Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-Mass.) suggested on Sunday that suspending government funds for Harvard University and other colleges should be “on the table” in their response to campus antisemitism.
Auchincloss, a Harvard alum, visited the Ivy League institution earlier this month amid ongoing pro-Palestinian rallies and argued that the school’s treatment of antisemitism may violate federal law.
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When asked on “Fox News Sunday” if he believes Harvard should lose government funds, Auchincloss responded, “It needs to be discussed.” Antisemitism has unfortunately taken over Harvard and other universities.”
“I’ve observed this in my conversations with Israeli and Jewish students.” I’ve observed the pattern. “They must examine their culture from the ground up and build a culture of open discourse, free speech, and mutual respect in which people can pursue truth and everyone, regardless of national origin, gender, or color, can find an appropriate learning environment,” he continued.
Bream cited an Anti-Defamation League (ADL) assessment released last month, which stated that Harvard, Tufts University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and ten other colleges had failing scores for antisemitic prevention programs.
The report’s rankings were based on antisemitic incidents, “Jewish life on campus,” and administrative measures taken to combat antisemitism and protect Jewish students.
“Right now, Harvard is failing, and that is why, after the ADL reported those failing grades, I sent letters to the eight universities in Massachusetts that got a C or worse and asked them for an action plan by May 17th, which they have returned and which we are now reviewing with the ADL to make sure that over the summer that they get their house in order,” Auchincloss stated to Bream.
Pro-Palestinian protesters who occupied college campuses for weeks demanded a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas conflict, as well as the severing of financial connections with Israel by universities and the United States. The majority of the protest groups denied that their protests were antisemitic, citing Jewish students who participated in the demonstrations.
Some colleges, however, have reported rare cases of antisemitic language and Jewish students feeling threatened on campus.
The House Education and Workforce Committee released a report last week stating that Harvard failed to combat antisemitism. The study charged Harvard with concealing the recommendations of its own antisemitism task committee, established in response to the Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7.
It comes after months of investigation by the committee following the departure of former President Claudine Gay, who stood down due to outrage over comments she made at a congressional hearing on antisemitism.
Legislators frequently accused Harvard of ignoring document requests and failing to comply with a subpoena. Meanwhile, the school claims to have supplied hundreds of documents for the committee and plans to continue working with them on the problem.
