misguided indoctrination, rationalizing violence in the name of oppression, and glorifying “social justice.”
Antisemitism has been quietly woven into the educational process at our nation’s most “prestigious” universities by progressive faculty and staff.
Recently, all eyes turned to Capitol Hill when three top university presidents refused to condemn the calls for genocide of Jewish students.
Harvard’s president, Claudine Gay, dodged the question 17 times. It’s appalling that the people charged with leading The University of Pennsylvania, Harvard, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology were given an opportunity to speak up against antisemitism during a House hearing – and they chose to deflect the question.
These leaders’ refusal to condemn Hamas terrorists, not only makes them a terrorist sympathizer, but it disqualifies them from leadership of a premier educational institution. Each of them and their fellow sympathizers at other universities should be fired.
In the Senate, I cosponsored the Stop Antisemitism on College Campuses Act, which would rescind federal funding for colleges and universities that are complicit with antisemitism or authorize, fund, or facilitate violent antisemitism. I firmly believe that not a single dime from American taxpayers should be given to universities that allow, promote or turn a blind eye to antisemitism on their campuses.
I have also led both my Republican and Democratic colleagues in the successful passage of a bipartisan resolution that denounces antisemitism at institutions of higher education and pushes campus faculty and leaders to vocalize their opposition to antisemitism within their university.
Holocaust education for students is essential to avoid a repeat of history
This deep-rooted antisemitism is the symptom of an even more concerning disease plaguing our higher education system. The world has just witnessed the biggest slaughtering of Jews since the Holocaust. That is a fact that is undeniable.
As a result, some colleges across the nation have failed to protect their Jewish students when they need support. According to an Economist/yougov poll, while colleges and universities have notoriously censored speech for years, suddenly when the speech is violent hatred towards Jewish students – universities are quick to sit silently and not denounce these actions.
A staggering 1 in 5 American citizens between the ages of 18 and 29 believe the Holocaust is a myth. Thirty percent are unable to provide a clear answer on the existence of the Holocaust. MIT, Upenn, and Harvard are among the lowest rankings for colleges that exercise free speech. MIT was in the bottom 50%, Upenn came in the bottom five, and Harvard scored the lowest possible score of all universities.
Now more than ever, we must remember the horror that was the Holocaust – and vow to never allow anything like it to happen again. Colleges and universities should take it upon themselves to teach students the history of the evil that was the Holocaust.
It is precisely this sort of behavior that created the conditions for the Holocaust when the world looked the other way while millions of Jews were slaughtered. A sinister trend of antisemitism has developed among college-aged individuals. The behavior of the presidents of Upenn, Harvard, and MIT won’t be the last of it because they have allowed it.
The brutal attack by Hamas has exposed the cesspools that our higher education institutions have become. We must demand a change in our higher education system. There must be no quarter for antisemitism on American college campuses or in our K-12 schools. Institutions that do must not receive a single dime from the federal government.
Marsha Blackburn, R-brentwood, is the senior United States senator from Tennessee.