Republican New York Rep. Claudia Tenney sent letters Friday to a number of colleges and universities in New York asking the president of each school to clarify whether calls for the genocide of Jews violate their institutions’ codes of conduct.
The Daily Caller first obtained copies of the letters to eight presidents. The letters come after GOP Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York asked Harvard President Claudine Gay, University of Pennsylvania President Liz Magill and Massachusetts Institute of Technology President Sally Kornbluth whether calling for the genocide of Jews violates their schools’ codes of conduct.
All three gave evasive answers.
During Tuesday’s House Education Committee hearing, Stefanik pressed Gay for her response to students repeating slogans associated with violence against Jews, with Gay refusing to say unequivocally that those students should face punishment.
Tenney sent letters to the presidents of the University of Buffalo, the University of Rochester, Rochester Institute of Technology, Syracuse University, Cornell University — where a professor was plaed on leave but not fired after calling the Hamas terror attack on Israel “exhilarating” — SUNY Geneseo, SUNY Oswego, SUNY Brockport and St. John Fisher College. (RELATED: ‘What Actions Have Been Taken?’: Elise Stefanik Grills Harvard President On Students’ Calls For An ‘Intifada’)
“In the face of rising anti-Semitism on college campus and across America, I wish to ask you the same question presented to the Presidents of Harvard, the University of Pennsylvania, and MIT: Does calling for the genocide of Jews violate the University of Buffalo’s code of conduct?,” Tenney wrote in one letter. (RELATED: Prominent Muslim Group Director Was ‘Happy To See’ Oct. 7 Hamas Attacks Against Israel)
READ THE LETTERS HERE:
(DAILY CALLER OBTAINED) — … by Henry Rodgers
“Since October 7th, anti-Semitic attacks and protests have been on the rise, causing 73% of Jewish students to say they’ve felt unsafe on their own campuses,” Tenney told the Caller before sending the letters. “Yet this week, Presidents from esteemed institutions like Harvard, MIT, and Penn have failed to condemn blatant anti-Semitism. It is more important than ever that we show our unwavering support for the Jewish community.”
“That’s why I am sending a letter to the Presidents of universities in our region, asking them to answer this simple question: Does calling for the genocide of Jews violate your school’s code of conduct?” she continued. “We cannot continue to allow genocidal, anti-Semitic, and pro-Hamas speech and demonstrations to spread across campuses, endangering Jewish students and faculty. Every university president in our region must condemn this anti-Semitism.”
Tenney called for a response to her question by no later than Dec. 19, 2023.