Fallout From Ivy League Presidents' Congressional Testimony Continues

Just in case widespread hateful anti-Semitic college demonstrations were not enough, top Ivy league University Presidents gave Congress even more reasons to take action this week. 

On Tuesday, US Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) questioned the Presidents of Harvard University, University of Pennsylvania, and MIT, over whether speech calling for the eradication of Jews violated campus policy. 

All of the Presidents dodged the question, with some even inferring that calling for the genocide of Jews would not constitute harassment or bullying in some contexts. 

The Presidents’ answers have garnered intense backlash, with one UPenn donor threatening to withdraw annual $100 million donations unless the President resign. 

Yesterday, US Senator Marco Rubio (R-Fl) introduced the Protecting Education from Malign Foreign Influence Act to combat influences he believes are partly fueling anti-Semitic thought. 

The Act would prohibit higher education institutions, their faculty and staff from establishing or maintaining relationships with specified individuals, or agents of certain foreign adversaries.

Senator Rubio gave some examples of external influences creeping into American institutions.

Rubio alleged the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has accepted $11 million from Huawei, a company accused of being a front for Chinese spyware. Additionally, Rubio mentioned Georgetown University working with the Chinese Communist Party’s Central Committee to get more than $2.3 million.

That certain top Universities which have received hundreds of millions of dollars from states such as Qatar, China, and others, says Rubio, is “not coincidental” with their tolerance for anti-Semitism. 

“Time to get foreign influence out of our schools,” concluded Rubio. 

If the bill is passed, Universities would also be required to develop and enforce policies that necessitate faculty and staff disclosure of such relationships. Guidelines to prevent connections, or identify existing ones, with malign foreign actors would be imposed.

Finally,  institutions owned or controlled by malign foreign actors would eventually lose eligibility for federal funding.