As Georgetown University’s interim president, Robert Groves, is set to be questioned about campus antisemitism on Tuesday morning by the House Education and Workforce Committee, the university is contending with several thorny issues centered around the Jesuit school’s Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, one of the country’s leading centers for Islamic and Middle Eastern studies. 

Until now, Georgetown’s handling of campus antisemitism has been largely overlooked by the federal government, compared to other elite schools that have recently faced slashed grants and accreditation threats. But several studies published in the wake of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terrorist attacks have put a renewed spotlight on Georgetown’s Qatar campus and the more than $1 billion from Qatar the school has received. 

Earlier this year, Georgetown renewed its contract for its Doha campus for another decade. 

Among the unresolved matters that could come up when Groves takes the hot seat is the university’s lack of a disciplinary response to incendiary comments from the center’s chair of Islamic Civilization in the School of Foreign Service, Jonathan Brown, who advocated for Iran to conduct a “symbolic strike” on a U.S. military base. Brown, a tenured professor who has a history of spreading anti-Israel vitriol, is the son-in-law of convicted terror supporter Sami al-Arian.     

One day after the U.S. struck three Iranian nuclear facilities last month, Brown posted on X, “I’m not an expert, but I assume Iran could still get a bomb easily. I hope Iran does some symbolic strike on a base, then everyone stops.” 

A Georgetown University administrator told Jewish Insider at the time that the school was “appalled” by Brown’s since-deleted tweet and said it was “reviewing this matter to see if further action is warranted.” 

On Monday, the administration did not respond to several inquiries from JI asking whether the review is still underway and if further action was taken. 

Georgetown’s administration was already under the microscope following its statements made in March supporting Badar Khan Suri, a professor who was detained by federal authorities and alleged to have ties to Hamas.

Sam Westrop, director of the Middle East Forum’s Islamist Watch project, told JI he wants to see the committee question Georgetown over “why it’s acceptable that such a major, prestigious university should be able to embrace a terror-linked partner.” 

A recent MEF report, written by Westrop, claims that the Safa Network — a Virginia-based group of charities, businesses, and think tanks run by Islamists previously investigated by federal law enforcement agencies over alleged involvement with Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Al-Qaida — established and funded the Alwaleed Center.

“Georgetown in this department, controlled by this network, trains diplomats, civil servants, intelligence agents, law enforcement and other academics who go on to radicalize future generations,” Westrop said. “This is a major failure of higher education to remain impartial and objective. Worst of all, it’s not just domestic. This domestic network is the glue that brought Georgetown into contact with the Qatari, Turkish and Malaysian regimes.” 

The center’s founder, John Esposito, who is a professor of religion and international affairs and of Islamic studies at Georgetown, has a history of defending and collaborating with terrorist groups, the Washington Free Beacon reported. Esposito was previously a member of the advisory board of the United Association for Studies and Research, an American think tank founded by future Hamas leader Mousa Abu Marzook and future Hamas spokesman Ahmed Yousef, according to a report by the George Washington University Program on Extremism.   

In a statement to JI, Rep. Lisa McClain (R-MI), chair of the Republican conference, said that at the hearing she will “hold university presidents accountable for their troubling silence and inaction in the face of rising hate on campus.” 

“It is unacceptable that these institutions have allowed antisemitic incidents to persist without a meaningful response. I will be seeking clear answers on what steps they are taking to ensure intolerance has no place in our universities — including their faculty and student organizations,” McClain said.  

Officials from the University of California, Berkeley and the City University of New York are also expected to be probed over their handling of campus antisemitism at the hearing on Capitol Hill.

School may be out of session for the summer, but officials from Georgetown University, the University of California, Berkeley and the City University of New York will be in the hot seat this week when they testify on Tuesday before the House Education and Workforce Committee.

This is not the first time that university officials have appeared in front of Congress to account for the situations on their campuses, but this week’s hearing aims to focus on more than just the anti-Israel activism that has permeated many campuses since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attacks on Israel and the ensuing war in Gaza to focus on root issues, including foreign funding in higher education as well as faculty anti-Israel organizing efforts.

With that as the backdrop, Georgetown’s interim president, Robert Groves, is likely to face hard-hitting questioning about the school’s donations from authoritarian regimes. 

Nearly a decade ago, Georgetown took a $10 million donation from an organization connected to Beijing’s ruling Chinese Communist Party — more specifically, according to The Washington Post, to “the specific CCP organizations that manage overseas influence operations” — to establish the Initiative for U.S.-China Dialogue on Global Issues.

But that $10 million is a drop in the bucket compared to the amount of money Qatar is alleged to have sent to Georgetown. According to a study by the research institute ISGAP — which primarily focuses on progressive and Islamist antisemitism — Qatar has donated more than $1 billion dollars to the Jesuit school in recent decades. In addition, Qatar has long had a partnership with Georgetown that includes an outpost of the school in Doha. Earlier this year, the school extended its contract with Doha for another decade.

