Fallout over antisemitism and Islamophobia on college campuses

n of the Fallout from the testimony by three top university presidents who critics say failed to condemn anti-Semitism on their campuses during questioning by lawmakers on Capitol Hill this week here's ABC's senior White House correspondent Selena Wang at the center of America's heated debate around the Israel Hamas War are college campuses where Jewish students say they don't feel supported and Palestinian students say they're being ignored tensions at some of the world's most elite institutions making their way to Capitol Hill this week I am asking specifically calling for the genocide of Jews does that constitute bullying or harassment if it is directed and severe or pervasive it is harassment so the answer is yes it is a context dependent decision congresswoman it's a context dependent decision that's your testimony today calling for the genocide of Jews is depending upon the context that is not bullying or harassment this is the easiest question to answer yes Miss Migel congresswoman Alis toonic pressing the presidents of Harvard MIT and upen with the same question all of them giving careful responses on the tricky subject of free speech donors and alumni are calling for leaders to step down and the committee is now announcing a formal investigation into the University's conduct why are you calling for their resignation because they are unfit to lead these institutions I am a proud alumni of Harvard it is unfitting to have President of one of the most preeminent if not the most preeminent higher education institution Harbor and Foster anti-Semitism Pennsylvania's Jewish Governor a Democrat urging Penn's Board of Trustees to discuss McGill's future I thought her comments were absolutely shameful it should not be hard to condemn genocide amid the Fallout up Pen's president issuing a video statement walking back comments I was not focused on but I should should have been the irrefutable fact that a call for genocide of Jewish people is a call for some of the most terrible violence human beings can perpetrate Harvard's president later trying to clarify her testimony in a statement saying that calls for violence or genocide against the Jewish Community or any religious or ethnic group are vile and have no place at Harvard please do your job and act now Talia Khan a graduate student at MIT says the hearing underscores how little universities are doing to make them feel safe they're so paralyzed by not upsetting people and that's the problem is that there's no student on campus who's happy Jewish students aren't happy Muslim Students aren't happy meanwhile some Palestinian students say the hearing emphasizes how Congressional leaders like stefanic misunderstand the entire Palestinian Liberation movement I think that line of questioning is really interesting that she's asking about you know these hypothetical genocides that Palestinians obviously do not support when there is an actual genocide taking place against Palestinians but islamophobia was barely mentioned at the hearing from college students to those in the workplace I'm getting the calls of people being uh pushed to silence being bullied uh some people weaponizing uh anti-Semitism in a way to silence voices all of that needs to stop Leah kalii and T Al fokaha both Harvard Law School students and Palestinian Americans say the university has ignored Muslim and Arab students I have no hope that the administration is going to support us uh or even you know try to create space for us to live normally as students and express our outrage about a genocide I don't feel safe on campus to to put it bluntly fears are growing especially after three Palestinian college students were shot in Vermont one of them a junior at Brown University is now paralyzed from the chest down Cali and aloka say they've been targeted and harassed their names and faces put on a billboard truck around campus websites are slandering them and job opportunities pulled it feels like we are being collectively gaslit University leaders are vowing to do more I have sought to confront hate while preserving free expression this is difficult work and I know that I have not always gotten it right but the pain and division on college campuses and in America more broadly may only grow as the war rages on hi everyone George Stephanopoulos here thanks for checking out the ABC News YouTube channel if you'd like to get more videos show highlights and watch live event coverage click on the right over here to subscribe to our Channel and don't forget to download the ABC News app for breaking news alerts thanks for watching

Channel: ABC News

Views: 318,500

Keywords: abc, abcnl, anti-semitism, antisemitism, campus, capitol, college, condemn, fallout, hill, islamophobia, news, p_cmsid=2494279, p_vid=news-105484684, presidents, prime, testifying, university

Id: RPgXMdbtsrc

Length: 4min 53sec (293 seconds)

Published: Fri Dec 08 2023