Reps. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) and Dan Goldman (D-NY) continued to spar this week over the University of Washington’s decision to cancel a planned speech by antisemitic influencer Hasan Piker on the campus.

Jayapal last week criticized the public Seattle university for canceling the speech, which was scheduled for early 2027, and urged student groups that want to host him to engage with the school. Goldman, who chairs the House antisemitism task force and recently lost his reelection bid, suggested in response that allowing Piker on campus could create a hostile environment for Jewish students, in violation of federal law.

Jayapal responded on Sunday that she “completely disagree[s] with [Goldman’s] analysis of free speech.” The two members both sit on the House Judiciary Committee.

“UW has had speakers from a wide range of views — including those whom I completely disagree with,” Jayapal said. “The First Amendment protection of freedom of speech should never be negotiable — and that is something I know the majority of my constituents value as well. I have respected UW’s commitment to free speech in the past and expect that to continue.”

Goldman responded by suggesting that Piker’s speech could “foment harassment, discrimination or potentially violence against a class of students.”

He said that students have ample access to “Piker’s racist and anti-American views,” but the university has a responsibility to prevent discriminatory conduct or a hostile environment for Jewish students that could interfere in their ability to participate on campus.

“While many people may want to create a fictional divide between ‘Israel’ and ‘Jews,’ the dramatic and continued escalation of violence against American Jews — purportedly in the name of opposition to Israel — renders that academic distinction irrelevant and completely untethered to reality,” Goldman continued.