A Republican-led House committee expanded its investigation into antisemitism on college campuses to include another Ivy League university, according to a letter on Monday.
Republican North Carolina Rep. Virginia Foxx wrote in the letter that due to “grave concerns regarding the inadequacy of Columbia’s response to antisemitism,” the House Committee on Education and The Workforce would be expanding its investigation to include Columbia University. Foxx demanded paperwork from the university, including documents related to the school’s handling of disciplinary action of students committing discriminatory acts. (RELATED: Donor Who Gave Harvard $300 Million Says He’s ‘Not Interested’ In Funding University, Questions ‘DEI Agenda’)
“The Committee on Education and the Workforce (the Committee) is investigating Columbia University’s response to antisemitism and its failure to protect Jewish students. We have grave concerns regarding the inadequacy of Columbia’s response to antisemitism on its campus,” Foxx wrote in the letter.
WASHINGTON, DC – MARCH 09: Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC) speaks at a press conference following a conference meeting at the U.S. Capitol on March 09, 2021, in Washington, D.C. (McNamee/Getty Images)
The university suspended the campus chapters of Students for Justice in Palestine and Jewish Voice for Peace in November following the groups holding an “unauthorized” anti-Israel event.
“Amidst the heightened scrutiny of the proliferation of antisemitism on its campus following the October 7, 2023, terrorist attack, Columbia suspended SJP and JVP on November 10, 2023, for numerous violations of university policy. This rendered them ineligible to hold events on campus. However, the university has repeatedly failed to enforce this decision and has allowed these groups and others to hold unauthorized antisemitic, anti-Israel events without consequence,” the letter states.
Foxx also demanded documents related to the school’s relationship with Qatar, foreign donations and diversity, equity and inclusion(DEI) practices at the university, according to the letter. She also requested documentation regarding the university’s encouragement of faculty or students to participate in the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement(BDS), which calls for divestment from Israel.
Over 300 faculty members at Columbia and its affiliate school, Barnard College, signed a letter in November decrying a “spate of antisemitic incidents” on campus. In one incident, a former Columbia student assaulted an Israeli student on campus in October after the former student was confronted taking down pictures of Israeli hostages.
The committee opened an investigation on Dec. 7 into Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) following a Dec. 5 hearing of antisemitism involving all of their presidents. Harvard President Claudine Gay, MIT President Sally Kornbluth and UPenn President Liz Magill all refused to say if calling for the genocide of Jews violated the schools’ codes of conduct at the hearing.
Columbia did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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