UC Berkeley’s own handling of foreign funding will be under the microscope during Tuesday’s hearing. Earlier this year, the Department Education launched an investigation into the school’s alleged failure to report hundreds of million dollars in foreign funding — including $220 million from China for the creation of a Berkeley-linked campus in the city of Shenzhen.

The CUNY system doesn’t receive foreign funding. But it is likely to face scrutiny for its handling of campus antisemitism issues, which date back long before the Oct. 7 attacks. A decade ago, CUNY’s graduate student union was one of the first to push an anti-Israel vote on Shabbat. 

In the years since, the school has seen a number of issues across its campuses and disciplines. CUNY Law School’s 2022 commencement speaker, Nerdeen Kiswani, said from the lectern that she had been targeted by “well-funded organizations with ties to the Israeli government.”

Kiswani, one of the founders of the far-left anti-Israel Within Our Lifetime organization, was a national leader of Students for Justice in Palestine when she was an undergraduate attending both Hunter College and the College of Staten Island.

We also expect a number of committee members to grill Georgetown and Berkeley leaders on their handling of campus incidents, such as the Georgetown’s support for a professor earlier this year who was alleged to have ties to Hamas, as well as the more recent call last month by the chair of the school’s Islamic studies department to call for “symbolic” Iranian strikes on American bases in the Middle East. 

Past hearings have proven to be significant moments for some of those testifying, as well as members of Congress. Rep. Elise Stefanik’s (R-NY) profile was elevated following her grilling of University of Pennsylvania, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard leaders — two of whom resigned shortly after appearing before the committee.

But they are perhaps most consequential for the Jewish students on those campuses — many of whom matriculated amid the COVID-19 pandemic after having lost out on key adolescent and teenage experiences. For some of these students, their desire to have a “normal” college experience was taken from them by the protests and anti-Israel activity that swept across campuses nearly two years ago. But still, many continue to apply to these schools, hopeful that the worst is in the past.

There’s a saying that has floated around many a conference, Jewish organizational board meeting and Shabbat dinner table in recent years: Jews endow buildings, their enemies endow what happens inside of them. Tomorrow’s hearing will see just how deeply those efforts have permeated.

The House Education and Workforce Committee requested additional information about campus antisemitism from DePaul University, California Polytechnic State University (San Luis Obispo) and Haverford College on Thursday, weeks after bringing their presidents before the committee for a hearing on campus antisemitism.

Rep. Tim Walberg’s (R-MI) letter to Haverford President Wendy Raymond — who repeatedly dodged questions from committee members throughout the hearing, refusing to discuss specifics — called out those evasive responses.

“While the Committee appreciates your appearance on May 7th to discuss these concerns, your lack of transparency about how, if at all, Haverford has responded to antisemitic incidents on its campus was very disappointing,” Walberg wrote. “Among other things, despite repeated requests, you failed to share any data, even in the aggregate, on faculty and student disciplinary actions taken in response to antisemitic incidents on your campus.”

The Michigan Republican requested information on the school’s policy against sharing disciplinary information, action taken against a Faculty and Staff for Justice in Palestine group that praised terrorists, details surrounding an alleged boycott of a donut shop, information about a Haverford professor who celebrated the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terrorist attacks on Israel and details about other professors who have made antisemitic and anti-Zionist comments.

In his letter to Cal Poly president Jeffrey Armstrong, Walberg highlighted that anti-Israel activists had recently vandalized a school building, as well as asked for information about how the school is updating its orientation and employee training materials, how it’s putting together an antisemitism task force and the school’s plans to endow a chair in Jewish studies and create an interfaith center.

Writing to DePaul President Robert Manuel, Walberg asked about the status of a college disciplinary process regarding Students for Justice in Palestine, including the status of a hearing on the group’s conduct and any recent communications regarding disciplinary action taken.

Walberg also asked for information about security improvements and changes to DePaul’s campus that Manuel had discussed during the hearing.

The House Education and Workforce Committee announced that its next hearing on campus antisemitism will feature testimony from the leaders of Georgetown University, University of California, Berkeley and the City University of New York.

The hearing, set for July 9, will include testimony from Georgetown’s interim president, Robert Groves, UC Berkeley Chancellor Rich Lyons and CUNY Chancellor Félix Matos Rodríguez. Rep. Tim Walberg (R-MI), the committee’s chair, indicated in a statement that the committee plans to focus the hearing on the issues driving campus antisemitism including foreign funding and antisemitic student groups.

