Kenneth L. Marcus Delivers Powerful Testimony to U.S. House Ways & Means Committee about ‘Perfect Storm’ Threatening the Safety of Jewish Students

The House Ways and Means Committee invited Brandeis Center Chairman Kenneth L. Marcus to testify at its hearing: “Crisis on Campus: Antisemitism, Radical Faculty, and the Failure of University Leadership,” which took place June 13, 2024. The hearing’s other witnesses included recently-graduated Cornell student Talia Dror, Columbia Professor Shai Davidai, American Jewish Committee CEO and former U.S. Congressman Ted Deutch, and American First Policy Institute Higher Education Reform Director Dr. Jonathan Pidluzny.

This hearing focused on what Congress could do to respond and stop the rampant anti-Semitism that students have seen and experienced on college campuses since the October 7 Hamas massacre. The various ideas included curbing the college’s tax-exempt status, cutting federal funding, and revoking foreign wrongdoers’ visas. “Over the last 20 years, I have been fighting anti-Semitism on college campuses, but never seen anything like what we have experienced since October 7,” began Chairman Marcus in his opening statement. “Over the time since…this Committee held its last hearing…we are seeing a kind of perfect storm of student violent extremism, professorial politicization, undisclosed foreign funding, and often feckless and weak administration.”

Chairman Marcus shared concern about retaliation against students who report the anti-Semitic abuse: “In some cases, those who report anti-Semitic incidents have been met with retaliatory complaints or countercomplaints. Students should be encouraged to report their abuse without fear of reprisal.” Marcus is also troubled about how the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has dismissed some complaints unlawfully. He recommended OCR prioritize “opening, investigating, and resolving shared ancestry cases.” He suggested the Dept. of Education not merely wait for new complaints to be filed, but instead open its own investigations of anti-Semitic discrimination on campuses. And Marcus recommended joint investigations with the U.S. Department of Justice, because discrimination cases can fall under their purview.

Two bills were also discussed as potential remedies. One was the Anti-Semitism Awareness Act, which recently passed the U.S. House of Representatives. Chairman Marcus called this a “huge step,” saying, “I hope the Senate will follow suit.”

Chairman Marcus advises that university presidents investigate Students for Justice in Palestine for “potential violations of the prohibition against materially supporting a foreign terrorist organization under 18 USC 2339A and B, and its state equivalents. Marcus also advocated for increased transparency about the “large sums of money from foreign governments.” But he cautioned for the “need to know what those funds are used for and “what impact it has on the curriculum and campus environment.”

The idea of rescinding funding to schools that refuse or declare themselves unable to respond to the ongoing crisis of hatred on campuses was endorsed by all the hearing’s witnesses. In response to a question from Congressman Drew Fergurson, Marcus said school administrations are “addicted to federal funding,” and it would change their

approach to anti-Semitic harassment and discrimination of students were their federal funding to be revoked or blocked.

Video of the hearing and a transcript of Chairman Marcus’s opening statement are embedded below.

Authored by: Eli Goldstein