[House Hearing, 118 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]






                                 ______

 
                       CONFRONTING THE SCOURGE OF
                         ANTISEMITISM ON CAMPUS

=======================================================================

                                HEARING

                               Before The

       SUBCOMMITTEE ON HIGHER EDUCATION AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT

                                 of the

                COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION AND THE WORKFORCE
                     U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                    ONE HUNDRED EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS

                             FIRST SESSION

                               __________



           HEARING HELD IN WASHINGTON, DC, NOVEMBER 14, 2023

                               __________

                           Serial No. 118-27

                               __________

  Printed for the use of the Committee on Education and the Workforce
  
  
 [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]  


        Available via: edworkforce.house.gov or www.govinfo.gov
        
        
        
                          ______

             U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE 
 55-964          WASHINGTON : 2024  
        
        
        
        
        
        
                COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION AND THE WORKFORCE

               VIRGINIA FOXX, North Carolina, Chairwoman

JOE WILSON, South Carolina           ROBERT C. ``BOBBY'' SCOTT, 
GLENN THOMPSON, Pennsylvania             Virginia,
TIM WALBERG, Michigan                  Ranking Member
GLENN GROTHMAN, Wisconsin            RAUL M. GRIJALVA, Arizona
ELISE M. STEFANIK, New York          JOE COURTNEY, Connecticut
RICK W. ALLEN, Georgia               GREGORIO KILILI CAMACHO SABLAN,
JIM BANKS, Indiana                     Northern Mariana Islands
JAMES COMER, Kentucky                FREDERICA S. WILSON, Florida
LLOYD SMUCKER, Pennsylvania          SUZANNE BONAMICI, Oregon
BURGESS OWENS, Utah                  MARK TAKANO, California
BOB GOOD, Virginia                   ALMA S. ADAMS, North Carolina
LISA McCLAIN, Michigan               MARK DeSAULNIER, California
MARY MILLER, Illinois                DONALD NORCROSS, New Jersey
MICHELLE STEEL, California           PRAMILA JAYAPAL, Washington
RON ESTES, Kansas                    SUSAN WILD, Pennsylvania
JULIA LETLOW, Louisiana              LUCY McBATH, Georgia
KEVIN KILEY, California              JAHANA HAYES, Connecticut
AARON BEAN, Florida                  ILHAN OMAR, Minnesota
ERIC BURLISON, Missouri              HALEY M. STEVENS, Michigan
NATHANIEL MORAN, Texas               TERESA LEGER FERNANDEZ, New Mexico
JOHN JAMES, Michigan                 KATHY MANNING, North Carolina
LORI CHAVEZ-DeREMER, Oregon          FRANK J. MRVAN, Indiana
BRANDON WILLIAMS, New York           JAMAAL BOWMAN, New York
ERIN HOUCHIN, Indiana

                       Cyrus Artz, Staff Director
              Veronique Pluviose, Minority Staff Director
                                 ------                                

       SUBCOMMITTEE ON HIGHER EDUCATION AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT

                     BURGESS, OWENS, UTAH, Chairman

GLENN THOMPSON, Pennsylvania         FREDERICA WILSON, Florida,
GLENN GROTHMAN, Wisconsin              Ranking Member
ELISE M. STEFANIK, New York          MARK TAKANO, California
JIM BANKS, Indiana                   PRAMILA,JAYAPAL, Washington
LLOYD SMUCKER, Pennsylvania          TERESA LEGER FERNANDEZ, New Mexico
BOB GOOD, Virginia                   KATHY E. MANNING, North Carolina
NATHANIEL MORAN, Texas               LUCY McBATH, Georgia
JOHN JAMES, Michigan                 RAUL M. GRIJALVA, Arizona
LORI CHAVEZ-DeREMER, Oregon          JOE COURTNEY, Connecticut
ERIN HOUCHIN, Indiana                GREGORIO KILILI CAMACHO SABLAN, 
BRANDON WILLIAMS, New York               Northern Mariana Islands
VIRGINIA FOXX, North Carolina        SUZANNE BONAMICI, Oregon
                                     ALMA ADAMS, North Carolina
                         C  O  N  T  E  N  T  S

                              ----------                              
                                                                   Page

Hearing held on November 14, 2023................................     1

                           OPENING STATEMENTS

    Owens, Hon. Burgess, Chairman, Subcommittee on Higher 
      Education and the Workforce Development....................     1
        Prepared statement of....................................     4
    Scott, Hon. Robert C. ``Bobby'', Ranking Member, Committee on 
      Education and the Workforce................................     6
        Prepared statement of....................................     8

                               WITNESSES

    Hauer, Rabbi Moshe, Executive Vice President, Orthodox Union.     9
        Prepared statement of....................................    11
    Marcus, Kenneth L., Founder and Chairman, Louis D. Brandeis 
      Center for Human Rights Under Law..........................    15
        Prepared statement of....................................    17
    Burdett, Stacy, Independent Consultant in Antisemitism 
      Prevention and Response....................................    25
        Prepared statement of....................................    27
    Tartak, Sahar, Student, Yale University......................    37
        Prepared statement of....................................    39

                         ADDITIONAL SUBMISSIONS

    Chairman Owens:
        Comments submitted by MorseLife Holocaust Learning 
          Experience.............................................    97
    Takano, Hon. Mark, a Representative in Congress from the 
      State of California:
        Letter dated October 26, 2023, from the Brandeis 
          University.............................................    44
    Bonamici, Hon. Suzanne, a Representative in Congress from the 
      State of Oregon:
        Press Release dated October 11, 2023, from CAIR-Maryland.    52
        Press Release dated October 13, 2023, from CAIR-Texas....    55
        Article dated October 31, 2023, from The Washington Post.    57
    Manning, Hon. Kathy, a Representative in Congress from the 
      State of North Carolina:
        Letter to Secretary Cardona dated August 22, 2023........    68
    Stefanik, Hon. Elise, a Representative in Congress from the 
      State of New York:
        Letter to Harvard dated October 13, 2023.................    90

                        QUESTIONS FOR THE RECORD

    Responses to questions submitted for the record by:
        Rabbi Moshe Hauer........................................   103
        Mr. Kenneth L. Marcus....................................   108


                       CONFRONTING THE SCOURGE OF



                         ANTISEMITISM ON CAMPUS

                              ----------                              


                       Tuesday, November 14, 2023

                  House of Representatives,
    Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce 
                                       Development,
                  Committee on Education and The Workforce,
                                                    Washington, DC.
    The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:03 a.m., 
House Rayburn Office Building, Room 2175, Hon. Burgess Owens 
[Chairman of the Subcommittee] presiding.
    Present: Representatives Owens, Grothman, Stefanik, Banks, 
Smucker, Good, Moran, Chavez DeRemer, Williams, Houchin, Foxx, 
Takano, Leger Fernandez, Manning, McBath, Courtney, Sablan, 
Bonamici, Adams, and Scott.
    Also present: Walberg, Miller, Kiley, and Bean.
    Staff present: Cyrus Artz, Staff Director; Nick Barley, 
Deputy Communications Director; Mindy Barry, General Counsel; 
Jackson Berryman, Speechwriter; Hans Bjontegard, Legislative 
Assistant; Solomon Chen, Professional Staff Member; Isabel 
Foster, Press Assistant; Daniel Fuenzalida, Staff Assistant; 
Sheila Havenner, Director of Information Technology; Paxton 
Henderson, Intern; Amy Raaf Jones, Director of Education and 
Human Services Policy; Alex Knorr, Legislative Assistant; 
Andrew Kuzy, Press Assistant; Georgie Littlefair, Clerk; Hannah 
Matesic, Deputy Staff Director; Audra McGeorge, Communications 
Director; Gabriella Pistone, Oversight Legislative Assistant; 
Rebecca Powell, Staff Assistant; Mary Christina Riley, 
Professional Staff Member; Chance Russell, Economist and Policy 
Advisor; David Samberg, Associate Investigative Counsel; Brad 
Thomas, Deputy Director of Education and Human Services Policy; 
Maura Williams, Director of Operations; Amaris Benavidez, 
Minority Professional Staff; Jonah Bertheleson, Minority Legal 
Intern; Nekea Brown, Minority Director of Operations; Ilana 
Brunner, Minority General Counsel; Rashage Green, Minority 
Director of Education Policy & Counsel; Eric Hale, Minority 
Grad Intern; Stephanie Lalle, Minority Communications Director; 
Kristen Lemus, Minority Intern; Raiyana Malone, Minority Press 
Secretary; Shyann McDonald, Minority Staff Assistant; Veronique 
Pluviose, Minority Staff Director; Banyon Vassar, Minority IT 
Administrator.
    Chairman Owens. The Subcommittee on Higher Education 
Workforce Development will come to order. I note that a quorum 
is present. Without objection, the Chair is recognized to call 
a recess at any time. I would also like to welcome Committee 
members who are not members of the Subcommittee and are waiving 
on to this process for today's hearing.
    Thank you for joining us today for this very timely and 
consequential hearing. I want to begin by expressing sympathy 
for the Jewish members of our community that feel endangered 
and discouraged and disappointed by exposure of antisemitism 
through our country.
    I also want to thank our witnesses for coming forward to 
testify and working with our Committee during this difficult 
time of upheaval. This Committee is convening today to address 
the scourge of antisemitism spreading like wildfire on college 
campuses. As a first step toward eradicating this evil, this 
Committee has invited Jewish campus and community leaders to 
help us understand the source of this proliferation.
    I recognize that antisemitism is not a new problem. It has 
taken on various forms throughout our history, the most noted 
prior to October 7th with the horrors of the Nazi Holocaust. 
Both will forever remain a stain in the annals of human 
history.
    The modern form of antisemitism is more subtle, or is often 
disguised under progressive, political innuendos, for example. 
Office of Diversity Equity and Inclusion steeped deeply in 
Marxism. It is anything but inclusive for Jews. Evidence shows 
that the campus DEI bureaucracies play a major role in 
propaganda spread of antisemitism.
    There is a dirty little secret at the heart of DEI as it 
seems to dismantle systems of oppression. It divides the world 
into oppressors and the oppressed, ascribing collective guilt 
to the oppressors and collective innocence to the oppressed. 
What does this mean to the Jewish community?
    You think DEI industry would be sympathetic to the Jewish 
people's history of oppression, prosecution and wholesale 
slaughter, but no. The DEI hierarchy places the Jewish people 
at the very bottom of oppression spectrum. A study from the 
Heritage Foundation explains that how diversity offices fuel 
antisemitic fire.
    After searching through the Twitter feeds of 741 campus DEI 
personnel, the Heritage Jay Green found that 96 percent of the 
Israel related tweets were either critical of Isreal, or 
especially antisemitic. DEI programs are at its core, 
antisemitic because it ascribes collective guilt to the entire 
State of Israel for their mere existence.
    The core principles of this Marxist ideology are not 
diversity, equity or inclusion. Instead, discrimination, 
intolerance and bigotry toward individuals thought to belong to 
the wrong group. Rather than curbing discrimination on campus, 
these DEI bureaucracies stoke racial tensions. A report from 
the National Association of Scholars founds that DEI officials 
routinely organize race segregated events. Race exclusive 
affinity groups, race segregated spaces such as black only 
dorms, black only graduations, and race specific training. You 
literally cannot make this stuff up.
    If it reminds anyone of the hate fueled 1960's days of deep 
south Jim Crow segregation and the roaming gains of KKK 
bullies, it is because it is. Hopefully our witness from Yale, 
Ms. Sahar Tartak, can speak more about her experiences with 
campus DEI and if it made her feel included.
    I cannot think of a time since the 1960's when a group of 
students were more blatantly targeted, harassed, bullied, 
intimidated, physically assaulted, than Jewish students in the 
last month. Swastika graffiti over college campuses, Jewish 
students being segregated in classrooms by their professors. 
Jewish students at the New York City's Cooper Union being 
forced to lock themselves in a college library, and later 
escorted out the back door.
    What is the core of this problem? A gang of face covered, 
cowardly bullies who feel no shame, who feel no fear of 
accountability from college administrators where this hate is 
being taught. Chants for genocide ring loudly. A Cornell 
history professor called the pure evil of the terrorist attack 
on civilian innocents exhilarating.
    Antisemitic speech might be free. It deserves our moral 
condemnation. With respect to all free speech, this Committee 
fully supports students' rights to political expression. What 
we do not and will not support is terrorism and threats of 
violence. We can no longer support the use of taxpayer dollars 
to cultivate, nourish and grow hate on our campuses.
    I look forward to hearing from our witness accounts of 
exclusive and divisiveness that are now being promulgated and 
promoted throughout our country. DEI definitely plays a large 
role in promoting this hate, but in what other areas should we 
look at to hold our universities accountable.
    Once again, I thank you for being here and with that, I 
yield for the Ranking Member for his opening statement, Mr. 
Scott.
    [The prepared statement of Chairman Owens follows:]
   [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT] 
 
    

    Mr. Scott. Thank you, Chairman Owens, and thank you to our 
witnesses for your testimony today. It has been over a month 
since Hamas's terrorist attack on innocent civilian in Isreal 
and the start of a brutal war in Gaza. This conflict has 
directly devastated thousands of people, Israeli's and 
Palestinian's alike.
    Countless families and friends across the world and in the 
United States. Tragically, but not surprisingly, this conflict 
has also been marked by a rise in both antisemitic and 
Islamophobic incidences on America's colleges and universities. 
To be clear, this discrimination is nothing new.
    Student of history knows that it did not start with the 
current war, foreign influences, or any new philosophy. My 
colleagues would do well to recall this country's century long 
history of racism and antisemitism. We can all agree that free 
speech is a constitutional right, and bedrock of our democracy 
and colleges and universities have been on the front line of 
advancing that right for decades, but we should also be able to 
agree that schools have a responsibility to protect student's 
civil rights and safety. If they do not want to agree to that, 
Title VI makes it clear that they have that responsibility.
    Under President Biden's direction, the Department of 
Education has recently provided additional guidance to colleges 
and universities on how to uphold their obligation under Title 
VI of the Civil Rights Act and better address antisemitism, 
Islamophobia, and other forms of discrimination on campus. 
While the Biden administration has taken an active role in 
helping institutions protect students, regrettably many of my 
colleagues have spent this Congress fueling divisive and 
baseless culture wars.
    Moreover, this week Congress will consider a government 
funding bill. It includes cuts for the Department of 
Education's Office of Civil Rights, the very agency charged 
with protecting students from discrimination. Today I hope our 
republican colleagues will denounce the culture wars that have 
distracted us from protecting our vulnerable students, and I 
hope we can all stand behind the Biden administration's 
critical work to ensure that every student and educator has 
access to a campus free from discrimination, harassment and 
violence.
    I thank you, Mr. Chairman, and I yield back.
    [The prepared statement of Ranking Member Scott follows:]
    
    [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT] 

    Chairman Owens. Thank you, Mr. Scott. Pursuant to Committee 
Rule 8-C, all members who wish to insert written statements 
into the record may do so by submitting to the Committee Clerk 
electronically in Microsoft Word format by 5, 14 days after 
this hearing, which is November 28th, 2023. Without objection, 
the hearing record will remain open for 14 days to allow such 
transactions and statements, and materials referenced during 
this hearing to be submitted for the hearing record.
    I will now turn to the introduction of our four 
distinguished witnesses. Our first witness is Rabbi Moshe 
Hauer, who is Executive Vice President of the Orthodox Union, 
which is located in New York City, New York. Our next witness 
is Mr. Kenneth Marcus, who is a Founder and Chairman of 
Brandeis Center for Human Rights under the Law, which is 
located in Washington, DC.
    Our third witness is Ms. Stacy Burdett, who is an 
Independent Consultant in Antisemitism Prevention and Response 
and is located in Washington, DC. Our final witness is Ms. 
Sahar Tartak, who is a Student at Yale University in New Haven, 
Connecticut.
    I would like to thank the witnesses for being here today 
and look forward to your testimony. Pursuant to Committee 
rules, I would ask that each of you limit your oral 
presentation to a 5-minute summary of your written statement. I 
also would like to remind the witnesses to be aware of their 
responsibility to provide accurate information to the 
Subcommittee. I would like to first recognize Rabbi Hauer.

