The heads of the University of California, Berkeley, Georgetown University and the City University of New York (Cuny) appeared before the House of Representatives on Thursday in the last antisemitism hearing since the Israel-Gaza war began. Republican lawmakers questioned the leaders on hiring practices, faculty unions, Middle East study centres, foreign funding and diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.
Georgetown's interim president Robert Groves, Cuny's chancellor Félix V Matos Rodríguez and UC Berkeley's chancellor Rich Lyons faced scrutiny from the GOP. The hearing followed earlier sessions that led to the resignations of the presidents of the University of Pennsylvania, Harvard and Columbia after tense exchanges with Republican representatives such as Elise Stefanik of New York.
Democratic lawmakers denounced the hearing as 'political theatre' and criticised the Trump administration's cuts to agencies enforcing civil rights protections. Ranking member Bobby Scott of Virginia noted it was the ninth hearing on antisemitism in 18 months, adding that the committee had not held a single hearing addressing racism, xenophobia, sexism, Islamophobia or other challenges affecting student groups.
The university leaders condemned antisemitism but defended their institutions' records. The hearing marked the conclusion of a series of congressional inquiries into campus antisemitism that began after the 7 October 2023 Hamas attacks on Israel.
