U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) is trying to crack down on the antisemitism that is taking place on many college and university campuses.
Stefanik is looking to do so with legislation that would essentially force colleges and universities to take action to put a stop to this antisemitism.
The congresswoman, according to Fox News, made her plan known on Thursday during a roundtable with Jewish college students.
The roundtable was hosted by the House Education and Workforce Committee, which is led by U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC). The committee is currently investigating antisemitism on college and university campuses, and this roundtable was part of its investigation.
During the roundtable, Stefanik suggested a few different ways that Congress could take action to cut back on campus antisemitism.
"Number one, U.S. taxpayer funding for these institutions — U.S. taxpayers do not want to prop up this moral rot of antisemitism, and we have to make sure that that is not the case. Foreign funding as well, there is not full transparency in terms of foreign funding and strings that are attached to that foreign funding. This is a major issue on these college campuses," Stefanik said.
Stefanik went on to call for the elimination of DEI - or Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion - Offices, referring to them as "inherently antisemitic."
"We heard from numerous students today that when Jewish students reach out to offices of DEI, they don't even get a response when it comes to harassment and violence," Stefanik said.
The congresswoman concluded, "There's so much work to do, but this is a reckoning. It's an earthquake, and it's long overdue."
Campus antisemitism has become a point of focus ever since Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack on Israel.
In response, many have voiced support for Israel. But, there has also been a significant part of the population, including a significant part of the college and university population, that has been holding protests in support of Palestine.
Pro-Israel Democrats, in particular, have often found themselves on the wrong side of the protests, including the likes of President Joe Biden, U.S. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Hillary Clinton, and many others.
Campuses have been a hotspot for such protests, and many argue that schools have not taken sufficient action to get the situation under control. Notably, the presidents of Harvard and Pennsylvania Universities were removed from their posts after failing to condemn, before Congress, incidents of antisemitism that have taken place on their campuses.
It is unclear what kind of support there is in Congress for the sort of measures suggested by Stefanik.