“We continue to see antisemitic hatred festering at schools across the country,” Walberg said. “While much of the discussion has focused on the devastating effects of antisemitism, this hearing will focus on the underlying factors instigating antisemitic upheaval and hatred on campus. Until these factors — such as foreign funding and antisemitic student and faculty groups — are addressed, antisemitism will persist on college campuses. Our Committee is building on its promise to protect Jewish students and faculty while many university leaders refuse to hold agitators of this bigotry, hatred, and discrimination accountable.”

The funding Georgetown has received from Qatar, in connection with its Qatar campus, has come under intense scrutiny in the wake of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel.

UC Berkeley has seen a series of disruptive anti-Israel incidents, including a riot that shut down a speaking event, a disruption of a law school event at the dean’s home and various other incidents including assault, harassment, vandalism and robbery. An anti-Israel student group at Berkeley also praised the Oct. 7 attack.

CUNY has faced antisemitism issues predating Oct. 7 and Jewish students have been targeted with antisemitic harassment. Last year, CUNY’s Baruch College tried to cancel a Rosh Hashanah celebration, telling students that it could not “guarantee their security.”

A Georgetown University spokesperson said Groves “looks forward to testifying before the Committee and describing Georgetown’s efforts to combat antisemitism.”

“As a Catholic and Jesuit University, Georgetown condemns antisemitism and all forms of hatred and is committed to ensuring our university is a safe and welcoming space for every member of our community,” the spokesperson continued. “Given its mission of encouraging inter-religious dialogue Georgetown has not only implemented programs and resources to prevent and address antisemitism, but has also worked to cultivate a strong interfaith mission, complete with a robust Office of Jewish Life, to ensure students from all traditions are welcomed and supported in their educational and faith journey.”

A CUNY spokesperson said, “The City University of New York is firmly committed to combating antisemitism and ensuring every student and faculty member is safe from discrimination and harassment. We look forward to discussing the steps we are taking to support Jewish members of our campus community and to uphold CUNY’s values of inclusion, safety and respect for all.”

A Berkeley spokesperson said, “UC Berkeley is committed to combating antisemitism and all forms of hate and has taken meaningful action to achieve this. Chancellor Lyons looks forward to testifying before the committee to share how the campus has been investing, and continues to invest, in resources and programs designed to prevent and address antisemitism on the Berkeley campus.”

The House Education and Workforce Committee threatened on Monday to subpoena Bowdoin College, accusing the school of failing to comply with the committee’s requests for information regarding antisemitism on campus.

A letter from Rep. Tim Walberg (R-MI), the committee chair, and Rep. Burgess Owens (R-UT), a subcommittee chair, states that the Maine liberal arts college failed to comply with the committee’s repeated requests for documentation regarding disciplinary action taken against those involved with an encampment on the school’s campus earlier this year, as well as all students disciplined for antisemitic incidents since Oct. 7, 2023.

The committee leaders provided a June 16 deadline for the documentation requested, and stated they would pursue subpoenas if the deadline is not met.

The letter states that “Bowdoin provided a narrative response that briefly summarized the administration’s conversations with the encampment participants, but it did not provide documents related to any disciplinary action, documents related to any understanding it reached to disband the encampment, or a list of student disciplinary or conduct cases relating to alleged antisemitic incidents or encampments.”

After being pressed further, the school provided a “a brief summary of Bowdoin’s actions addressing the encampment and noted that the College revoked the charter of Students for Justice in Palestine for the remainder of the 2024-2025 academic year and the next academic year.”

The school subsequently provided 225 pages of documents, including summaries of the school’s actions regarding the encampment, “a generalized summary of disciplinary measures taken against 66 students, and a summary of actions taken against Students for Justice in Palestine.”

According to the committee, the vast majority of the documents included were “publicly available policies and procedures, none of which are directly responsive to the Committee’s requests,” lacked the “individualized detail requested” or were public emails from administrators to the campus community about the encampment.

Haverford College President Wendy Raymond took the brunt of congressional questioning and criticism at a House Education and Workforce Committee hearing on Wednesday on campus antisemitism, repeatedly dodging questions from committee members.

Pressed at various points in the hearing, Raymond offered broad condemnations of antisemitism and expressed support for Zionist students at Haverford, but largely declined to discuss specific incidents, examples of unacceptable rhetoric or disciplinary action against or investigations of any particular individuals.

At one point, under questioning from Rep. Randy Fine (R-FL), she condemned discrimination and said she would not defend statements made by a Haverford professor who said that people should stop talking to Zionists. But she also said that the faculty member has not been fired.

“I’m very sorry that someone on the faculty would espouse those kinds of views,” Raymond said.

“So you can go back and you can fire him,” Fine shot back. Fine added that his son had urged him to wear a kippah to the hearing to represent students who don’t feel safe doing so themselves, and said he’s thinking about doing so more often.

