Condemning the Support of Hamas, Hezbollah, and Other Terrorist Organizations At Institutions of Higher Education, Which May Lead to the Creation of A Hostile Environment for Jewish Students, Faculty, and Staff

Floor Speech

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Mr. KILEY. Madam Speaker, earlier this year, I drafted a resolution condemning anti-Semitism on our college campuses. There had been a deeply disturbing rise in anti-Semitic incidents on campuses in California and across the country, and also a totally inadequate response by university faculty and administration who were unable or unwilling to condemn this activity, and sometimes it happened with their tacit or even outright support of individual faculty members.

This has been a growing problem on university campuses. Just a few years ago, a task force of university faculty in California was tasked with preparing an ethnic studies curriculum for high schools. What they produced was a deeply anti-Semitic document that Gavin Newsom condemned saying that it was offensive in so many ways it would never see the light of day and that the California Legislative Jewish Caucus said echoed the propaganda of the Nazi regime.

Nonetheless, in spite of all of this, nothing could have prepared us for what has happened in the aftermath of Hamas' terrorist attack on the State of Israel. Nothing could have prepared us for the failure of moral leadership where you have university faculty and administration-- which have been all too willing to wade into every political controversy of the day with clearly defined views--that have been unable to render the most straightforward of moral judgments, to condemn in clear language an assault and an attack on innocent men, women, children, and babies, an attack on Israel's very right to exist.

Many student groups taking their cue have now targeted Jewish students, and Jewish students are feeling unsafe on our campuses.

Larry Summers, who is the former president of Harvard and a high- ranking Obama official, said this on October 9: ``In nearly 50 years of Harvard affiliation, I have never been as disillusioned and alienated as I am today.

``The silence from Harvard's leadership, so far, coupled with a vocal and widely reported student groups' statement blaming Israel solely, has allowed Harvard to appear at best neutral towards acts of terror against the Jewish State of Israel.

``Instead, Harvard is being defined by the morally unconscionable statement apparently coming from two dozen student groups blaming all the violence on Israel. I am sickened.''

Today's resolution, which is joining mine with one offered by Representative Owens, is providing the moral leadership that many of our universities have failed to provide. It ``condemns the support of Hamas, Hezbollah, and other terrorist organizations at institutions of higher education which may lead to the creation of a hostile environment for Jewish students, faculty, and staff.''

It ``calls on campus administrators to condemn all forms of anti- Semitism on college campuses; and to ensure Jewish faculty, students, and guests can exercise the same free speech rights that are guaranteed to all other faculty, students, and guests without intimidation. . . . `'

Madam Speaker, it is vitally important that this resolution pass and that it do so with strong bipartisan support.

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