   STATEMENT OF RABBI MOSHE HAUER, EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, 
               ORTHODOX UNION, NEW YORK, NEW YORK

    Rabbie Hauer. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, Ranking 
Member, members of the Subcommittee. My name is Rabbi Moshe 
Hauer, and I have the privilege to serve as the Executive Vice 
President of the Orthodox Union, which is the largest 
organization serving Orthodox Jews in the world.
    I am not standing here or sitting here today simply in that 
capacity. I work day to day together with colleagues across the 
Jewish community, all of whom all of us are engaged in our 
future, our students. Students on campus. We have an 
organization that serves our communities on campus, and we work 
side by side, along with Hillel, Chabad and others serving 
Jewish students of all types on our campuses.
    I hope in these remarks to be able to represent them. To 
present to you in addition to the many specific stories from 
which the Chairman mentioned and cited and others which you 
will hear here today, and will hear unfortunately and sadly in 
the future to give you a bit of a sense of the bigger picture. 
Our organization like others in the Jewish space, we place 
educators on university campuses. Educators who are there who 
enter the field in order to be able to provide a home on campus 
for Jewish students.
    To help nurture their sense of community, their sense of 
identity, to have a place to come together to celebrate Jewish 
holidays and the Sabbath, to study, to eat together, to 
maintain their sense of community of their faith community.
    Today, the entire community of Jews on campus do not need a 
home, they need a fortress. People who went into this field in 
order to be able to educate and to nurture instead find 
themselves, despite their own trauma, and their own fear, 
having to spend their time just caring for the trauma and the 
fear of their students.
    Day to day, instead of educating, they are protecting. They 
are counseling people, students, how to avoid danger. How to 
navigate a class where the professor, where the staff that is 
in the class is creating a hostile environment for the 
students. The notion of being able to be there, to build, to 
grow, where the campus is a nurturing environment for all of 
its students is unfortunately not their reality.
    Once upon a time, Jews were not admitted to these campuses. 
Today, we have come a long way. Jews are admitted to every 
campus, but today, unlike a short time ago, that admission 
introduces them to an environment where they experience fear 
and hostility, which is better? To not be allowed in, or to be 
welcomed, and then to be intimidated?
    Title VI, as you will hear from my friend and colleague, 
Ken Marcus, Title VI ensures that our environments, our 
federally funded environments, our university environments are 
supposed to provide a place where all students are welcome, and 
what we are experiencing today is a test case in noncompliance 
of Title VI.
    I would also like to make a last point. That is to draw you 
back to the big picture of how the Jewish community, the 
students and the Jewish community as a whole are experiencing 
this moment. We are the people of the book, and that book 
contains values and morals, and it tells us our story.
    We all know our story. This is the story of the Jewish 
people in a nutshell. We have been around for a few thousand 
years. We come to a country where we live, where we wander to. 
We thrive there. We contribute to the community, and after a 
period of time, that country spits us out. That has been our 
story.
    We live with it. We know it, and we did not think it was 
going to happen here. We believed that the United States of 
America built as it is, on the principles of liberty and 
freedom and civil rights, would never spit us out. We never 
imagined not 5 years ago, not 1 year ago, that we would be 
sitting here in this Committee room because of the kind of vile 
and terrible antisemitism, which is being directed at us on 
campuses.
    It is in your hands. You are elected officials. We have 
entrusted you to bring back the liberty and freedom to our 
land, to make our community believe again that America will be 
different.
    [The prepared statement of Rabbi Hauer follows:]
    [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT] 

    Chairman Owens. Thank you, Mr. Hauer, I appreciate that. I 
next recognize Mr. Marcus.

STATEMENT OF MR. KENNETH L. MARCUS, ESQ., FOUNDER AND CHAIRMAN, 
               BRANDEIS CENTER, WASHINGTON, D.C.

    Mr. Marcus. Chairman Owens, Ranking Member Scott, Members 
of the Subcommittee, it is an honor to be here today for this 
briefing. I thank you for holding it and for including me. I am 
the Chairman of the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights 
Under Law. We speak every day with Jewish students who are 
facing antisemitism on college campuses.
    A month ago, shortly before this 7th of October, I would 
have told you that we were facing historic levels of campus 
antisemitism, worse than we had ever seen before. That was 
nothing like what we have seen since then. During the weeks 
following October 7th, we had more than a 10fold increase in 
intake as compared to the historic levels that we had seen 
before that.
    That was even before we announced a joint program with the 
Antidefamation League and Hillel, to do intake together, at 
which point it skyrocketed above that. We have a crisis today 
on America's campuses. This is an emergency. I would suggest to 
this Committee that when the problem is exceptional and 
unprecedented, the solutions need to be unprecedented and 
exceptional.
    My testimony describes some of what is happening on college 
campuses, but the Chairman's opening remarks reflects an 
understanding of that. Students are being assaulted. Students 
are being threatened. There is a vandalism, there is harassment 
of all sorts, not just on a few hotspot campuses, but all over 
this country, including at institutions that we had previously 
considered to be entirely safe for Jewish students.
    Let me suggest if I may, a few answers because there are 
things that can be done, especially under the statute that 
Rabbi Hauer mentioned, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 
1964. The Biden administration has addressed antisemitism in 
various ways, and I think should be praised for issuing a 
national strategy on antisemitism.
    The Office for Civil Rights or OCR, which I formerly headed 
at the U.S. Department of Education, has issued their colleague 
letters and has had various meetings and public events, which I 
think are helpful. Much of that was what I would call October 
6th thinking.
    We are now in an emergency. Here are a few things that 
should be done, certainly within the next 30 days. No. 1, the 
Secretary of Education has authority to institute compliance 
reviews. When I served in the George W. Bush and Trump 
administrations, when there was a matter of national importance 
that we wanted to address and bring public attention to, we 
would establish a nationwide initiative, with investigations 
proactively addressed through all of the regions of the agency. 
That would put significant resources, but also raise public 
attention.
    There is no need to simply wait for complaints to come in. 
The agency can reach out. Second, even short of compliance 
initiative, the agency has the power to institute self-directed 
investigations. Jewish communal organizations like mine are 
similarly stretched.
    We are providing complaints where we can as fast as we can, 
but the U.S. Department of Education has the authority any time 
it opens the newspaper, or watches the news, to investigate in 
those cases of which there are many, in which it is apparent 
that there are issues of non-compliance with Federal law.
    Third, Executive Order 13899 on combatting antisemitism. 
The Biden administration has committed over and over again to 
issue regulations implementing President Trump's former 
executive order on combatting antisemitism, which remains 
active policy, but lacks the durability of a regulation.
    This has been delayed and delayed again. It is now due next 
month in December. It would be unfortunate at a period of 
extreme antisemitism for this to be delayed again, and yet 
there has been no mention of it in either the national 
strategy, or the most recent OCR report to this Congress and 
the President.
    At a minimum, the administration should do what it has 
promised, and what they promised long before October 7th, and 
issue the notice of proposed rulemaking regarding Executive 
Order 13899.
    Fourth, the Antisemitism Awareness Act, that is up to this 
Congress, not the executive branch, but there is legislation 
that has been introduced that would formalize and codify the 
executive order established by the last President, President 
Donald Trump. This would provide tools needed by OCR in order 
to ensure that there will be consistent, standard use of the 
understanding of antisemitism.
    Those are four things, but in general what we need is not 
just good words, not just an occasional letter, but a 
combination of strong guidance, and most importantly, proactive 
action. There is no need to simply wait for complaints to come 
in. The Federal Government should take action, and there is no 
reason why it cannot do so within these next 30 days. Thank 
you, sir.
    [The Statement of Mr. Marcus follows:]
    [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT] 

    Chairman Owens. Thank you, Mr. Marcus. I will now recognize 
Ms. Burdett.

   STATEMENT OF MS. STACY BURDETT, INDEPENDENT CONSULTANT IN 
              ANTISEMITISM PREVENTION AND RESPONSE

    Ms. Burdett. Thank you very much. Thank you, Chairman 
Owens, and Ranking Member Scott for this opportunity. 
Antisemitism is not just a threat to Jews, it is a threat to 
democratic norms, and American values. Its presence has always 
been a warning sign about the health of free democratic 
societies. All the members here have noted that what we are 
seeing is not new, it follows the core logic of antisemitism 
throughout history.
    It is a lie to blame Jews for what is wrong in the world. 
You have also recognized antisemitism is a feature, not a bug 
of American society and history. The demand for a better life 
for Palestinians is a worthy cause, but attacks on Jewish 
students have nothing to do with criticism of Israel's policy 
or actions.
    They don't serve Palestinian freedom or advance any 
peaceful future for Israelis and Palestinians. Here Is what 
some of the most responsive universities I have seen have in 
common. No. 1, they get that this is not business as usual. We 
have heard from the other panelists. October 6th was a 
different world. They have been communicating steadily and 
repeatedly with students and faculty to remind them 
antisemitism violates, first of all, the university's values.
    There are rules. There are parameters around protests, they 
have increased security services like escorts and hotlines to 
report threats. Some have formed antisemitism task forces to 
look system wide at policies, and even their academic 
offerings. We hear the call from communities, where are my 
allies?
    Jews need support. We need solidarity, and we need 
recognition that antisemitism is serious. That is why 
organizations like the American Jewish Committee, and the Anti-
Defamation League see DEI as a critical framework for their 
work, they are investing in DEI compatible education material 
about antisemitism.
    It is true, Jews do not fit neatly into the protected 
categories. It is not rocket science to fix that, so enhance 
it. Do not make us the excuse to shutdown something important. 
Pushing back against antisemitism means we need an all hands-
on-deck approach across society, and the national strategy to 
counter antisemitism is a comprehensive roadmap. It is already 
being implemented across Federal agencies.
    The Department of Education and eight new agencies have 
made crystal clear antisemitism, discrimination against Jews 
violates civil rights laws. They have pledged and are taking 
action. They are being proactive, whether it is revising 
complaint forms, starting education campaigns, and training 
their investigators and staff.
    The national strategy is a serious plan. If Congress is 
serious, then implement your part of it. Look, I am a mom of a 
kid on a college campus. Enforcement is not my goal, it is my 
worst nightmare. There is not a single more important way to 
help a Jewish student on campus than to prevent the attack from 
happening in the first place.
    We have to give our kids more than bulletproof glass and 
barricades. Prevention is not an extra, not with any kind of 
crime, and not with antisemitic hate crimes. Hate does not just 
frighten people it isolates them, and that is why community 
solidarity building is such a key focus of Jewish organizations 
and of the national strategy.
    That's how we could make fighting antisemitism a community 
value, an American civil value. How can we effectively stop a 
problem that we cannot measure? Antisemitic crimes are rising, 
and the number of police agencies who bother to track it is at 
a 5-year low. That is something you can take action on.
    People who work on this issue agree it's time to make this 
reporting mandatory. Antisemitism has been alive in this 
country for generations, but what we have seen, not just on 
campuses now, on the streets of Charlottsville, and Poway, and 
Muncey, and at Cornell. Well, there is no quick fix to put this 
poison back in the bottle, you have four witnesses here, but 
please use the roadmap from the White House that has serious 
input from over 1,000 organizations and Jewish community 
stakeholders.
    If you do, a lot of Americans will be better allies to Jews 
and each other. The Jewish community and the American community 
will be stronger for it. Thank you very much.
    [The Statement of Ms. Burdett follows:]
    [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT] 

    Chairman Owens. Thank you, Ms. Burdett. Last, but not 
least, I would like to recognize Ms. Tartak.