“You still don’t get it. Haverford still doesn’t get it. It’s a very different testimony than the other presidents who are here today, who are coming with specifics,” Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) told Raymond. “This is completely unacceptable and it’s why this committee has stepped in.”

Stefanik later posted a photo on X showing a sheet Raymond had with her during her testimony that outlined responses to potential questions she might face, including a line that said “‘River to the sea’ – antisemitic? Has become a dog whistle.” Stefanik wrote that Raymond “showed up to a congressional hearing on antisemitism with flashcards of pre-written answers. Not convictions. Not moral clarity.”

Raymond did acknowledge some past missteps, including an email that offered little clear condemnation of the Hamas attacks on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

“To our Jewish students — some of you are here today — I wish to make it unmistakably clear that you are valued members of our community and on our campus,” Raymond said in her opening statement. “I am sorry that my actions and my leadership let you down. I remain committed to addressing antisemitism and all issues that harm our community members. I am committed to getting this right.”

Raymond testified alongside DePaul University President Robert Manuel and California Polytechnic State University (San Luis Obispo) President Jeffrey Armstrong.

In his opening statement, Manuel also offered an apology and directly addressed Jewish students who had been attacked on campus, one of whom was sitting in the row behind him in the audience.

“We’ve made mistakes along the way. As DePaul’s leader, I want to acknowledge that … To our students, our parents, our faculty, our staff, our alumni, and our friends, I am deeply sorry. I know there are areas where we must and will do better,” Manuel said. “I also wish to speak directly to two of our students who were attacked last November. What happened to them was a hate crime. No one should ever be attacked because of why they are. I am sorry for the pain of their experience.”

Manuel highlighted the actions DePaul has taken recently to address issues on campus, including implementing new ID and mask policies and protest policies, suspending or banning anti-Israel groups, hiring a former Anti-Defamation League staffer and creating an antisemitism task force, reviewing of and investing in security and the creating of new Jewish affinity groups for alumni and faculty and staff.

Manuel faced criticism from GOP committee members for failing to take quicker action to disband an anti-Israel encampment on campus. He acknowledged that the school’s response had not been sufficient and said that it had led the school to change its policies.

“Our immediate instinct was to work with our students,” Manuel said. “That did not go very well.”

Rep. Lisa McClain (R-MI) argued during her exchange with Manuel that “I don’t think the issue is more policies. I think the issue is action.” Manuel acknowledged that the school’s leadership needs to do better, but was unable to name any specific consequences for decisionmakers at the college when pressed by McClain.

“Both as a university president and a human being, this is a matter I take particularly seriously. We have to do better,” Armstrong said in his opening. “I appreciate the opportunity to appear before this committee. No leader wants to have to acknowledge potential gaps or find it necessary to look back on some actions with regret for what more could or should have been done in a sensitive situation.”

He insisted that the college has taken action, utilizing disciplinary procedures and deploying police, making arrests and filing charges when necessary. He said the school has been working with the ADL and Jewish leaders on several initiatives, including improving antisemitism education, establishing a presidential antisemitism task force, endowing a Jewish studies chair and working with Jewish groups to found an interfaith center.

Several Democrats on the committee, throughout the hearing, criticized Republicans and the Trump administration for cuts to the Department of Justice’s Office for Civil Rights, which handles claims of antisemitic discrimination on campus, and accused them of subverting due process in stripping funding from universities and detaining student visa holders.

Committee chairman Rep. Tim Walberg (R-MI) argued in his closing statement that OCR “had not done their job” and said that he hopes that as the administration implements changes, adding ”and we will be asking questions — we will have an entity that actually functions for all students, all faculty on campuses.”

Democrats further argued that Republicans were not serious about confronting the issue of campus antisemitism and, in some cases, accused them of trying to criminalize and suppress opposing views.

The Democrats’ chosen witness, David Cole, a former national legal director at the American Civil Liberties Union, compared the committee’s series of hearings on campus antisemitism to McCarthyism and the House Un-American Activities Committee, warning of government censorship of speech and that Republicans were being overly broad in what they deemed to be unacceptable antisemitic activity.

Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) and some other Democrats did acknowledge in their remarks the very real challenges happening on campus and advocated for a serious approach to understanding why these issues persist and combating them, including proper resources for OCR and the Department of Education. Stevens, a vocal supporter of the Jewish community who described herself as a Zionist during the hearing, is a candidate for Michigan’s Senate seat.

“I don’t believe it is a false obsession. We know in the United States we have rising antisemitism,” Stevens said. “Maybe you’re going to say that anti-Zionists are welcome as well. And one of the challenges that those of us who have studied this issue have come across is that, while it might sound good to say that anti-Zionism isn’t antisemitism, we haven’t yet really seen that exist. We want to be very careful with embracing this modality of thinking that is anti-Zionism that very quickly bleeds into antisemitism.”