Reps. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) and Virginia Foxx (R-NC) announced on Friday that the House Education and Workforce and the House Energy and Commerce Committees are jointly investigating the J. David Gladstone Institutes for its handling of allegedly antisemitic incidents, Jewish Insider has learned.

McMorris Rodgers, who chairs the Energy and Commerce Committee, and Foxx, who chairs the Education Committee, announced the news in a letter on Friday to Gladstone president Deepak Srivastava, where they requested answers about the institute’s handling of allegations of antisemitism and anti-Israel behavior. The institute is a nonprofit medical research group affiliated with the University of California, San Francisco, whose board of regents is set to meet on Friday.

“The reports of antisemitic harassment at Gladstone coupled with the inadequate response by leadership is concerning to the Committees. Failing to act decisively to ensure a safe environment for all trainees, faculty, and staff is a grave dereliction of your responsibilities as President of Gladstone,” Foxx and McMorris Rodgers wrote in a letter also signed by several subcommittee chairs. “Failing to comply with basic safety protections for members of Gladstone or failure to respond appropriately to and prevent harassment and discrimination, no matter the cause, may be grounds to withhold federal funds from the university.”

According to the letter, the institute received more than $41 million in National Institutes of Health funding in 2023.

The letter points to an anti-Israel email — provided to the committees — that celebrated Oct. 7 and was sent to staff in the days after the attack, as well as Gladstone leadership’s alleged refusal to engage with Jewish faculty about their concerns about antisemitism in the workplace.

It also says that the Center for Combatting Antisemitism sent Gladstone executives a letter in May “requesting administrative action to address the hostile environment and disparate treatment of Jewish members at Gladstone.”

“The Center followed up with Gladstone several times, but never received a response,” the letter reads.

“Jewish faculty and trainees have conveyed to leadership within Gladstone instances of antisemitic harassment and discrimination, which faculty and trainees believe were not taken seriously, making some feel uneasy about speaking out,” the lawmakers wrote. 

They requested information on how Gladstone has handled antisemitism, including how it has worked with affiliated universities to address antisemitism.

Reached for comment, a spokesperson for Gladstone told JI: “The allegations made in the letter are unfounded. We intend to fully comply with the congressional request for information. Gladstone is an organization that values and is committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion, and prohibits discrimination, harassment, and retaliation.”