 STATEMENT OF MS. SAHAR TARTAK, STUDENT, YALE UNIVERSITY, NEW 
                       HAVEN, CONNECTICUT

    Ms. Tartak. There is a Jewish concept that encourages 
bringing light into times of darkness through acts of love and 
kindness. I will begin by dropping a few coins into this 
charity box, and I would encourage you to do the same. 
Distinguished members of the Subcommittee, good morning. My 
name is Sahar Tartak, and I am an Orthodox Persian Jewish 
student at Yale University.
    Thank you for having me speak. It is an honor, and I 
appreciate your service to this country. I am humbled before 
you. Noting your commitment to democracy and to the free world, 
I want to paint a picture of how since Hamas's October 7th 
massacres, college campuses have become a place for the 
opposite.
    A love of Hamas, and all the oppression it represents. 
Since October 7th, there has been a 400 percent increase in 
reported antisemitic incidents of vandalism, harassment and 
assault, in comparison to the same timeframe in the previous 
year across America.
    Let us start with Yale, my own university where I received 
death threats for my Jewish activism, and the Ivy League 
institution refuses to provide me with direct protection. That 
is just the beginning. I have not had time to mourn the murder 
of over 1,400 members of my Jewish family across the sea. I 
have not had time to cry.
    I have been too busy handling an interdepartmentally 
sponsored Yale event entitled ``Gaza Under Siege''. My Jewish 
friends and I were barred from entry. We pressed our ears 
against the door for 2 hours listening, ``The Israeli State 
cannot remain the State of the Jewish people.'' ``Israel aims 
to inflict as much harm, damage and death as possible.''
    Panelists, excuse me, panelists refused to label Hamas 
``terrorists'', let alone to condemn them when asked. They 
instead justified their brutalities saying, ``Violent 
resistance movements often emerge in colonized spaces.'' An 
official Yale University response declared that ``Opinions and 
positions from people of all backgrounds were expressed 
respectfully during the program,'' but we heard nothing of the 
sort from behind the door.
    The week before that I also did not have time to cry. I was 
too busy with the Yale Daily News, the oldest collegiate paper 
in the country, redacting my mention of Hamas' raping women and 
beheading men from an article I published for the paper, 
deeming these atrocities unsubstantiated.
    Yale's administration made no comment. The week before that 
I did not have time to cry because I went to film one of many 
pro-Hamas protests at Yale, where hundreds of my peers 
gleefully yelled, ``Resistance is justified.'' Yales 
administration made no comment. The week before that I wrote an 
article about the officially recognized campus group, Yale is 
for Palestine, publicly, ``Celebrating the resistance's 
success,'' not to mention similar statements made by university 
professors.
    Again, the Yale University administration did nothing. 
Again, I did not have time to cry. On campus, I sit in a 
crowded dining hall, and I ask myself how many people in this 
room want me dead? You have no doubt heard about assaults and 
intimidation of Jewish students at Cornell, Columbia and Cooper 
Union.
    You have heard about the words ``Glory to our martyrs,'' 
projected onto George Washington University's library. Those 
Jews also did not have time to cry. You may not, however, have 
heard about my Jewish friend, a freshman whose residential 
counselor laughed contemptuously at a survivor of the Nova 
Music Festival massacre for visiting their university to detail 
his trauma.
    Others told me they are uncomfortable approaching their own 
professors for help with course work because they are openly 
pro-Hamas. Another slept on a friend's couch because her 
roommate supports Hamas. One, attended a seemingly innocent 
dance concert, whose program featured a donation link to 
``Support Palestinian Anarchist Fighters on the Front Lines of 
Resistance.'' I wonder where that was going.
    They have all receded into Jewish centers exclusively, for 
reasons which are crystal clear. Universities have allowed Jew 
hatred to run rampant. If they fail to protect their Jewish 
students, they should be stripped of their Federal funding. 
They must derecognize and defund student groups that promote 
violence, calling for ``intifada,'' or supporting U.S. 
designated terrorist organizations.
    The Federal Government cannot subsidize hotbeds of 
antisemitism. The Department of Education should proactively 
open Title VI investigations, not just receive them passively. 
Diversity equity and inclusion offices should be scrutinized 
for protecting every minority group other than mine. This is 
not an exhaustive list, but I urge you to mobilize on this 
issue.
    Do not abandon your Jewish students during this crisis. 
Academia has turned its back on us. Will you do the same?
    [The Statement of Ms. Tartak follows]
    [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT] 

    Chairman Owens. Thank you. Thank you so much. Pursuant to 
the previous order, the Chair declares the Subcommittee in 
Recess, subject to the call of the Chair for votes on the House 
floor. We will reconvene immediately following the last vote in 
the series. Thank you. The Committee stands in recess.
    [Recess.]
    Chairman Owens. The Committee will come to order. Under 
Committee Rule 9, we will now question witnesses under the 5-
minute rule. I will begin this process. Rabbi Hauer, in your 
testimony you made a striking statement. You said that Jewish 
students need a fortress now rather than a home. Can you share 
with me more what this looks like?
    In other words, are the mentors that are Orthodox Union and 
other organizations place--have they had the protection that 
they need for the Jewish students? Has that changed in recent 
years, especially since the Hamas attack?
    Rabbi Hauer. Thank you for the question. It has changed. It 
has changed dramatically. It has changed over the years. Yes, 
as you will hear from all of us, October 6th we were also 
dealing with an intensely fearful and changed campus 
environment, and it has multiplied exponentially since October 
7th.
    Yes. Our professionals, our educators are spending, as I 
said in the original testimony as well, they are spending a lot 
of time, a lot of time counseling students about this 
environment, about how to respond, how to report, how to 
navigate what has become an increasingly unfriendly 
environment.
    Our Jewish students on campus when they come to the place, 
very often they are doing something, which is really essential, 
essential to themselves, and to their identity. They cannot, 
and they should not need to melt into a campus environment by 
hiding who they are. The ability to convene in Jewish spaces.
    Jewish spaces are targeted. People are seeking extra 
security. One of the things that we are working together as 
Jewish organizations, is to bring greater physical security to 
Jewish spaces on campus and surrounding the Jewish students, 
and that is the story of the fortress.
    Our leaders are struggling to make their voices heard in 
university administrations, in order to be able to bring out 
the proper reaction. All such administrations should be having 
serious discussions about how they restore a sense of safety 
and freedom to Jewish students. Many of our educators are 
trying to be on the front lines of doing that.
    Sometimes they are welcomed, sometimes their voices are 
welcomed, sometimes the process begins. Too frequently, they 
are struggling to be able to do it. I could just tell you if I 
may, myself, I am a by career, before I assumed this position, 
which is for a national organization of congregations, I was a 
congregational rabbi. I am a teacher.
    I went into this business in order to be able to work with 
people to build Jewish identify. I did not get into the 
business in order to be able to argue about the rights of Jews 
to exist.
    Chairman Owens. Thank you. Thank you so much. Ms. Tartak, 
you noted that the so-called diversity equity inclusion offices 
should be questioned for protecting every minority group. I 
personally think that the diversity, equity and inclusion is a 
fraud. What we are seeing now in our campuses across the 
country is proof of that.
    What is the diversity, equity inclusion office at Yale 
doing to protect you and your other Jewish students on campus? 
From what you have heard, other peers in other campuses?
    Ms. Tartak. Yale diversity equity and inclusion offices and 
organizations alike have done nothing for me and my friends, 
and the horrifying experiences that I detailed in my testimony. 
Surveys of DEI organizations on college campuses have found 
that only 2 in 24 even address antisemitism, and if and when 
they refuse to step in for Jews, I know what comes next.
    Chairman Owens. Okay. Thank you. In the few seconds I have 
left Mr. Marcus, we have heard the voices of the left express 
concerns about the pro-Hamas students not being given their 
free rights of speech. In your testimony you noted that 
Brandeis Center, over half the Jewish fraternities of sorority 
students surveyed expressed aborting their views on Israel 
because of the concerns they might have themselves. Do you have 
any comments on that? Any further comments on that?
    Mr. Marcus. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Certainly, I would say 
that we speak every day with students who feel that they are 
unable to express their Jewish identity on campus without 
various forms of punishment, or social stigmatization. Jewish 
students for whom Zionism is an integral part of their identity 
are in particular, unable to do so.
    They are finding that they are excluded from student 
government positions that are subjected to impeachment votes, 
or otherwise excluded.
    Chairman Owens. Thank you much. I now recognize Mr. Takano.
    Mr. Takano. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I am appalled by the 
rise of antisemitism, amid a painful and precarious moment in 
light of the October 7th attack launched against Israel. I 
would like to take this opportunity to address a recent vote 
that I took, and so folks could understand why I did what I 
did.
    Congressman Owens, the Chairman, introduced a resolution 
titled ``Condemning the Support of Hamas, Hezbollah, and other 
Terrorist Organizations at Institutions of Higher Education,'' 
which may lead to the creation of a hostile environment for 
Jewish students, faculty and staff.
    To be clear, the early draft of this resolution was a 
resolution that I intended to support. I believed that 
condemning the actions, the heinous actions of Hamas was an 
important thing for Congress to express, and to express maybe 
something different than what was going on, on many of our 
Nation's campuses.
    However, the resolution that came to the floor for a vote 
differed vastly from the initial version. The subsequent 
iteration contained added whereas clauses, many of which 
misrepresented instances of antisemitism on college campuses. 
Congress has a responsibility to remain truthful above all 
else.
    If we are misrepresenting data to present a false narrative 
or perpetuate a narrative which may provide some political 
gain, then we are providing a disservice to those we represent. 
After much thought and deliberation, I voted against the 
resolution because it was overly broad and implied university 
administrations are not challenging, or properly responding to 
instances of antisemitism, notwithstanding what our witness 
here has testified today.
    I do realize that some administrators have not acted with 
appropriate alacrity. One of the whereas clauses in this 
resolution included an instance of a Stanford lecturer 
targeting Jewish students. From what I heard it was a 
despicable moment. This did not depict, however, a full, 
accurate picture because the text of the resolution failed to 
recognize that the instructor was subsequently suspended by 
Standford University.
    A second mischaracterization occurred on page 2 of the text 
which read, ``Whereas, on October 22d, 2023, the Brandeis 
University Student Government voted down a simple resolution 
condemning Hamas and calling on the immediate release of all 
hostages back to their families unharmed.''
    Now this could have done potential harm to the students at 
Brandeis University who were mischaracterized as having failed 
to condemn Hamas. Inaccurate reporting misconstrued the 
dynamics of a student Senate vote that concerned process and 
procedure. The Brandeis Student Union had not issued any 
statement that support Hamas.
    They actually vigorously condemned the attack. This 
resolution should not have been included in a congressional 
resolution. Misreporting prompted the Brandeis University 
President to set the record straight, and he released a formal 
statement entitled setting the record straight, and the 
statement expressed what the university unequivocally--that the 
university unequivocally stands with Israel, and Mr. Chairman, 
I ask unanimous consent for this letter to be entered into the 
record.
    Chairman Owens. Without objection.
    [The information of Mr. Takano follows:]
    [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT] 

