December 13, 2023.  

Whereas, on October 7, 2023, the world witnessed Hamas terrorists perpetrate the deadliest attack against the Jewish people since the Holocaust;

Whereas, in the months since, the Anti-Defamation League has recorded 2,031 antisemitic incidents, 400 of which occurred on college campuses, a more than 330-percent increase from the year prior;

Whereas Jewish and Israeli students have faced physical violence, hate-filled disruptions in the classroom, calls from students and faculty advocating for the elimination and destruction of Israel, and other forms of persistent harassment;

Whereas, according to a recent study from the Anti-Defamation League and Hillel International, 73 percent of Jewish college students surveyed have experienced or witnessed some form of antisemitism on campus since the beginning of the school year, up from 32 percent the prior year;

Whereas many university administrations have failed to address the rise of antisemitism;

Whereas to hold universities accountable, the House Committee on Education and the Workforce held a hearing on December 5, 2023;

Whereas, when the Presidents of the University of Pennsylvania, Harvard University, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology were asked if calling for the genocide of Jews violates university policies on bullying and harassment, Presidents Elizabeth Magill, Claudine Gay, and Sally Kornbluth were evasive and dismissive, failing to simply condemn such action;

Whereas President Magill stated, “It is a context-dependent decision”;

Whereas President Gay insisted that it “depends on the context”;

Whereas President Kornbluth responded it would only constitute harassment if it were “targeted at individuals”;

Whereas President Magill has resigned, and the other Presidents should follow suit; and

Whereas acts of hate, intimidation, discrimination, and violence-based on ethnicity or religion have no place in our country or in the global community: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved,

Attest:

Clerk.