Exclusive: US lawmakers demand Harvard, MIT, Penn remove presidents after trial

Dec. 8 (Reuters) – More than 70 U.S. lawmakers on Friday asked the administration of three of the nation’s top universities to remove their presidents, citing displeasure with them. testified in a trial about campus protests, according to a letter seen by Reuters.

In the letter, Republican Representative Elise Stefanik and Democratic Representative Jared Moskowitz asked the board of governors at Harvard University, the University of Pennsylvania, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to oust their presidents or face danger. to do “a conspiratorial action in their opposition.”

Penn President Liz Magill, Harvard President Claudine Gay, and MIT President Sally Kornbluth, all of whom testified before the US House of Representatives Committee on Tuesday, came under fire from their universities. Jews because of their handling of the conflict between Israel and its supporters. -Palestinian contingents since Hamas’ October. 7 attacks on Israel.

Calls for Magill and Gay’s resignation have grown in the days since their testimony, in which they refused to give a definitive “yes” or “no” answer. ” Stefanik asked if calling for the killing of Jews would violate their school’s rules. behavior is about bullying and harassment.

“The testimony given by the presidents of your institutions showed the lack of moral clarity and highlighted the two problems and the destruction of the Jewish community that the presidents of the universities were able to do,” said the book.

“Due to this time of crisis, we want your board of directors to immediately remove each of these presidents from their positions and to issue an action plan to ensure the safety of Jewish and Israeli students, teachers, and educators. in your yards,” the letter said. .

It was signed by 71 Republicans and three Democrats.

School representatives did not immediately respond to requests for comment about the book.

At a hearing Tuesday of the US House Committee on Education and the Workforce, Rep. Stefanik of New York grilled Magill, Gay and Kornbluth during a discussion on hate speech.

“If speech turns into behavior, it can become a problem,” Magill replied. “If it’s ordered and serious and publicized, it’s trouble.”

Kornbluth and Gay gave similar answers, each saying it depends on the context.

Video footage of the hearing was released, prompting further outrage in the school’s Jewish community and increasing calls for change in leadership.

In a video statement released after the trial, Magill said he should have focused more on the “evil” of advocating murder, rather than framing the issue as a matter of free speech. according to the US Constitution and the traditions of campus debate.

“I want to be clear. A call for the genocide of the Jewish people is very, very deep,” Magill said.

Gay apologized for his remarks in court in an interview with Harvard’s student newspaper on Thursday.

“I was caught up in what was, at the time, an extensive, trade-related discussion about policies and procedures,” he told the newspaper.

“What I should have made up my mind to do at that time was to go back to my guiding principle, which is to call for violence against our Jewish community – threats against our Jewish students – no. a place at Harvard, and it will never be shaken. . .

The Board of Directors of the MIT Corporation said in a statement on Thursday that Kornbluth still has their full support.

“He has done a great job in leading our community, including addressing anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, and other forms of hate, which we completely reject at MIT,” the statement said. .

Since the attack of October 7 and the massive Israeli attack on Gaza, violence and Islamophobia, including violence, have increased in the US and elsewhere.

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Gabriella Borter is a reporter on the US National Affairs team, covering cultural and political issues as well as news. She won two Front Page Awards from the Newswomen’s Club of New York – in 2020 for her special report on healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, and in 2019 for her emergency story on the shooting of the police officer who killed Eric Garner. The latter was also a finalist in the Design Awards. He holds a BA in English from Yale University and joined Reuters in 2017.