    Mr. Takano. Now, the pro-Israel organization J Street, 
further recommended to members to object to the Owen's 
resolution, citing concerns with the implication that 
universities were not acting to address instances of 
antisemitism. Some of my colleagues have attempted to seize an 
opportunity to divide the democratic caucus with got you 
resolutions, and bad faith attempts to condemn antisemitism, 
which is what the resolution in my view ended up being.
    Competing resolutions have been introduced, which support 
Jewish students without perpetuating any falsehoods, and such 
as the Kustoff, Wasserman Shultz resolution. I was proud to be 
an early signer of this resolution to condemn antisemitism on 
college campuses and encourage higher education leaders to 
respond to incitements of violence.
    If we could only have passed that resolution instead. This 
hearing presents a unique opportunity to discuss the balance 
between first amendment protections, and Title VI of the Civil 
Rights Act. I am running out of time, but I am convinced as 
from the testimony from Ms. Burdett, that we can strike that 
balance, and we can meet the challenge of the moment for Jewish 
students on campus, and all students.
    That is our duty as representatives, and that is the duty 
of our government, and I yield back, Mr. Chairman.
    Chairman Owens. Thank you. Now I would like to recognize 
Ms. Chavez-DeRemer.
    Mrs. Chaves-DeRemer. Thank you, Mr. Chairman for holding 
this important hearing, and thank you to the witnesses for 
being here today. Over the course of my life, I cannot think of 
a more terrifying time for the Jewish community. Hamas, the 
terrorist organization which violently oppresses and sacrifices 
Palestinians in Gaza, carried out the worst massacre of Jews 
since the Holocaust.
    Immediately, university students and administrations 
proudly took up the banner of Hamas. The sole interest of Hamas 
in using Palestinians as collateral damage in their extremist 
aim to kill every last Jew remaining in the world. Many 
students and universities did not hesitate to make it clear 
that being Jewish is justified cause for harassment, assault, 
death threats, and murder.
    The question has to be asked, why is antisemitism such a 
shared sickness in American universities? For many elite 
institutions Jewish students were prohibited from attending for 
a significant period of their existence, and if American 
history has taught us anything, it is that engrained racism is 
something you have to force out of institutions.
    It does not disappear on its own. Mr. Marcus, are you able 
to further provide the Committee the historical context of 
antisemitism in American universities?
    Mr. Marcus. Thank you, Congresswoman, I agree entirely with 
your remarks. Speaking as a practitioner, as opposed to a 
historian, I can tell you that 20 years ago when I first dealt 
with this issue we had faced a half century of progress, ending 
roughly with the onset of the second intifada, but over these 
last two decades the situation has turned around, getting worse 
over 20 years, but with accelerating deterioration during the 
last several years with a particular spike since October 7, 
with college campuses, places where you would expect 
toleration, providing exactly the opposite of that.
    Mrs. Chavez-DeRemer. Ms. Tartak, thank you for being here. 
Being so brave. In your view at Yale, and other universities, 
how has the systemic antisemitism been able to maintain itself 
in this modern era?
    Ms. Tartak. Thank you for the question. The sense that I 
have gotten from university administrations, and the reason why 
they seem to really be failing to handle this issue is because 
somehow it has been successfully politicized. To be more 
specific, so that administrations and I would say pro-Hamas 
students and faculty view any condemnation as antisemitism, 
somehow as a form--as another form of bigotry against Muslims 
or Palestinians.
    Which is why we wind up with statement after statement of 
both sides when a Jewish student is harassed or assaulted. This 
happened at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. A student 
was beaten up. A Jewish student was beaten up while holding an 
Israeli flag. They then came back and like took a knife and 
destroyed the flag, and then the university statement said we 
condemn antisemitism, Islamophobia, and maybe they also said 
all other forms of bigotry. Like this is just it is pure 
evidence they cannot condemn antisemitism by itself, and so 
that is a really good way of erasing antisemitism when it 
happens.
    Mrs. Chavez-Deremer. Thank you. You being here gives me, 
and I imagine everyone here, a lot of hope. The past dictates 
the present, and it seems clear that universities have not 
seriously reckoned with how historic antisemitism has arguably 
gotten stronger in the modern era of academia.
    As an American, I pray that there can be a resolution to 
this hatred. As a Member of Congress, I remain determined to 
continue working to ensure the existence of Jewish people is 
protected. No person should ever fear for their safety on 
account of their race, color or creed, and with that Mr. 
Chairman, I yield back.
    Chairman Owens. Thank you. I now recognize Mr. Courtney.
    Mr. Courtney. Thank you. Excuse me, thank you Mr. Chairman. 
Thank you to witnesses for your testimony today, again I want 
to first of all acknowledge the resident of New Haven, 
Connecticut, Ms. Tartak, for your testimony today and your work 
at Yale Daily News, where you know I think combined along with 
many other voices, the external pressure to really eradicate 
antisemitism is going to again, have a lot of strength in the 
coming days.
    That is certainly hopefully what we are going to achieve 
with this hearing today. In New London, Connecticut, a little 
further up the coastline we have a situation where a family has 
a relative Liat Beinin Atzili and her husband Aviv Atzili, who 
were in a kibbutz near Oz on the day of the October 7th. Liat, 
who was a dual citizen and thus, the family in New London, she 
is still a hostage in Gaza.
    My office has been working with the family and the U.S. 
Embassy in Israel, as well as the State Department tracking the 
situation. Again, even though in the U.S. events may seem like 
they are far away, but they are all very local. As I said, your 
presence here today as someone living in Connecticut, again it 
is much appreciated.
    Ms. Burdett, your work with the Anti-Defamation League, 
which I think has really been the absolute bedrock institution 
that has been--whose mission is to identify antisemitism for 
decades and decades, as well as to address it. I would like to 
talk to you a little bit about your comments regarding the 
civil rights division, both in the Department of Education as 
well as the Department of Justice, and the role they play in 
terms of providing a real legal remedy, in terms of trying to 
advance the cause of antisemitism.
    Ms. Burdett. Both in the Department of Justice and 
Education, it is been very important that those offices have 
restated, reupped the truth and the message that antisemitism 
is a violation of civil rights. It is something that needed 
reiterating, we need to be translating resources for victims 
into Hebrew and Yiddish. All of those things that those offices 
do make a difference in someone's life.
    I think, I hope Congress will fully fund the DOJ's 
prevention programs because if we prevent bias motivated 
violence against targeted victims, we will protect Jews, so let 
us do that. I think those offices--it is not only their 
enforcement role that is important, it is the difference they 
can make in the lives of someone who needs support because 
something has happened to them.
    How they respond, how they communicate with communities. 
Like I said, you know, all I hear from Jewish students is where 
are our allies? Where are people in other communities standing 
up for me? Well, we cannot hear that cry and then think that 
building solidarity when our local officials do work that 
brings community together, they are building a social fabric 
that protects people. It is not an add on.
    Mr. Courtney. Right. On page 8 of your testimony, again, 
one of the headings is, ``When Students Call, Make Sure There's 
Enough Investigators to Answer.'' Again, that really at this 
particular moment is an issue that is right in play. We were 
about to vote on the budgets of the Department of Justice, and 
the Department of Education with the spending bills, which my 
colleagues on the other sides, Appropriations Committee 
reported out.
    The civil rights division in the Department of Justice is 
looking at a 41 million dollar cut from their budget, and the 
civil rights division in the Department of Education is looking 
at a 35 million dollar cut. I have been around Congress for a 
while. Talk is cheap. Budgets matter in terms of whether or 
not, again there is someone to answer the phone, and actually 
put pressure on institutions, whether it is higher education, 
employers, you name it, where antisemitism is rearing its head, 
then we actually have the resources in play to provide a real 
remedy.
    I mean it is a basic first year law student maxim that when 
there is no remedy, there is no right. That is Marshall vs. 
Madison one of the bedrock cases out of the U.S. Supreme Court, 
and these budgets really raise a question whether or not there 
is going to be a remedy.
    Again, with 15 seconds left, maybe you would like to sort 
of comment on that.
    Ms. Burdett. Republicans and democrats have complained to 
the Department of Education about their backlog, about their 
alacrity and I do not understand how we could complain about a 
group of people not getting through 19,000 cases when they were 
not set up. They are not equipped to handle that deluge.
    I can tell you from my experience the complaints that are 
going to be coming in are going to be real, they are going to 
be hard, and they are going to need investigative capacity, so 
let us get busy and let us put people in those chairs. I agree 
with you.
    Mr. Courtney. Thank you, and I yield back.
    Chairman Owens. Thank you. I would like to now recognize 
Mr. Grothman.
    Mr. Grothman. Yes. I guess we will start on with this 
question. Right now, there is been a lot of concern, a lot 
written about the--from Mr. Marcus, a lot written about the 
lack of diversity on college campuses, very strong to the left. 
There has been an increasing role of DEI sort of programs in 
which left-wingers are hired by colleges and universities.
    Do you feel that these people are contributing at all to 
anti-Israel sentiment, or is there a correlation between the 
increase in antisemitism and an increase in these sort of 
employees in college campuses?
    Mr. Marcus. Congressman, there are some people in the DEI 
field who are doing good work, and even helping Jewish 
students, but there are three fundamental problems. First, DEI 
programs often do not even mention antisemitism or Jewish 
identity in their training programs.
    Second, studies from the University of Arkansas show that 
often DEI professionals, especially in higher education, have 
strong anti-Israel views, that cross the line into 
antisemitism, so they would not be the appropriate people to go 
to at any rate.
    Third, oftentimes DEI programs are built on an ideology, 
which creates a dichotomy between oppressor and oppressed, 
between white supremacist and BIPOC, and too often Jews are 
viewed as being ultra white oppressors, which means that 
regardless of whether Jews were mentioned or not as a discrete 
minority, the entire process, the entire ideology is structured 
too often against the Jewish people.
    Mr. Grothman. We were told, and then I talked to some 
people whose children are mistreated on college campuses. They 
noticed a lot of BLM signs, or that sort of thing sometimes 
connected with this sort of thing. Is there a correlation 
between BLM or are they weighing in one way or other on these 
incidents?
    Mr. Marcus. Mr. Chairman, was that for me?
    Mr. Grothman. Yes.
    Mr. Marcus. You are asking about correlation with Black 
Lives Matter and the problem we see on campus. What I would say 
is that the Black Lives Matter movement stands for a lot of 
different things for different people, but the movement has in 
various places, including for a significant period on its 
website, had strongly anti-Zionist messaging, and sometimes 
also has that perspective in the work it does.
    The Jewish community tends to support efforts to make sure 
that all minorities are supported, but the particular group 
that you mentioned unfortunately, does have an anti-Zionist 
background that can be hurtful.
    Mr. Grothman. Okay. As far as social media is concerned, 
there have been reports that TikTok has been prioritizing say a 
more anti-Israel message. Is that true?
    Mr. Marcus. My expertise is more the campus than social 
media, but what I can tell you is anecdotally talking to 
students, they are deluged with anti-Zionist messaging, coming 
both generally from the discourse, and also oftentimes from 
their campus itself.
    Mr. Grothman. Could one of you just comment in general. I 
am going to come back to the lack of intellectual diverse on 
college campus. The lack of diversity is usually strong--what 
they have is an overwhelming tilt toward the left wing 
progressivism on campuses. Do you believe that is part of the 
problem on campuses?
    Mr. Marcus. Sure. Certainly, Congressman, it cannot be 
coincidental that we have on so many campuses an environment 
that has become so hostile to Jews and Israelis at the same 
time that anti-Zionist attitudes are so prevalent within the 
faculty themselves, and those anti-Zionist attitudes are 
sometimes coupled with left wing ideology.
    Mr. Grothman. Do you see any correlation between anti-
Israel views and anti-American views? Does it attract the same 
breed, the same type of person?
    Mr. Marcus. Some of the same extremists who attack Israel, 
and its positions are also attacking the United States.
    Mr. Grothman. Is not it almost always true in so far as you 
identified people.
    Mr. Marcus. All I can say is we see it all the time.
    Mr. Grothman. Okay. Okay. Final question. I think we are 
having a lot of people from other countries come here, and we 
have had a lot of horrible incidents at MIT, and the percentage 
of students at MIT coming from other parts of the globe is 
very, very high. Is there a correlation between new people 
coming here, either as foreign students, or just people coming 
from other countries?
    Is there a correlation between these and the anti-Israel 
extremists? You see some of these people causing trouble.
    Mr. Marcus. I do not have data, but I can say that we see 
trouble both from people who were born here and people who come 
here from other countries, both.
    Mr. Grothman. You do not think that when you see the high 
number of people coming from MIT and a higher number of 
protests, there is no correlation between the foreign students 
and the people demonstrating?
    Mr. Marcus. I do not have data, but anecdotally we are 
seeing foreign students as well as native born among the 
perpetrators.
    Mr. Grothman. Thank you.
    Ms. Burdett. May I respond, Mr. Chairman since he had 
thrown his question to anyone who wants to comment?
    Chairman Owens. I am sorry, the time has expired.
    Ms. Burdett. Okay.
    Chairman Owens. I turn to Ms. Bonamici, thank you.
    Ms. Bonamici. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I just want to start 
by responding to my colleague and expressing extreme concern 
about the notion of placing everybody in the same category, and 
assuming that anyone that comes from a particular country, or 
has a particular color of skin shares certain beliefs. I just--
I think that it is hugely problematic, and Mr. Chairman, thank 
you for holding this important hearing.
    Thank you to our witnesses. We know antisemitism has been a 
threat for centuries. Ms. Burdett, you talked about prevention. 
I want to note that in my home State of Oregon, in 2019 the 
legislature required education about the Holocaust. They just 
updated that legislation earlier this year to include a 
required curriculum about Jewish history and culture.
    Those are obviously steps in the right direction, but now 
post October 7th is undeniable that we are experiencing an 
enormous and concerning rise in antisemitism, and other hateful 
and discriminatory rhetoric, especially on college campuses. 
Not limited to college campuses, I might add.
    Sadly, and too often in these situations, it has become 
violent and threatening way beyond constitutional free speech 
protections. I understand this is a hearing about antisemitism, 
but it is important to recognize that there has also been 
unprecedented surge in anti-Muslim and anti-Arab bias and hate. 
There was a significant dangerous threat to mosques in the some 
of the districts I represent.
    That is wrong too. I hope we can all agree that every 
student has the right to be on a campus where they not only 
feel safe, but are safe, especially when discussing and 
debating important and controversial topics. That is not 
happening today. We heard from a student about that. We know 
antisemitism has repeated reared its ugly head in the form of 
hateful rhetoric, and disgusting images and symbols, and now it 
is back in levels we have not seen in our lifetime.
    We need a unified, empathetic and appropriately nuanced 
approach from this Committee in Congress, Title VI gives us the 
opportunity to do that. I want to note that after 911 our 
Federal Government did not do enough to protect Muslims amid an 
alarming rise in Islamophobia, and violence toward and hate 
crimes toward Muslim Americans.
    We can learn from that and realize that we have to take 
action. I am grateful for the rapid response by the Department 
of Education's Office for Civil Rights, OCR to remind 
colleagues colleges of their obligations to protect Jewish 
students, Muslim students, students of all faiths against 
discrimination. I am also very grateful that OCR has expedited 
an update to its discrimination complaint forms, so hopefully 
campuses get access the resources and support they need as soon 
as a discriminatory act occurs.
    I am following up on Mr. Courtney's question. Ms. Burdett, 
there is a push among my Senate colleagues, led by Help 
Committee Chairman Sanders to include a 27 percent funding 
increase for the Department Office of Civil Rights in a 
supplemental appropriation bill.
    I support this and hope that a similar bipartisan effort 
takes shape in the House because of the bipartisan consensus 
that we are hearing about addressing what is happening on 
college campuses. Ms. Burdett how could OCR use these 
additional resources from Congress to fulfill its 
responsibility and protect civil rights of students and combat 
any faith, race, or ethnicity-based discrimination, and would 
you please also, I know you wanted to respond to Mr. Grothman's 
questions.
    Ms. Burdett. Well, I will start with the Department of 
Education. I mean I am an advisor to professionals on campuses, 
and complaints are going to go up. Congresswoman, if tomorrow 
you were a Senator, and you got to only bring your House staff, 
it would limit how effective you could be.
    This is just common sense that we need to capacitate this 
organization because later Members of Congress will criticize 
that office for not moving quickly enough, and for having a 
backlog.
    I just--as I cannot be a Jewish person and not remember 
that we were viewed as foreigners who were dangerous. Two 
thirds of the American public in 1938 believed that Jews in 
Germany were responsible for the persecution that the Nazis 
were bringing on them. We were not allowed to come here because 
people believed that we would be German spies, and we would be 
a fifth column in this country.
    Hate comes from everywhere, and so do acts of good people. 
That kind of profiling, it is not backed up the data. You are 
Members of Congress. You can access information about people 
who come to this country. My understanding is that they commit 
crime at lower rates than our own kids, so thank you for that 
opportunity, Congresswoman.
    Ms. Bonamici. Thank you. Mr. Chairman, as I yield back, I 
request unanimous consent to enter into the record statements 
from the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) 
condemning Islamophobic actions on college campuses in Maryland 
and Texas, and importantly, an article from the Washington Post 
titled, ``Colleges Braced for Antisemitism and Violence It's 
Happening.'' Thank you, and I yield back.
    Chairman Owens. No objection.
    [The information of Ms. Bonamici follows:]
    [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT] 

