Jewish students at major universities told lawmakers on Thursday they feel unsafe on campus amid a surge in antisemitism.
At a roundtable hosted by the House Education and Workforce Committee, students from Columbia University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and other schools described hearing violent chants on campus and complained administrators are not doing enough to fight antisemitism.
“In the past five months, I have become traumatized,” said Talia Khan, a second-year graduate student at MIT.
Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel and the subsequent outbreak of conflict in Israel and Gaza has stoked tension on college campuses across the nation. Both Jewish and Muslim students have said they’ve experienced an uptick in hate speech and harassment on campus.
Khan, graduate student president and co-founder of the MIT Israel Alliance, said MIT has become “overrun with toxic antisemitism” and by “terrorist supporters that directly threaten the lives of Jews on our campus.”
“It is not overly dramatic to ask that something be done when our very existence is under threat,” Khan said.
An MIT spokesperson told CNN that the incidents Khan brought up “are known to us, with some already addressed and others being addressed.”
The spokesperson said the university has, in some cases, taken disciplinary action against students who have committed antisemitic acts. MIT is also “responding with an array of educational steps.”
“These efforts are well underway and ongoing,” she said.
Khan referred to statement like that as “lip service” in the hearing.
Some attacks have turned physical, students say
Eden Yadegar, a junior at Columbia University, described how Jewish students were attacked by people wielding sticks outside of the university library, and how she has been mocked on campus as well as on social media.
“We have been attacked by sticks outside our library. We have been attacked by angry mobs and we have been threatened to ‘Keep f—ing running,’” said Yadegar, president of Students Supporting Israel at Columbia University
Columbia spokesperson Samantha Slater said in a statement to CNN that antisemitism is “antithetical” to the university’s values.
“We are using every available tool to keep our community safe and that includes protecting our Jewish students from antisemitic discrimination or harassment,” Slater said. “Maintaining a safe, civil, inclusive, and respectful campus environment is always a core priority for the University administration and never more so than at present.”
Hannah Beth Schlacter, an MBA student at the University of California, Berkeley’s Haas School of Business, accused the university of fostering an environment where Jewish students are not given equal opportunity to learn and participate in activities.