Fox News Digital spoke with two Republican committee members following the hearing, seeking their reactions to the initial testimony of Columbia University President Dr. Nemat "Minouche" Shafik, who claimed she had not witnessed any campus protests that were overtly "anti-Jewish."
Representative Omar contended that the campus protests were simply expressions of "pro-war" or "anti-war" sentiment. However, Representative Elise Stefanik, a Republican from New York and Chair of the House Republican Conference, challenged Dr. Shafik on whether she considered the anti-Israel protesters' chants of "F-- the Jews" and "Death to the Jews" to be anti-Jewish. Dr. Shafik conceded that these slogans, which were heard on campus, were indeed "completely anti-Jewish," thereby amending her initial testimony.
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Committee Chair Representative Virginia Foxx, a Republican from North Carolina, expressed her astonishment at Dr. Shafik's initial denial. "I thought her answer to that was wrong to begin with, and she had a chance to correct it. I was flabbergasted, actually, when she said no," Foxx told Fox News Digital. "She said there had been no anti-Jewish incidents. Well, what is this whole hearing about? The whole hearing is about that."
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Representative Brandon Williams, a Republican from New York, also commented on the exchange, highlighting the leadership's response. "What I found interesting is the leadership's response to that. And you saw Representative Stefanik really follow up with that," Williams said. "They are in deep denial that they cover with these clever phrases … just because everything inside the protest was antisemitic, well, it wasn't an antisemitic protest because it wasn't labeled as such. Now that's absurd."
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While the hearing was in progress, protesters outside the Capitol could be heard demanding entry. Meanwhile, at Columbia University’s campus in New York City, hundreds of anti-Israel protesters staged an "occupation" protest, demanding that the Ivy League institution "divest" from Israel. Video footage showed demonstrators lighting flares after dark, and the New York City Police Department arrested at least four people on Thursday morning when crowds defied the university’s order to dismantle the "encampment," which included tents erected on a campus lawn.
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Representative Foxx emphasized the committee's commitment to Jewish students. "I think it's very important that the Jewish students know that this committee has their back, that we will continue to fight with them against antisemitism," Foxx said. "And that's my commitment to them. I think they understand that commitment. They've seen the other hearings that we've had. They've heard the things that we've said. And I think it's important that they know they're not alone on that campus, that we are going to be with them, whether we're there physically with them, we're there, mentally, psychologically and morally with them."
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Before the hearing began on Wednesday morning, Foxx and other House Republicans hosted a group of Jewish students at the Capitol, giving them the opportunity to speak at a press conference. One of these students, Eden Yadegar, the daughter of Iranian immigrants, recounted recent instances of antisemitism on campus. These included a tenured Columbia professor allegedly telling students that Jews who regularly attend temple are "indoctrinated," a Jewish student having a Star of David necklace ripped from her neck, and Jewish students being accosted by other students at the law school or in the kosher section of the dining hall, who yelled, "F--- the Jews."
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Yadegar said that Jewish students have become fearful of reporting instances of discrimination and harassment due to their lack of faith in the university's willingness to protect them. She argued that the university's inaction has left Jewish students feeling abandoned after months of silence from the school's leadership.
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Another student who spoke at the press conference, Yola Ashkenazi, described how Columbia has recognized clubs that say things like, "Zionists not invited," and, "the Holocaust wasn’t that special." She cited instances of swastikas being drawn in campus buildings and said, "Columbia permits hate rallies on our campus that call for violence and eradication of the Jewish state" and call for "intifada revolution."
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Ashkenazi recounted how on February 2, one of her friends was physically held outside the wall of the campus fitness center by demonstrators. Columbia public safety officers later advised him to "not wear anything identifying him as Jewish when tensions are high."
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Speaking with Fox News Digital ahead of the hearing, Yadegar said she was not surprised by the anti-Israel demonstrations happening again back on campus. "I think that we’ve gotten to a point where these student demonstrators feel that anything is fair game because they have not been disciplined adequately, and so I’m hoping that this hearing will shift us away from that direction," Yadegar said.
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"We’ve been isolated on campus in certain organizations, in the classroom. It’s been incredibly difficult, but the Jewish people are incredibly resilient, and as Americans, as Jews, it’s our duty to continue to participate in these spaces that we’ve worked so hard to get to," she said. "I do have a little bit of faith left in their leadership, and I do hope that they will follow through. They claim that antisemitism is abhorrent and that it has no space in our university, and our campus. The action over the past five months doesn’t coincide with that rhetoric, however the actions taken over the past couple of weeks are edging in that direction."
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