    
    Chairman Owens. I would now like to recognize Mr. Good.
    Mr. Good. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you to our 
witnesses. Ms. Tartak, we are all sorry I think to hear. I 
would hope everyone--how you have been silenced and threatened 
on the Yale University campus. What do you think college 
administrators who are committed to combatting antisemitism, 
what should they do to protect Jewish students on campus?
    Ms. Tartak. Sure. First of all, I think that they have 
options. I think what they say matters, and when they make 
condemnations of antisemitism that are just full of what I will 
call all sidesism, it cannot simply focus on anti-Jewish 
hatred, and have to bring in ``all forms of bigotry'', they are 
making a huge mistake.
    I think that they can also de-recognize and defund student 
groups that promote violence, and that supports terrorist 
organizations recognized by the U.S. Government. I will give 
you an example. I also gave one in my testimony, but another 
because there are so many.
    National Students for Justice in Palestine, on their 
Instagram commemorates somebody who planned multiple suicide 
bombings in one of the intifadas in Israel. There is a 
commemoratory post to mourn this person's death. Maybe SJP 
chapters that repost something like that, of course within the 
boundaries of the First Amendment nitty gritty, of which I am 
not an expert, but maybe they could experience some sort of 
scrutiny, if not consequences.
    Mr. Good. Well said. This equivalency where you have to 
belong to everyone and together, instead of speaking 
specifically to the issue at hand of antisemitism. Even this 
White House, as soon as you mention antisemitism moves to 
Islamophobia, and then specifically that colleges do not have 
to sanction or subsidize or condone these groups that are 
obviously hate groups and antisemitic groups.
    What would you estimate the ratio to be of students on 
campus that would be pro-Israel versus pro-Hamas?
    Ms. Tartak. Ooh, well it depends on the college campus, 
which is relevant.
    Mr. Good. How about at Yale?
    Ms. Tartak. Sure. At Yale I would say pro-Hamas as in would 
show up to a rally shouting something along the lines of, or 
verbatim, ``Resistance is justified.'' 20 percent of the 
student body.
    Mr. Good. 20 percent.
    Ms. Tartak. Sure.
    Mr. Good. Wow.
    Ms. Tartak. Because----
    Mr. Good. How about the professors?
    Ms. Tartak. Ooh, also a good question. It also depends on 
the department, but a good example was this event that I went 
to called Gaza Under Siege, where the panelists presented Hamas 
as a resistance movement, and that was cosponsored by five or 
so university departments, as in majors. It was a studies 
department, the women's gender and sexuality department, 
ethnicity student race immigration, our center for middle east 
studies, so I think administrative backing says a lot, and 
maybe answers your question.
    Mr. Good. That is incredible that you would estimate that 
perhaps 20 percent of Yale students might show up to a pro-
Hamas rally, a true pro-Hamas rally. One has to wonder what 
happens on our college campuses, and in light of, and I keep 
bringing it back to this, and I will do it once again.
    In light of the border invasion facilitated by this 
administration, individuals who are in our country now aided by 
this administration, when this happens here what we saw play 
out on October 7th in Israel. When this happens here, it will 
be interesting how on our own college campuses, the responses 
and these professors that are in many cases subsidized by tax 
dollars, not specifically at Yale in terms of it being a 
private university.
    Mr. Marcus, to you if I may just pivot. Should universities 
like Yale be able to hide behind the First Amendment, or should 
there be consequences when we see this kind of antisemitism 
play out, or this expression played out in college campuses?
    Mr. Marcus. Congressman Good, the problem is not just that 
there are students who are saying the wrong thing, but 
universities that are doing the wrong thing.
    Mr. Good. Right.
    Mr. Marcus. We need to start with the grownups. They need 
to begin by saying we will do no harm. They need to look at 
their DEI programs, they need to look at their curriculum, they 
need to look at programs like middle east studies programs, 
with a one-sided anti-Israel propaganda that is simply fueling 
the problem on campus.
    Mr. Good. Yes. Are you concerned about--you know we know 
there are billions of dollars flowing to college campuses from 
countries such as Qatar, China, Saudi Arabia, United Arab 
Emirates, countries that do not hold the same values that we 
do, and there was a study by the Anti-Defamation League 
released a report that showed how money from Iran is actually 
being funneled to universities just for antisemitism.
    Are you concerned about the impact that these foreign 
influences on our college campuses might be having on the 
spread of antisemitism?
    Mr. Marcus. I am, sir, but I want to say respectfully that 
a lot of the money going to it is our own money from the U.S. 
taxpayers.
    Mr. Good. Okay.
    Mr. Marcus. A lot of it is either Federal money, or it is 
State money, or it is student activities fees, but yes, it is 
also true that foreign money is coming in and having 
questionable influence.
    Mr. Good. Thank you, and I yield back, Mr. Chairman.
    Chairman Owens. Thank you. I would like to now recognize 
Dr. Adams.
    Ms. Adams. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you to our 
Ranking Member, and thank you to the witnesses for being here 
today and for your testimony. As a 40-year retired college 
professor, I am appalled at the recent reports of antisemitism 
that we have seen in this country, and the demonstrations of 
hate overall.
    Antisemitism has been a serious issue in this country. It 
has been ongoing, and it has existed for a number of decades. 
We have seen hate unfortunately trickle down to many parts of 
our society, and today we are looking at our colleges and 
universities. It is horrible to me that students are being 
attacked simply for who they are, and every student, regardless 
of race or religion, deserves a right to study and to learn 
safely on a campus.
    They deserve the right to walk on the campus and just be 
there and feeling safe about it. Ms. Burdett, in your work at 
the Anti-Defamation League, you develop policies and 
strategies, and programs to prevent and counter antisemitism, 
so can you discuss briefly some of the strategies that you use 
to help schools combat antisemitism?
    In your experience, how have the institutions responded to 
these strategies?
    Ms. Burdett. Institutions in general in this country want 
to do better, and working as a lobbyist for the Anti-Defamation 
League was like most of the time was like falling through an 
open door. I think institutions need outside partners, 
expertise, and validators and supporters.
    But one of the most important strategies and things that we 
have learned as a country is that where there is data, action 
follows. Where campuses have programs that incentivize and 
promote reporting, and make it even more comfortable for 
students to make a report, they can look at their problem and 
quantify it.
    The fact that, you know, everyone on this Committee could 
actually ask their own policy department to start reporting to 
the FBI. I just cannot emphasize enough that if you have a 
diverse city in your district that is reporting zero or one 
hate crime, it is not credible, and we all know it.
    Reporting even schools that have a policy against bullying, 
and bullying by the way, hurts Jewish people, and our brothers 
and sisters in other communities. Where policy is posted online 
and promoted, children are safer. There are less suicide 
threats among kids, and so these kinds of spotlights that we 
can put, and then I have talked a lot about prevention.
    Prevention really matters, because once a hate crime has 
happened in a family, some families will actually never recover 
from that trauma, and I think we have all seen cases like that.
    Ms. Adams. Thank you. We have seen so many traumatic 
experiences throughout our college campuses, I have worked 
particularly with our HBCUs and others. Hate anywhere is a 
terrible thing. You talked a little bit about the Office of 
Civil Rights, and the fact that we need to fund this department 
because when we look at the fact that we've had an uptake in 
Title VI complaints, and years that the republicans have been 
in the majority, the Office of Civil Rights that has either 
been underfunded, or not funded at all.
    I want to ask you about--since you mentioned diversity. 
Diversity, equity and inclusion programs on college campuses 
were designed to address potential issues among the different 
demographics. There has been a recent surge in attacks against 
DEI programs.
    I have heard many of my colleagues use this argument. What 
role can diversity, equity and inclusion programs play in 
responding to antisemitic and racially hostile acts on 
campuses? You have got about 30 seconds.
    Ms. Burdett. I do not know a single Jewish person who is 
not very scared right now. I do not know a single Jewish 
organization or Jewish school principal, or rabbi that wants 
the civil rights infrastructure of this country to be 
decimated. Now. diversity, equity and inclusion work maybe 
wasn't set up to anticipate a group of mostly white people 
scared of hate crimes, but it can be enhanced, and the people 
that I work with have adapted, and are protecting Jews now.
    Do not bring it down on account of us. We need it.
    Ms. Adams. Thank you very much. Mr. Chairman, I yield back.
    Chairman Owens. Thank you. I would like to recognize Mr. 
Moran.
    Mr. Moran. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, acts of 
hate emanate from hearts filled with hate. Our colleges and 
universities have an obligation to ensure that they do not 
cultivate an environment of hate or racism by their action or 
by their inaction. The heinous acts of hate evidenced by the 
terrorism undertaken by Hamas on October 7th may be the most 
prominent recent example of hate filled antisemitism, but the 
hearts that undertook this terror are not isolated just to 
Hamas terrorists.
    Unfortunately, antisemitism has found a prominent and a 
safe refuge on our college campuses, and this is simply 
unacceptable. Let me be clear, there is a distinction between 
free speech involving honest debate on college campuses on the 
one hand, and support for groups that call for the annihilation 
of another race on the other hand. Surely, that difference is 
clear to the reasonable observer.
    One of the ways that I think colleges and universities have 
promoted antisemitic speech and behavior is through their DEI 
offices, and we were just talking about that a second ago. 
Staff and diversity equity and inclusion departments on many 
college campuses are noticeably antisemitic. They go about 
their work in a manner contrary to the stated intent of 
treating all with equity.
    In 2021, Mr. Chairman, you referenced a study that Heritage 
did, a report on antisemitism of DEI staff at universities. 
They conducted a search of Twitter feeds of 741 DEI personnel 
at 65 universities to find comments regarding Israel, and for 
comparison, China.
    Those DEI staff tweeted, retweeted, or liked almost three 
times as many tweets about Israel as tweets about China, and 
notably of those tweets about Israel, 96 were critical of the 
Jewish State, while 62 percent of the tweets about China were 
favorable. Consider that for a moment.
    The DEI staff favored China and opposed Israel. In my view, 
this explains in large part the lack of response toward 
antisemitic instances by DEI staff on college campuses, and 
seems clear to me that there are a number of higher education 
institutions whose DEI staff are disconnected with the values 
and strategic objectives of the U.S.
    Once more, they are clearly antisemitic. Ms. Tartak, I want 
to talk to you because you are at Yale University presently, 
and I noticed just doing a little Google search of Yale back in 
April, Yale brought in on the second night of Passover, they 
hosted a speaker their DEI office, hosted a speaker known to 
promote antisemitic views, including justifying the murders of 
Jews and Israelis.
    I want to talk to you about your experience, and whether or 
not the DEI office at Yale has offered you any support. Have 
they, in fact offered you any support?
    Ms. Tartak. Again, no. Assuming you are referring to Houria 
Bouteldja. There is a photo of her holding a sign that says 
again verbatim, ``Zionists to Gulags''. The DEI office did not 
do anything to prevent the event. It was as a matter of fact, 
as you stated, supported it. It was hosted during a Jewish 
holiday where Jews could not show up. Similarly, my friends and 
I were unable to get into a recent pro-Hamas event, cosponsored 
by so many departments at Yale, they do not help.
    Mr. Moran. I presume that in the past 5 weeks since the 
Hamas attacks in Israel, that the DEI department at Yale has 
not provided you any support, or frankly, provided you 
insurance that you are going to be safe and secure in your own 
college campus as a result of the antisemitic speech and 
actions on that campus.
    Ms. Tartak. No. They have not. Again, for the most part, my 
Jewish peers and I have receded exclusively into Jewish Centers 
of life on campus, and what is upsetting about this uniquely, 
is that DEI at least a lot of what I have been seeing, fails to 
recognize that Jews can be oppressed, but only recognizes Jews 
at some kind of white oppressor, which to me does not really 
make sense.
    As a Persian Jew on one side, my mom escaped revolutionary 
Iran in 1979, and on the other side, my grandfather was a 
Holocaust survivor. His mother, brother and sister were shot by 
a Nazi firing squad, and so to have an institution look at me 
and say you are the oppressor, really should frighten us all.
    Mr. Moran. Yes. I agree. Completely agree with you, and Ms. 
Burdett, you mentioned earlier, I think you used the phrase 
that some DEI offices were not ``set up'' to look at certain 
white individuals as those folks being oppressed, and I think 
that is one of the big problems with DEI offices, is frankly, 
we start categorizing people by how they look, or what their 
race is, instead of looking at the heart of folks, and 
understanding what true hate is, and what true hate is not.
    It works against the values of American democracy, and 
frankly, it works against the morality that undergirds the 
freedom that should be evident and should be there for all 
members of the human race. With that, I yield back.
    Chairman Owens. Thank you. I would like now to recognize 
Ms. Manning.
    Ms. Manning. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you, Ranking 
Member Scott. I am glad we are having this hearing. Frankly, it 
is about time. We have seen antisemitism on the rise across the 
United States and around the world, including a 40 percent 
increase in antisemitic incidents at colleges and universities, 
and that was before the October 7th Hamas attack.
    Sadly, since October 7th, the ADL has found an almost 400 
percent increase of antisemitic incidents on college campuses, 
including so many of the incidents we have heard about today. 
As the Co-Chair of the House bipartisan Task Force for 
Combatting Antisemitism, I strongly condemn all of this 
antisemitic activity.
    Sadly, and inexplicably, far too many college and 
university leaders have totally failed to fulfill their moral 
responsibility to clearly reject hatred, violence and 
antisemitism. There is much more we can do to counter 
antisemitism and protect Jewish students. I am very eager to 
work with any of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to 
work on this issue.
    In fact, in August I helped lead 87 Members of Congress on 
a bipartisan and bicameral letter to Secretary Cardona, urging 
the Department to take concrete steps to clear the backlog of 
pending complaints, to prioritize the pending proposed 
regulations, and to implement key commitments in the U.S. 
national strategy to counter antisemitism.
    Mr. Chairman, I would like to request unanimous consent to 
enter this letter into the record.
    Chairman Owens. No objection.
    [The information of Ms. Manning follows:]
    [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT] 

    

