Combating antisemitism on campus

During a recent congressional hearing exploring how deep anti-Jewish feelings run on college campuses, the presidents of Harvard, MIT and Pennsylvania were called on to denounce calls for genocide against the Jewish people occurring at their institutions. Appallingly, all three leaders of these elite universities failed this simple moral test. These leaders showed themselves to be morally bankrupt, and Harvard and UPenn have now moved on from their presidents in part because of their failure to protect Jewish students on campus. Replacing their leadership was clearly necessary, but make no mistake: these unacceptable actions happened because this culture has been allowed to flourish across these campuses.

Failing to condemn antisemitism isn't just morally wrong; it's also a glaring example of liberal university presidents and faculty picking and choosing what speech is protected by the First Amendment. They allow radical student groups to hold hate-filled rallies that celebrate Hamas's Oct. 7 terror attack. Yet they punish students and faculty who don't use the "correct" pronouns, and refuse to host events featuring conservative speakers.

Fortunately, Congress has a powerful tool to help hold these institutions accountable for helping to fuel antisemitism: going after their taxpayer-funded benefits. As chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, which has jurisdiction over the tax code, I've launched an investigation to determine whether elite universities like Harvard, Penn, MIT and Cornell should continue to benefit from lucrative tax advantages, including on their multi-billion-dollar endowments.

I sent a letter on Jan. 10 to leaders at Harvard, UPenn, Cornell and MIT warning that their refusal to condemn Hamas's terror attacks on Israel and subsequent failure to protect Jewish students on their campuses calls into question their tax-exempt status. Most universities are exempt from federal income taxes because they are classified as providing a public good. But as we've seen, universities have become breeding grounds for antisemitism, where professors teach their students to blame Israel for the Oct. 7 terror attack and even participate in disturbing rallies celebrating that dark day in history.

A recent poll found that more than 70% of Jewish students have experienced or seen antisemitism since the start of the school year. At a hearing I held back in November as part of my investigation into the rise of antisemitism on campuses, a student at Cornell University told us how she feared for her life from violent death threats. "Students, professors and administrators at Cornell celebrated the massacre of innocent civilians," she added. While Cornell made firm statements siding with the Left on a variety of topics and incidents in the past, the university was silent when it came to condemning antisemitism and endorsements of terrorism under the guise of free speech.

The reality is that elite institutions like Harvard, Cornell, UPenn and MIT believe the First Amendment applies only to speech preferred by left-wing administrators and teachers. Unsurprisingly, a non-partisan organization found that these universities are among the worst in the nation when it comes to protecting free speech. The bottom line is that universities cannot pick and choose which speech is protected.

I'll never understand why leaders can't find it in themselves to denounce antisemitism. By refusing to do what's right, they are helping to fuel the alarming rise in violence against Jewish people. No students -- regardless of their religion, race or political beliefs -- should have to fear for their safety when walking to class, eating in the cafeteria or studying in the library. If university leaders won't take action to protect Jewish students, Congress has powerful tools at its disposal to hold them accountable.

JASON SMITH represents Missouri's 8th Congressional District.