Mark Harris To University President: 'Did DePaul Experience Encampments Over The War In Ukraine?'

2 days ago

At Wednesday's House Education Committee hearing, Rep. Mark Harris (R-NC) questioned college presidents about antisemitism on college campuses.

Transcript

00:00This gentleman from North Carolina, Representative Harris.

00:03Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you to all the panelists that have been a part of this

00:07today for your perseverance and your time. I want to address a question to President Raymond.

00:14President Raymond, days after the October 7th attack on Israel, Haverford College released

00:19a statement that highlighted, quote, tragedies across the globe that had occurred, quote,

00:25since the start of the semester. The email mentioned earthquakes in Morocco and Afghanistan,

00:31wildfires in the United States and Canada, and a two-year-long war in Ukraine. The email

00:37only made a passing reference, and I quote, the outbreak of war in Israel and Gaza that

00:44had taken place just 48 hours before. We all know in this room, October 7th was not a mutual,

00:50quote, outbreak of war between two countries. In fact, it was a terrorist attack by Hamas

00:56on Israel. Babies were butchered, women were raped, 1,200 innocents were slaughtered, and

01:03over 250 people were kidnapped. I have to ask, why did Haverford lack the moral clarity to

01:12immediately and clearly condemn the attack on Israel?

01:20Representative Harris, we did condemn the attack by Hamas on Israel, and it was not,

01:28you are correct, in that email, which I was responsible for, and I would do it differently

01:34now. This is an example of a difficult period of learning where I did not get it right.

01:41Okay. So, you say in your testimony, and I've read your testimony beforehand, the written

01:46testimony we received, that, quote, any failures and fractures at Haverford are ultimately my

01:52responsibility as president. So, do you take responsibility for this failure to call the

01:59attack what it was immediately?

02:03I take responsibility for the judgment about that communication. That's right.

02:09Okay. Well, on January 4th, 2024, an anonymous author, presumably a Haverford student, published

02:17an article on the Political Science Department website expressing dismay for the response of

02:23the campus to October 7th. The article highlights the morally bankrupt responses of students to

02:29the violence, for example, sharing how students posted phrases like, quote, freedom has only ever

02:35been achieved through resistance. Stand with Palestinian resistance, end quote. The author wrote in reaction

02:42to seeing these statements posted on his or her classmates that, quote, up until October 7th,

02:48I had truly believed that at a liberal arts institution like Haverford, there was no place for anti-Semitism,

02:55but I do not know how else to label cheering the death of innocent Jews. Many students, student activists across the country,

03:03have used the slogan, resistance is justified when people are occupied as their motivation for praising the violence that was perpetrated against Israel.

03:14I ask you, President Raymond, yes or no, was the October 7th attack on Israel justified?

03:21Absolutely not. Thank you, ma'am. No. And I agree. And it's good to hear you confirm that. And I certainly hope and pray that students around the country,

03:32including those enrolled at Haverford come to realize this very thing as well.

03:39I want to turn in my last minute or so to President Manuel. I want to ask you a series of questions, if I will.

03:47Have there been violent protests on your campus in response to the war in Sudan?

03:55Not that I'm aware of.

03:56Did DePaul experience encampments over the war in Ukraine?

04:01Also not that I'm aware of.

04:03Have there been chants calling for the eradication of other people groups on your campus besides the Jewish people?

04:11Again, not that I'm aware of.

04:13Thank you, sir. I think we all know why there is no such focus on the world, why there is such a focus on the world's only Jewish state.

04:24Unfortunately, anti-Semitism has been spreading like wildfire among our nation's campuses.

04:30And as a result, anything Israel does to defend itself and its people faces increased scrutiny that no other nation on Earth seems to face.

04:39I'm glad we're having this hearing today, and I commend our chairman for helping us shine a light on this very important problem that is plaguing American higher education.