    Ms. Manning. Thank you. Mr. Marcus, I am so grateful to you 
and your colleagues at Brandeis for your work. In April, the 
Biden administration reached a milestone settlement with the 
University of Vermont on antisemitism, and would you view that 
as a success?
    Mr. Marcus. Thank you, Congresswoman. Yes. The Louis D. 
Brandeis Center filed that complaint jointly with Jewish on 
Campus, and we view it as a success, and it is our 
understanding that there has been a dramatic difference on that 
campus since the resolution.,
    Ms. Manning. Would funding the OCR fully, pushing forward 
on issuing regulations and implementing the U.S. national 
strategy to counter antisemitism, would all of those things 
help lead to a greater number of similar, successful 
resolutions to instances of campus antisemitism?
    Mr. Marcus. Respectfully I do not think I can say I am 
convinced of that. You know, I headed OCR during two 
administrations. There have been arguments for and against 
increases or decreases, often on party lines. My sense has been 
that if--think about antisemitism as an issue that seldom 
occupies even one-tenth of 1 percent of intake, maybe it will 
be--so to me, fluctuations in the budget of OCR are not what 
impacts the ability of OCR to address antisemitism.
    Ms. Manning. Let me ask you this question because we know 
that there are a record number of 19,000 complaints that OCR 
received last year, and yet a tiny number of those, I think 
only five, are related to antisemitism. I think since October 
7th, only 8 or 9 complaints have been about antisemitism. This 
is shocking in light of what we hear from students when we talk 
with them on campuses, what we hear in the press.
    Why is it that we have seen such a significant increase in 
antisemitic incidents as reported by students, by others on 
college campuses, and yet what we are seeing filed at OCR is 
only a tiny percentage of those claims. What is getting in the 
way of students filing complaints?
    Mr. Marcus. Students are often reluctant to file complaints 
against a university for reasons that vary from loyalty to 
their institution, to ignorance of the availability of the 
process, to fear that it is not going to be successful. We are 
now seeing more complaints coming in, and the Brandeis Center 
will have more to come, but I really think that it is incumbent 
on OCR to proactively investigate cases and not just wait for 
complaints to come in, for exactly the sorts of reasons that 
you have just mentioned.
    Ms. Manning. College is a time when young people find 
themselves and decide what they want to be, and I am deeply 
concerned that what young Jews are facing today on college 
campuses, the shocking antisemitism is going to force them to 
decide that they are simply safer if they hide what is Jewish 
about them, if they do not take part in Jewish life, if they 
abandon that part of their identity.
    I just want to urge my colleagues, we need to do more to 
address this issue, my time is expiring, and I thank all the 
witnesses today.
    Chairman Owens. Thank you. I would now like to recognize 
Mr. Smucker.
    Mr. Smucker. Thank you, Mr. Chairman for yielding time, and 
for holding this important hearing today, and I would like to 
thank each of the witnesses for being here, and particularly, 
Ms. Tartak for being here to share your story.
    It is shocking to see what is happening in our society, 
what is happening on our campuses. There is something wrong 
with the moral fabric of our society when you have antisemitism 
rising in the way that we are seeing today. It is hard to 
believe that we are here, particularly, when we have seen the 
atrocities that Hamas have committed against the State of 
Israel on--in October.
    These were barbaric, inhumane, and deserving of strong 
retaliation. 1,400 innocent individuals brutally murdered, 
hundreds more still held hostage by Hamas, and 30 Americans 
killed in these attacks as well. On these college campuses, in 
many cases, no mention made of any of that in these protests.
    No mention made of Hamas as a terrorist group. Instead, we 
are seeing as you said, Ms. Tartak, Jewish students retreating 
to their Jewish Centers in our college campuses. It is totally 
unacceptable, and should be called out for what it is. It is a 
hate crime.
    Unfortunately, far too many institutions of higher 
education are failing to do their duty, to protect Jewish 
students and faculty from this aggression. I think you have 
heard today that members of this Committee are resolute in 
condemning antisemitism, and I am hearing that on a bipartisan 
basis. We continue to stand firmly behind Israel, behind Jews 
here in American, and behind Jewish students on college 
campuses.
    I think about where do we get here, and Rabbi Hauer, you 
mentioned in your testimony that antisemitism has been 
cultivated in our K through 12 system, and then that spreads to 
institutions of higher education. I would like to hear a little 
bit more about that.
    I am from Pennsylvania, and I just want to give this 
background as well. There is an effort in Pennsylvania to teach 
about the Holocaust in our K through 12 system, led by a 
professor at Penn State. I visited some of the schools that 
have implemented you know, teaching about the holocaust at a 
young age, and how to do this. It is a difficult subject, and 
how to do it with very young students.
    What is going wrong beginning in our K through 12 system 
that we are at the point where we are today?
    Rabbi Hauer. Thank you for the question. I am not sure if I 
would use the word myself, cultivated. I think what we have 
seen very clearly is that the kinds of behaviors, and the kinds 
of environments that have been created in university campuses, 
which until very recently we only found in university campuses, 
we are now finding in K through 12, or specifically middle 
school through 12th environments.
    From our perspective, we have something called Jewish 
student unions, which are clubs, which are held in public 
schools, and hundreds of public schools across the country for 
Jewish students who want to attend the club in school hours. It 
is constitutional to be able to do so.
    We have had, especially since October 7th, but proceeding 
it as well, but incredibly spike since October 7th, 
descriptions of exactly the kinds of things that have been 
described here as occurring on university campuses. Rallies in 
middle--in high schools, our clubs. Students coming into a club 
of Jewish students sitting in the back and disrupting and 
making it impossible for the Jewish students to carry on, and 
then in fact, chasing the students back toward their 
classrooms.
    We have had teachers in high schools who have been doing 
art projects, so showing for example, a fist emblazoned with 
Palestinian colors going through the Israeli. Kinds of things 
which are making students deeply uncomfortable. It did not 
happen before, and in a certain sense I think that is 
especially compelling, for us to consider in Title VI 
discussions because universities, it has been there for a 
while.
    It is going to be a big project to dial it back. In K 
through 12 schools, it is just beginning, it is just beginning, 
and we have to address it very, very fully.
    Mr. Smucker. I know I am out of time, but I would be very 
interested in hearing your thoughts on how can we change that 
in K through 12's? How important is education about the 
Holocaust, what can we do differently, but I do not have time. 
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    Chairman Owens. Thank you, thank you very much. I would 
like to recognize Ms. Leger Fernandez.
    Ms. Leger Fernandez. Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you 
witnesses for coming and sharing the stories about the eruption 
of antisemitism on our college campuses. I almost feel like I 
want to apologize on behalf of people who really recognize that 
that is simply wrong, it is horrendous.
    Antisemitism has no place in American society, and like my 
colleagues on both sides, I am appalled by the eruption and 
what's happened since October 7th because of that. Rabbi Hauer, 
you correctly note that antisemitism on campuses has persisted 
for generations.
    I often tell the story of how when my father attended 
college on the GI Bill, both Jews and Hispanos were barred from 
fraternities on his campus, and this was just after the world 
had witnessed the horrors of the Holocaust. The importance of 
allies, the importance of allies is really key, and I think my 
small, teeny, tiny little northern New Mexico story of allies 
and historic antisemitism is sort of a little piece of that.
    We also most recently remembered the antisemitic hate 
spewed by the white nationalists as they marched through the 
University of Virginia in 2017 at the Unite the Right Rally. 
Most of this antisemitism on college campuses and in the rest 
of the Nation has deep ties to white supremacy.
    Ms. Burdett, can you please speak to the link between white 
supremacy and antisemitism in America?
    Ms. Burdett. Thank you for that question. One of the 
reasons it is so important to make sure that antisemitism 
awareness is incorporated into our civil rights work, our 
diversity work, our inclusion work is because a lot of experts 
believe you cannot adequately understand hate in America 
without knowing about antisemitism.
    It is such a strong, animating ideology for hate in 
America. We should remember that Jews are not targeted because 
we worship differently. Remember that the shooter of the Tree 
of Life Synagogue, (Spoken in Hebrew) that is Hebrew for may 
his name be erased--he did not shoot those people because they 
were praying on Saturday, or because they were praying in 
Hebrew.
    He subscribed to an ideology whereby Jews were responsible 
for so called, the browning of America. We are part of the 
movement for diversity in this country, and antisemitic 
conspiracy theories in our homegrown hate groups are very 
pernicious and really drive a vast, vast majority of 
ideologically motivated, biased murders of Jews in this 
country.
    Ms. Leger Fernandez. Right. This idea of hate, and 
promoting, promoting power, and acquiring power by using hate 
to get it in all of its forms, I think is really pernicious as 
you point out. You pointed out also in your opening testimony 
about the Biden administration's national strategy for counter 
antisemitism earlier this year, and about the importance of 
Congress acting, and making sure we provide the resources.
    Mr. Courtney raised the issue earlier, but what does a 25 
percent budget cut to the Department of Ed's Office of Civil 
Rights, as proposed by the House republicans appropriations 
bill, affect? How would that affect the ability of that office 
to investigate, and if necessary, as pointed out, take strong 
action when universities fail to counter the antisemitism, when 
they fail to protect the students as we heard from the 
witnesses as well?
    Ms. Burdett.
    Ms. Burdett. You know, I have heard my friend, Mr. Marcus, 
talk, speak eloquently about what the Office of Civil Rights 
could still do more of with less, but that is not how any of us 
run organizations and programs. I know that a 12 percent 
decrease in capacity has not helped them tackle rising cases.
    I just do not understand. We know the cost of communities 
that are ripped apart, campuses that are ripped apart. It is 
just pennywise and pound foolish not to do things that we know 
deter and prevent these crimes.
    Ms. Leger Fernandez. Thank you very much, and my time has 
expired. I had wanted to have time, and I might submit a 
question in writing because you also talked about the 
importance of using antisemitism, and that piece is important, 
within DEI. Your community is part of it. My community is part 
of it too, so I will submit a question in writing to address 
how that is important to the witnesses, and with that I yield 
back.
    Chairman Owens. Thank you. I would like now to recognize 
Mr. Williams.
    Mr. Williams. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Yes. I believe that 
actions speak louder than words, and I want to put colleges and 
universities on notice that if you permit or harbor 
antisemitism on your campus, you are my enemy. Say that 
emphatically. I want to draw attention to the shocking 
hypocrisy that I see on display on our college campuses.
    If you rewind just five or more weeks ago, our academic 
institutions have gone from rightly denouncing Holocaust 
deniers, not permitting them to speak, and even in many cases 
firing them from their positions. Now, just in the last 5 
weeks, universities are defending and protecting supporters and 
perpetuators of Holocaust 2.0.
    That is Hamas. The atrocities on October 7th can only be 
understood as a new Holocaust, and the pro-Hamas protests on 
universities not only celebrate the massacre of Jews, but call 
for the massacre to continue until all Jews and Israel are 
murdered, or evicted.
    What we see is university presidents, faculty and board 
members and donors shockingly silent, or deliberately reserved 
in their actions to identify, rein in and remove these 
intimidating protesters from our academic institutions. The 
contrast of protecting supporters of a new Holocaust, while 
only a few weeks ago rightfully canceling deniers of the Nazi 
Holocaust is troubling and baffling.
    Mr. Marcus, do you mind, can you help me understand this 
shocking incongruity in values and integrity that has taken 
place in just the last 5 weeks?
    Mr. Marcus. The masks have really come down, and we are 
understanding that the problems on campuses are much worse than 
what we ever saw before. I do think that the issue might even 
be worse than what you are suggesting because these Holocaust 
2.0 deniers in some cases are not only celebrating the murders, 
the rape, the torture, the desecration of corpses, but they are 
saying we are part of this resistance, part of the Hamas 
murder, rape and torture.
    Now to the extent that they are part of and supporting it, 
there are questions under the Terrorism Act. We cannot have a 
situation in which there are registered student organizations 
using facilities at federally funded institutions that are 
saying that they are a part of a movement which is State 
department designated as terrorist.
    I would say that this is a problem for which we need to 
have very specific attention from the Federal Government.
    Mr. Williams. I certainly agree with you, and back to my 
statement of actions speak louder than words. Can you provide 
any direction on whether Federal funds could be removed from 
universities that continue to be these hot beds of 
antisemitism, or even taking it another step to remove 
accreditation from universities that fail to adequately address 
antisemitism on their campus?
    Mr. Marcus. That sort of action requires a number of 
different steps, as it should. There is a lot of process that 
is required under Federal law, but you need to take the first 
step first. The first step means taking action, which can mean 
beginning with self-directed investigations.
    It can mean establishing the compliance review. You cannot 
even get to the point that you are discussing, Congressman 
Williams, unless you proactively take those initiatives, and 
that is what we would want to see the Education Department do.
    Mr. Williams. I appreciate your thoughts on that. Ms. 
Burdett, my alma mater, University of Pennsylvania, they have 
students that are chanting--these are pro-Hamas protests, 
chanting, ``There's Only One Solution.''
    Earlier you mentioned that there were standards on 
bullying, would you call that bullying? Just a yes or no answer 
would be helpful. Thank you.
    Ms. Burdett. Yes.
    Mr. Williams. Would you call that hate speech?
    Ms. Burdett. The entire statement that is around what you 
have quoted is hate speech, I believe.
    Mr. Williams. What I hear from students in my district, 
Jewish students in my district, is that they are afraid to go 
to classes, and that is unacceptable. For these Hamas protests, 
would you call them inclusive?
    Ms. Burdett. I am sorry. I do not understand the question.
    Mr. Williams. The protestors that line up to espouse pro-
Hamas sentiments, would you--you are an expert in DEIs, would 
you call that inclusive?
    Ms. Burdett. Well, I am an expert in antisemitism, but the 
defense of terror and massacres, and hate violence is 
unacceptable.
    Mr. Williams. Thank you. I yield back.
    Chairman Owens. Thank you. I would now like to recognize 
Ms. McBath.
    Mrs. McBath. Well thank you so much Chairman Owens, and 
Ranking Member Scott, and also thank you to your staff and to 
our witnesses for being here with us today and making this 
hearing possible, and Ms. Burdett, once again thank you so much 
for your witness and testimony.
    I heard your testimony last week in another Committee. Acts 
or expression of hatred, racism and antisemitism have no 
legitimate place in our society or on a college campus. I am 
glad to see that the Higher Education Subcommittee today coming 
together for this important discussion.
    Students will tell you that they are feeling unsafe as we 
have heard today, and in volumes we have heard this. We have a 
responsibility to them to do everything that we can to foster 
communities of understanding, safety and respect for each other 
on our college campuses.
    While the brutal terrorist attacks by Hamas on Israeli 
civilians on October 7th have incited a recent, larger wave of 
antisemitism on campus and elsewhere around the country, this 
is not an entirely new development. This rise in hate is well 
documented by groups such as the AntiDefamation League and is 
unfortunately becoming more and more normalized.
    In 2022, ADL documents almost 3,700 separate antisemitic 
incidents throughout the United States in just their yearly 
audit. This translates to over 10 antisemitic incidents a day 
in 2022, a 36 percent increase in the amount from the year 
before, and the highest number recorded since ADL began 
tracking antisemitic incidents in the late 1970's.
    Something is seriously wrong when in the last five annual 
reports by ADL, three of them have reported the highest number 
of antisemitic incidents recorded in the 50 plus years that 
this data has been collected. My community, in metro Atlanta, I 
represent Georgia, is no stranger to these incidents. It should 
never be considered normal, but it occurs far too often.
    A few years ago, I myself participated in a joint press 
conference with interfaith leaders in my community. Local law 
enforcement, the ADL and the Council General of Israel, to the 
southeast to condemn antisemitic vandalism that was happening 
in our neighborhoods. Just over 2 weeks ago, antisemitic 
messages were displayed on an overpass above I-75 in my county, 
Cobb County, a home to one of the largest Jewish communities in 
the deep south.
    I am pleased that the Biden administration is responding 
with their release of the national strategy to counter 
antisemitism earlier this year. As you stated in your 
testimony, and I quote, ``The strategies launched in May 2023 
was the most ambitious far-reaching action in U.S. history.
    Also historic, is the coming together, both from within and 
outside of the Jewish community, a kind of civil unity and 
resolve to tackle antisemitism through concrete, coordinated 
action to stop the spread and the normalization of 
antisemitism,'' and that is your quote, Ms. Burdett.
    Ms. Burdett, I wholeheartedly agree with you that this was 
an important step, and you have been talking about that today 
over and over again about the importance of us supporting the 
Biden administrations action's and strategic action and work 
that they have done on antisemitism.
    Can you also discuss further because I apologize. I have 
had to run in and out to other committees as well. Can you 
discuss further, some of the other actions that the Federal 
Government can and should be taking in response to these very 
disturbing rises in antisemitism on campuses specifically?
    Ms. Burdett. Congresswoman, the kind of action you 
described, standing with other faith leaders, that matters. 
When President George W. Bush called on America not to take out 
their anger about the tragedy of 911 on their Muslim neighbors, 
people listened.
    The Department of Education officials, the President, the 
Vice President, and officials across all of the agencies are 
talking more to Jewish people. They are listening. They are 
elevating their stories, and they are standing next to them. 
Your microphone is, aside from your checkbook, which I have 
already said is very important, your microphone is an 
incredible tool.
    When people fight about Israel in the public debate Jews 
get hurt. When, as we have heard today, we talk about 
immigrants as potential invaders who would come here and act 
like Hamas, hate incidents against people who look like 
immigrants are going to go up, and that is no comfort to the 
Jewish community.
    Words matter, and your microphone matters, and thank you 
for your work.
    Mrs. McBath. Thank you so much. I am out of time, thank 
you, all of your for your witness and testimony.
    Chairman Owens. Thank you. I would like to now recognize 
Mr. Banks.
    Mr. Banks. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Marcus, you helped 
draft President Trumps 2019 executive order extending civil 
rights protections to Jewish students on college campuses. That 
was 4 years ago. President Biden has since expanded the order 
combatting antisemitism. Do you feel that your efforts have 
been vindicated given what we've seen over the last 6 weeks?
    Mr. Marcus. Thank you, Congressman Banks. Yes. What was 
expanded was the notion that Title VI includes Jewish students 
and should always include Jewish students. That was something 
that I first announced during the George W. Bush administration 
in guidance. It was expanded during the Obama administration, 
and then President Trump further, and now Biden. Yes, that is 
important.
    There was another half, there is another half of that 
approach which is to use a definition that will give clarity to 
what is antisemitism. This was also part of the Trump executive 
order. I would like to see that get equal support from this 
administration. They say they are following it, but the 
regulation that is due next month we have not been hearing 
about, and I think I would like to hear about it from them.
    Mr. Banks. I appreciate that explanation. Specifically, the 
order and power of the Federal Government to withhold funding 
from any college or university that enabled antisemitism. At 
the time many democrats attacked it, right? When President 
Trump released this important executive order.
    In fact, my colleague from Washington State, Ms. Jayapal 
said, ``It will do nothing to protect Jewish students. Instead, 
it will usher in a climate of fear for campus activists.'' 
Richard Blumenthal, a Senator went even further. He said this, 
``It smacks not only of what happened in the Soviet Union, but 
also Nazi Germany.''
    Mr. Marcus, do you think President Trump's executive order 
served to, ``Usher in a climate of fear for student activists 
on campuses?''
    Mr. Marcus. Just the opposite. It is the most important 
tool we have, and that is why the Biden administration is 
saying that it is still active policy.
    Mr. Banks. Would you say that these kind of comments 
comparing civil rights protections for Jewish students and Nazi 
Germany, have aged very well for these two democrats?
    Mr. Marcus. Without commenting on Members of Congress, what 
I would say is this. Support for measures like the executive 
order on combatting antisemitism should be bipartisan. It is 
based on ideas that have been accepted by the Obama 
administration. I do not see why it cannot be more broadly 
accepted among people of good will of all persuasions.
    Mr. Banks. I hope back to my initial question that you do 
feel vindicated that these outrageous, outlandish, offensive 
comments from these two, and there are so many more that I will 
not spend time reading today, are ridiculous, and we appreciate 
the important work that you did, that President Trump led in 
his administration. I just think it is really important. Rabbi, 
why has the American left abandoned the Jewish people? I mean 
this seems to be a change in democrat versus republican, right 
versus left politics over the past several years.
    Historically, powerful political constituency of the left, 
the Jewish voters in America, they largely feel abandoned by 
the American left. Why is that?
    Rabbi Hauer. I am not sure I am the most qualified person 
to theorize why. I think it has already been said by some of my 
colleagues. The themes of the oppressed and so on and so forth, 
which have dominated, and somehow we have been lumped in. Not 
with the oppressed, but with the oppressors, very 
unfortunately.
    I can tell you that it has been incredibly disorienting to 
the Jewish community to be in this specific place. Thou shall 
love the stranger. (Speaking in Hebrew.) It is a biblical 
mandate. It is a Jewish value of eminent value. I speak to you 
as ``a stranger''. My father was a Holocaust survivor who came 
to this country. My mother was a Holocaust refugee who came to 
this country.
    If we did not love the stranger in this country, we would 
not be here. This Jewish community would not be here. None of 
us from one end of the table to the other would be here. We 
deeply value inclusion. We deeply value caring that nobody in 
this country, nobody in a university of any specific or any 
particular identity should feel estranged.
    We have been champions of this, and today we feel excluded 
by it.
    Mr. Banks. Like all of you, I wish these issues were 
bipartisan, but it does not feel like it anymore. Combatting 
antisemitism, supporting Israel, supporting the Jewish people, 
it does not feel bipartisan like it used to. With that, I yield 
back.
    Chairman Owens. Thank you. I would like to recognize the 
Chair of the Committee, Chairperson Dr. Foxx.
    Mrs. Foxx. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and I want to thank our 
witnesses for being here today to discuss this very, very 
important issue. Rabbi Hauer, I have struggled since the 
explosion of antisemitism on college campuses began after 
October 7th, to understand why campus leaders have been so 
timid in their response.
    As you testified, the Orthodox Union supports Jewish 
students of many campuses around the country. Your organization 
and the students you support interact with thousands of campus 
faculty and leaders. In your opinion, why have we not seen a 
robust response from the universities, and I will do some 
qualifiers.
    Is it cowardice? Is it that they actually support Hamas? Is 
it that they do not want to offend foreign donors? All of the 
above. What is it that is causing such a tepid response?
    Rabbi Hauer. To me it seems that it is a combination. It is 
a combination of ignorance, and the lack of courage and the 
lack of courage. Ignorance, I do not know that people have 
taken the time to look at the hard evidence of what the Jewish 
people are facing, what the State of Israel faced on October 
7th, what it has faced since really the beginning of its 
existence when it was announced, and when its creation was 
announced.
    They have not looked at a State, which if you look at a 
picture of the Supreme Court of Israel, or you look at the 
picture of the faculty of any hospital in Israel, you will see 
a mixture of leadership of Arabs and Jews, and they don't 
understand. They do not understand that on another side there 
is literally an assumption of a State that would be
    [speaking in Hebrew] empty of Jews.
    That ignorance is huge, and at the same time cowardice. 
Cowardice because as we have seen there is a movement. There is 
a movement which is very, very strong in the academic, and in 
the student community that for some reason has chosen to not be 
sympathetic to the Jewish community, and it would require 
strength on the part of administrators to do this.
    We believe, firmly, that institutions of higher learning 
are not excluded from teaching basic values, and we need to 
stretch them, and they need to stand strong. I think it is that 
combination.
    Mrs. Foxx. Thank you very much. Your testimony is very 
powerful. By the way, all of the testimoneys will be on our 
website, and I would encourage people to read them. Mr. Marcus, 
I do not have too much time left, and I have a question for you 
and a question for Ms. Tartak.
    You talked about the work that the Biden administration is 
doing, or not doing, to address these issues. You mentioned the 
Department put out a couple of dear colleague letters, 
reminding institutions of their obligations under Title VI, but 
you also pointed out that the Department has the authority to 
open self-directed investigations and compliance reviews of 
institution's compliance with Title IV.
    You mentioned that earlier. Could you just briefly talk 
about that.
    Mr. Marcus. Sure. I have also praised the national 
strategy. The administration has been pushing out links so that 
people can file complaints, and putting additional language on 
their complaint form, but they do not have to wait for 
complaints to come in. They have the power to begin the 
investigations tomorrow. They can do it on a case-by-case 
basis, ad hoc, or in the national initiative. Either way, and 
it seems to me they should be doing both.
    Mrs. Foxx. Thank you. Ms. Tartak. Thank you very much for 
your bravery. Thank you for standing up to the hate, ignorance, 
threats, intimidation and everything else you're experiencing. 
I cannot imagine being an undergraduate student and displaying 
the courage you are showing. As you know we care a great deal 
about free speech on this Committee.
    We have actively pushed back on efforts to stifle 
legitimate speech on grounds it might offend someone. Why is 
the speech that you have been subjected to different? In other 
words, what is meant by phrases like, ``Resistance is 
justified?''
    Ms. Tartak. I will of course again, leave it to experts to 
interpret the First Amendment, which I am not one. What I do 
know is that speech that is harassment, intimidation, or can 
lead to violence simply should not be allowed on college 
campuses, and it has been--I think it has quite clear that that 
is what a lot of this is.
    Students who cannot get from one side of campus to the 
other, such as a Jewish student at Harvard, who was on his way 
to class and was assaulted by a group of other students 
yelling, ``Shame''. That cannot be allowed. We need to get from 
one side of campus to the other.
    Mrs. Foxx. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I yield back.
    Chairman Owens. Thank you. I would like to recognize Ms. 
Stefanik.
    Ms. Stefanik. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you to 
each of our witnesses for joining us today for this very 
important hearing on the abhorrent drives of antisemitism on 
our college campuses. Hamas's barbaric terrorist attacks 
against innocent Israeli civilians on October 7th shocked the 
conscious of the free world.
    In fact, this morning we began with a viewing working with 
the Israeli Embassy, of the horrific, heinous atrocities, 
committed by Hamas terrorists against Jewish civilians, babies, 
the elderly, young people at a festival. Innocent civilians, 
these were atrocities.
    These were met unfortunately with callous cruelty at 
universities across America, including at my alma mater, 
Harvard University. Instead of leading with moral clarity and 
condemning Hamas's terrorist attacks, university administrators 
at Harvard and other institutions failed their students through 
enabling their promulgation of horrific antisemitism, which has 
now evolved into violent attacks against Israeli and Jewish 
students.
    As the world watched in horror after October 7th, over 30 
radical student organizations at Harvard released a joint 
statement outrageously claiming that Israel was entirely 
responsible for the Hamas terrorist attacks carried out against 
innocent Israeli civilians.
    Unfortunately, following this statement Harvard leadership 
remained silent for 2 days, allowing our silence to create a 
vacuum that was filled by the voices of repugnant actions of 
the antisemitic student organizations.
    My question, and I will begin with Mr. Marcus, what role 
should university leaders play in condemning clearly and 
explicitly antisemitic statements like the one that the Harvard 
student organizations posted after October 7th, and what 
actions should administrators take to route out antisemitism on 
campuses across America?
    Mr. Marcus. At a minimum, they should condemn anti-Jewish 
harassment with the same vigor as they do other forms of 
discrimination, and we are not seeing that at Harvard, or in 
other places. Beyond that, when you see 30 student groups who 
are celebrating atrocities like that, you need to have tough 
conversations throughout your university about what you are 
doing to harbor this.
    At Harvard University, we on behalf of three clients, have 
found discriminatory conduct, which the university agreed was a 
violation of their own policies. We are not seeing significant 
responses to that. When administrators fail to address 
acknowledged antisemitic activity, they should not be surprised 
when it gets even worse.
    Ms. Stefanik. My followup, Mr. Marcus, is how have you seen 
the curriculum at American institutions of higher education 
shaped to foster these environments where hatred has been 
cultivated among the student body, and specifically curriculum 
that calls for the eradication of the State of Israel, and the 
genocide of the Jewish people?
    Mr. Marcus. Let me give you just one example, and that is 
Middle East studies programs that are funded under Title VI of 
the Higher Education Act, by the Congress of the United States. 
There is now legislation on the books that requires Middle East 
studies programs to certify that there will be a balance of 
perspectives, and a diversity of views.
    What, if anything, is done to ensure that is happening. I 
would certainly like to see the scoring of the applications. I 
would like to see some followup. I would like to see action 
when institutions fail to honor the commitments that they are 
making in writing to the U.S. Government.
    Ms. Stefanik. I want to submit for the record, Mr. Chair, 
the letter dated October 13th of republican members of the 
House and Senate who are also graduates of Harvard University. 
I was proud to lead this letter condemning the failure of the 
administration to speak out explicitly and clearly.
    I have called for the resignation of President Claudine 
Gay, and we will continue standing up with morale clarity that 
is so very much needed on college campuses in this country and 
around the world, and I yield back.
    Chairman Owens. No objections. Thank you.
    [The information of Ms. Stefanik follows:]
   [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT] 

