(ConservativeSense.com) – Republicans in the Senate are demanding answers on what Education Secretary Miguel Cardona is doing to protect Jewish students at American colleges. Idaho Senators Jim Risch and Mike Crapo wrote to Cardona, stating, “Many Jewish and pro-Israel students have felt unsafe in their institutions of higher education, especially following Hamas’ attack on Israel.”
The letter points to several serious incidents on college campuses since the terror attack on October 7. One such incident occurred at Cornell University in New York, where Jewish students hid in their dorms, and some were unable to leave a library due to online threats and the presence of pro-Palestinian protestors.
Online messages included, “If you see a Jewish person on campus, follow them home and slit their throats. Rats need to be eliminated from Cornell,” and “Jews are excrement on the face of the earth. No Jew civilian is innocent of genocide.”
Cornell’s president, Martha E. Pollack, said the statements were “unacceptable” and those guilty would be “punished.”
The letter furthermore demanded to know how many taxpayer dollars are “funding antisemitism” on campus. It stated that there were already concerns about anti-Jewish sentiment in college, but the events of October 7 “have made it clear the Department owes both the Senate and the American people answers.”
It is the second time this year that Republicans have asked the Education Department to provide answers on funding antisemitic extremism. In March, Senator Risch asked Cardona if he had plans to confront the issue, saying Jewish students are intimidated and citing figures from the Anti-Defamation League, which documents antisemitic incidents, showing antisemitism at record highs.
Risch reminded Cardona of the Higher Education Act’s Title VI, which mandates that taxpayer-backed colleges must “reflect diverse perspectives and a wide range of views,” and said programs addressing politics in the Middle East “are failing to meet this requirement.” Mr. Risch also pointed out that professors often engage in anti-Israel rhetoric and openly support boycott campaigns against the Jewish state.
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