The school presidents’ testimony on antisemitism did not satisfy lawmakers, who opened an investigation into three top US universities yesterday. The House Committee on Education and the Workforce, led by Republicans, said in a statement that it would look into the learning and disciplinary practices at Harvard, Penn and MIT. The committee accused the schools of failing to deal with “rampant antisemitism” on their campuses after the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel, which sparked a huge, continuing Israeli response in Gaza. The statement said the probe might include other universities as well.

An MIT spokesperson said the school rejected antisemitism in all its forms and would work with the committee to address its questions.

A Harvard spokesperson said the university had “the highest commitment” to combating antisemitism and “looks forward to sharing information with the Committee as it pursues its inquiry.” A representative for the University of Pennsylvania, or Penn, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The October 7 attack and ensuing war between Israel and Hamas have claimed thousands of lives, and turned US college campuses into hotbeds of protest. University leaders have come under fire from both pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian communities for their handling of student and faculty speech and conduct.

There has been a rise in antisemitic and Islamophobic incidents, including some violent ones, in the US and elsewhere. At Tuesday’s hearing, Harvard President Claudine Gay, Penn President Liz Magill and MIT President Sally Kornbluth faced Republican US Representative Elise Stefanik, who asked them if “calling for the genocide of Jews” would break their schools’ conduct codes related to bullying and harassment. The presidents did not say “yes” or “no” directly, pointing out that the US Constitution’s First Amendment and university policies allow many kinds of hateful speech. The schools’ Jewish students and alumni were outraged by the video clips of the hearing, and called for Magill and Gay to step down. A big donor, Stone Ridge Asset Management founder and CEO Ross Stevens, took back a gift to Penn of nearly US$100 million to express his dissatisfaction with the school’s approach to antisemitism on campus, Stevens said in a letter. The letter, which Axios reported first, said, “Mr. Stevens and Stone Ridge are appalled by the University’s stance on antisemitism on campus.” The committee’s statement, by its Republican Chairwoman Virginia Foxx, said, “the testimony we received earlier this week (from university leaders)… was absolutely unacceptable. “Committee members have deep concerns with their leadership and their failure to take steps to provide Jewish students the safe learning environment they are due under law,” Foxx added. The statement said the investigation would require “substantial document requests,” and could involve subpoenas for information not readily available.