    Chairman Owens. I would like to now recognize Mr. Scott.
    Mr. Scott. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Ms. Burnett, has there 
been a rise in antisemitic racist and Islamophobic activity in 
the last 10 years or so?
    Ms. Burnett. Yes, there has.
    Mr. Scott. Do you know, can you attribute it to anything?
    Ms. Burnett. It is very hard as many members have tried to 
do here to prove a causality, but I already mentioned that when 
President George W. Bush called on Americans not to be violent 
and hateful with their Arab and Muslim neighbors after 911, it 
did--it does make a difference when leaders use their 
microphone to say that there were good people screaming, ``Jews 
will not replace us'' in Charlottsville.
    That is terrifying, and it still is. The way that some 
leaders have turned a blind eye to antisemitism, when it is not 
coming from someone that they disagree with, has been 
heartbreaking.
    Mr. Scott. You are contrasting how George W. Bush reacted, 
and President Trump reacted to those events?
    Ms. Burnett. Would not want to, but I do not have a choice.
    Mr. Scott. No. Mr. Marcus, you mentioned the Antisemitism 
Awareness Act. How would that be helpful if it were enacted?
    Mr. Marcus. Ranking Member Scott, that statute would 
implement the Executive Order 13899 on combatting antisemitism 
and would do two things. First, it would give durability to the 
notion that Jews are protected under Title VI. That principle 
is a creature of dear colleague letters and an executive order. 
I would certainly like to see it have greater strength, and 
that's important. Second----
    Mr. Scott. That is because religion is not covered under 
Title VI, but we have from an operational point of view 
included antisemitism under Title VI. Is that true?
    Mr. Marcus. Exactly right. The second part is that it would 
direct agencies, including the Office for Civil Rights under 
appropriate circumstances to consider the International 
Holocaust Remembrance Alliance working definition of 
antisemitism, which indicates that not all criticism of Israel 
is antisemitic but some of it is, and providing relevant 
context gives examples to guide decisionmakers.
    Mr. Scott. Have the activities that we have been discussing 
violate--do they violate Title VI in your opinion? That 
enforcement of Title VI could address many of the problems we 
have?
    Mr. Marcus. The failure of universities to provide prompt 
and effective response after many of the incidents that we have 
discussed would be a violation of Title VI in my opinion.
    Mr. Scott. You have heard that the pending budget for the 
Department of Education includes significant cuts in the Office 
of Civil Rights, and you have mentioned the backlog of cases. 
What would the ability of the Office of Civil Rights, how would 
the ability of the Office of Civil Rights be affected if those 
cuts actually took place?
    Mr. Marcus. In my opinion, it is not the budget that drives 
performance on antisemitism for a couple of reasons within OCR. 
One is that antisemitism cases are such a tiny percentage of 
the overall intake that fluctuations, even if they are 
significant, do not necessarily affect that.
    The second is, that with a small number of significant high 
profile matters it is really a combination of political will 
and management that is made the difference on those periods 
where it is been dealt with effectively in those nods.
    Mr. Scott. That would require you, however, to ignore the 
thousands of cases that are pending for other kinds of 
discrimination under Title VI. Is that right?
    Mr. Marcus. No. I do not think that those should be 
ignored. I think that they can all be handled. The Assistant 
Secretary for Civil Rights can really address any issues that 
are high on the priority list, while also addressing the bulk 
of them as well. Change in the budget might have other source 
of affects on the agency, but not necessarily in my opinion, on 
antisemitism matters.
    Mr. Scott. Well, sure you could take that, but you would 
have to ignore. I mean you only got, if you cut the budget, you 
are not able to do as much, and there are many problems with 
civil rights that the Office of Civil Rights has to address. If 
you cut the budget, you are not going to be able to address 
them as well. That is just simple arithmetic, and if you are 
not going to criticize the cut in the enforcement agency, that 
is going to enforce the problem--that is going to deal with the 
problem that you have complained about, that is not helpful. I 
yield back.
    Chairman Owens. Thank you. I would like to now recognize 
Ms. Miller.
    Mrs. Miller. Thank you, Chairman Owens, for hosting this 
important hearing. American citizens are horrified to watch 
foreign nationals who have been allowed into our country on 
student visas threaten American students based on their 
religion.
    No foreign national should ever be allowed to threaten an 
American citizen on American soil period. I am leading a letter 
to the Department of Justice to ask for an investigation into 
the funding sources for the organizations coordinating these 
violent protests.
    If foreign terrorist organizations or sanction foreign 
nationals are funding and coordinating these violent threats to 
Jewish students on American campuses, the DOJ must act. If 
foreign students who are here on student visas threaten 
American students, their visas need to be revoked immediately.
    Colleges and universities must suspend foreign nationals 
who are threatening Jewish students based on their religion, 
and the DOJ must uphold their responsibility to defend the 
religious liberty rights of American citizens. Then Rabbi 
Hauer, I have a question. This hearing is honestly focused on 
antisemitism on college campuses, however, in your testimony 
you do note that antisemitism has spread from postsecondary 
education to middle and high schools.
    What are you hearing from middle and high school Jewish 
students around the country?
    Rabbi Hauer. We are hearing just that, that it has spread. 
They have begun to experience the general environmental 
antisemitism which comes from vocal rallies, speaking strongly 
and sharply, pro-Hamas, celebrating those who will destroy 
their own people. They have experienced as well, issues in the 
classrooms and they have experienced a whole lot of 
interpersonal one on one bullying via social media and 
otherwise.
    There is a difference that happens in those spaces between 
when the administration reacts promptly and effectively, and 
when it does not. That is all the difference. We who again have 
many, many such students in these environments, when the 
administration reacts firmly, clearly and addresses it, it is a 
whole different story.
    There is going to be hate expressed in this country, but it 
festers when we let it.
    Mrs. Miller. Absolutely. When the students report the 
bullying, are the school administrators taking action to 
protect them?
    Rabbi Hauer. Sometimes, excuse me, sometimes they are, and 
sometimes they are not. We unfortunately, I received from one 
of our clubs where there was a very, very clear situation of 
antisemitism, and the forms were filed, and the school did not 
even classify it as a hate crime. You have ugly instances like 
that of blatant failure.
    At the same time, you also have wonderful school 
administrators who are doing the right thing. I think we are in 
a place and a time when those who are doing the right thing 
have to be lifted up, and those who are doing the wrong thing 
need to have consequences. One of the things which we note all 
the time is that the only people who are not experiencing fear 
right now, are those who are making others fearful.
    There is no fear of consequences. A discussion about Title 
VI is a discussion about creating that fear of consequences.
    Mrs. Miller. Well, absolutely. We need strong leadership 
from our President taking a--making decisive statements against 
this and thank you. Chairman, I yield my time back to you.
    Chairman Owens. Thank you so much. I would like to now 
recognize Mr. Kiley.
    Mr. Kiley. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you, Mr. Marcus, and 
everyone else for your testimony. We had a discussion last week 
about steps that the Department of Education Office of Civil 
Rights could take, and we--myself and the Chair of this 
Committee, Representative Owens had incorporated your 
suggestions in a letter we have sent to the Assistant Secretary 
as well as Secretary Cardona, and so we will certainly keep you 
apprised on the response we get, and that any further 
suggestions you have would be much appreciated.
    Mr. Marcus. Thank you.
    Mr. Kiley. I did want to take a moment to respond to a 
member of this Committee who earlier tried to explain away his 
vote against a resolution condemning antisemitism. Apparently, 
he had quibbles with a couple factual details in two of the 
numerous examples listed in the resolution, and the many 
countless examples across the country.
    How you could use that as a pretext not to take a strong 
stand against antisemitism right now is really beyond 
comprehension for me. I did want to just make clear that this 
is a very small fringe minority view in this House of 
Representatives. That resolution, which I worked on with Chair 
Owens, passed overwhelmingly with over 99 percent of the 
republican conference, and over 90 percent of the democrat 
conference.
    That fringe group of 20 or so people, they do not represent 
their own party. They do not represent the House of 
Representatives. They do not represent the U.S. Government, 
which has been unified in a strong bipartisan basis in 
supporting Israel and fighting against antisemitism.
    Those 20 or so do in a meaningful way, seem to represent 
much of American academia. When you look at what is going on at 
universities in this country right now. As the testimony has 
made clear, this has been going on for some time. I will give 
you one very clear example of just how pervasive it is.
    A few years ago, in California, there was a piece of 
legislation passed in the legislature that asked a group to 
come with the State Board of Education, to come up with a model 
ethnic studies curriculum. The State Board of Education 
appointed a Commission of faculty members form across the 
State, and they went about their work and came up with a 
curriculum that was universally condemned on both sides of the 
aisle for being overtly antisemitic.
    The California Legislative Jewish Caucus said it was 
antisemitic Propst that it denigrated Jews, and that it 
``echoed the propaganda of the Nazi regime.'' Even Gavin 
Newsom, the Governor of our State, said it was offensive in so 
many ways, and would never see the light of day.
    Then, in the aftermath of October 7th, we have seen all too 
many student groups and in some cases faculty, have used this 
moment to push forward their agenda of hatred toward Israel and 
of antisemitic rhetoric, and even the targeting of Jewish 
students.
    We watched a classified--we had a classified briefing this 
morning, members of the House, watching raw footage of the 
horror of that day, and I do not--I think we have to be very 
careful anytime we draw historical parallels, but when you 
study the events of the 20's and 30's, in Germany you know, it 
is hard to understand how so many you know, even leading 
intellectuals of the day, responded with indifference, or in 
some places complicity.
    I just have that same sense of deep puzzlement right now. 
How is it that our leading academic institutions, these are 
supposed to be the most forward-thinking places in our country, 
have become these sites for fomenting antisemitism?
    I just wanted to maybe, Mr. Marcus, and if any others have 
any thought on that as to why it is. What is it about the 
nature of the modern academy in the U.S. and in other places as 
well, I would say, that has caused so much to go awry?
    Mr. Marcus. I am glad you are mentioning ethnic studies 
because that is an important part of the puzzle of how things 
are getting so bad. It is driven by higher education, but is 
having an impact on K-12. Studying ethnicities is not 
inherently bad. It can be done well, but unfortunately the 
contemporary field of ethnic studies, especially liberated 
ethnic studies, has become both politically extreme, and also 
anti-Zionist, and antisemitic.
    We have had to file a case together with the American 
Jewish Committee Anti-Defamation League and stand with us 
against one school district in California that has extreme 
problems, but there are problems in many districts throughout 
California and now they're coming east as well.
    To the extent that you have a curriculum that creates 
stereotyped, antithetical views of the Jewish people, it should 
not be surprising that students become miseducated, and that 
the problems become worse.
    Ms. Tartak. Could I add with the last 10 seconds that I 
think part of the issue with academia is that it is super 
partisan. There is of course, not just politically, but just 
intellectually. There is this X, Y or Z belief that we have one 
side, and there is another side.
    Right now, because there is supposed to be this wholesale 
embrace of so-called oppressed groups, that also includes an 
embrace of Hamas, which is why it is easier for them to condemn 
white supremacist attacks against Jews, and harder for them to 
condemn Islamist attacks against Jews.
    Ms. Burdett. I would like to just add that in the 1920's 
and the 1930's, I do not know about academia, but the U.S. 
House of Representatives stood by and did nothing and blocked 
the rescue of Jews. I do think reconciling with our past is 
very important. We should not do it selectively.
    It is important, I do think the Holocaust is a very 
instructive thing to look at. Comparisons are tricky, and they 
are not really necessary unfortunately, because we have an 
explosion of followers of Nazi, racist, white supremacist 
ideology in our country today, and that ideology has at its 
center antisemitism, racialized antisemitism, and conspiracy 
theories.
    This is a very serious subject and learning about the 
apathy that left Jews to be slaughtered during the Holocaust is 
very important, and we can also be looking within our own 
shores, and in our own institutions, and it is important to do 
so. Thank you for raising history.
    Mr. Kiley. I yield back.
    Chairman Owens. Okay. I would like to recognize Mr. Scott 
for his closing statement.
    Mr. Scott. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I appreciate 
all of the witnesses' testimony. All students have a right to 
attend colleges and universities and be free from 
discrimination and harassment, and this right is enforced by 
Title VI, the Office of Civil Rights. Witnesses have exposed 
the reality, and many students in fact do not feel safe.
    This is not new, and not just limited to one group of 
students, so I look forward to working with you, Mr. Chairman, 
as we address the problem, starting with avoiding cuts in the 
Office of Civil Rights. Thank you.
    Chairman Owens. Thank you, Mr. Scott. Without objections, I 
enter into the record a statement from the MorseLife Holocaust 
Learning Experience, highlighting the actions that the State of 
Florida has taken to require the teaching of the Holocaust 
within Florida schools.
    [The information of Mr. Owens follows:]
    [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT] 

    
    Chairman Owens. I am going to give my closing statements. I 
want to first of all say that we asked a question how could 
this happen? There is another deeper conversation, but it is 
called the Marxification of Education. We have over the last 
two decades have within our system Marxists, who divide us 
versus bring us together, and we have to recognize that, and 
teach our kids what that looks like.
    That being said, I want to thank each and every one of you. 
Really this is so timely, so informative, and particularly Ms. 
Tartak, thank you. It is very exciting to see our young people 
standing up and doing the right things. I watched this myself 
as a 12-year-old in the 60's.
    I grew up in the days of KKK Jim Crow segregation. It was 
the college kids that came and sat at these counters. College 
kids that actually demonstrated in front of movie theaters, 
because they knew what the American dream was, and they were 
willing to stand up and articulate that, so I appreciate that.
    This is very personal to me because I have lived it. I grew 
up in the 60's. I was the third black American to have a 
football scholarship to the University of Miami, so I know what 
it is to walk into a room and feel hate.
    Try to walk into a movie theater or be characterized and 
judged by intelligence or my character based on my skin color. 
We have come so far from that point we should never, ever look 
at turning back. At the age of 19, 18 years old, I saw 
firsthand my first experience with antisemitism. It was 
shocking for a young man who had never been around white 
people.
    I thought all white people accepted each other. It was just 
amazing to see that. To see here 60 years later what is 
happening across our country, the evil that happened on October 
7th, and for us to not automatically, instinctively stand up 
against it, says a lot about where we are.
    Hate is taught. It is not in our DNA. I say that because I 
again, I grew up in a time where even dating a different color 
was not looked upon as being a positive thing. Where we are 60 
years later, my family, six kids. We represent black, white, 
Hispanic, American Indian, and Trinidadian.
    We call each other family, and my grandkids call each other 
cousins. That is the American way. That is what we are drifting 
to until we found this nexus of hate within our college 
campuses. This is where we are finding Black Lives Matter, who 
hate not only whites, but Jews, and America.
    That is where we find Antifa that hate black businesses. 
That is where we find the pro-Hamas who hate Jews. Americans, 
anything that stands against our American way, and this is 
something we cannot allow to continue to happen. We have no 
questions seen on our college campuses colleges or complacency 
with our administrators, and we're going to have to do 
something about that.
    We are not in business of using taxpayer dollars to provide 
and nourish hate. We just do not--that is not the American way. 
Thankful for this moment. We are beginning to kind of take a 
look at that. I just want to--I leave a quick message to my 
friends in Utah. Utah is a remarkable State because we are very 
embracive.
    We have very entrepreneurial. We have a strong faith. We 
could lose that overnight if we are not careful. I want to--
there now my college friends, my State representatives, they 
are now dealing with a curriculum, they have to figure out if 
they are going to accept or not.
    I just want to read a little paragraph from what they are 
now looking at. This is the K through 12 by the way, to the 
point we just mentioned earlier. ``With the goal of equipping 
students with the skills and knowledge they need to identify 
and overcome oppression, voices provide a counter narrative to 
U.S. history, and dives into stories of discrimination, 
resistance and resilience.''
    We do not need a counter narrative to America history. We 
need to teach American history. If you do that, we find a 
country that's unified, that believes in their autocracy, they 
begin looking at each other inside out and not outside in. That 
is American history, and that is what we have done to become a 
more perfect union.
    To see this kind of hate, by the way, one thing to say 
about those who preach hate, age does not matter to them. The 
earlier they can start the better, and you see that in the 
colleges right now where young, innocent boys and girls are 
taught to hate another person just because they are different.
    We are going to get past this. Our country in a bipartisan 
way. We now realize we do have an issue. It is not getting 
better, it is getting worse. We need to hold the colleges 
accountable. They give us a bad product. They do not deserve 
our government dollars anymore.
    I do not care how popular their name might be, they cannot 
give us--kids to come out productive, proud of who they are, 
proud of our country, proud of our history, and working 
together as we the people. They cannot give us that, and we 
need to have other options out on the table, and American 
people will choose those better options every single day.
    I want to thank you guys again for what you are doing for 
your courage, and with that this hearing comes to an end. The 
Committee is adjourned, thank you.
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT] 



    [Whereupon at 1:09 p.m., the Subcommittee was adjourned.]