Antisemitism has taken root at Haverford College. That is why I called its president, Wendy Raymond, to testify before Congress earlier this week. She did not meet my expectations.
Since Hamas terrorists butchered more than 1,200 innocent people on Oct. 7, 2023, antisemitism in all its forms is now a daily occurrence at schools across the United States. In 2024, the Anti-Defamation League announced that more than 1,200 antisemitic incidents reportedly occurred on college campuses — a 500% increase from the year before.
These incidents aren’t mere classroom disagreements or geopolitical discussions over America’s relationship with Israel. At Northwestern University, vandals called for intifada, a global execution of Jews, and defaced campus property with scrawls of “DEATH TO ISRAEL.” At Columbia University, masked students barged into a class on the history of modern Israel to pass out flyers glorifying Hamas, emblazoned with a clear call to violence: “THE ENEMY WILL NOT SEE TOMORROW.” And just last week, a Harvard University task force investigating antisemitism on its campus released a scathing report detailing the school’s fecklessness as harassment of Jews on campus escalated to unacceptable levels.
But here’s the thing: antisemitism isn’t just happening in the Ivy League or a few East Coast schools. It’s happening everywhere in America. Relatively small schools, such as Haverford College, are seeing shocking rises in anti-Jewish incidents and rhetoric on their own campuses.
Raymond’s testimony was littered with weak and empty condemnations of antisemitism. Armed with a cheat sheet of prepared responses and prompts, such as “Remember body posture,” Raymond provided evasive testimony and refused to discuss whether disciplinary measures were taken to counteract Haverford’s pervasive culture of antisemitism. Students there are subjected to harassment simply for being Jewish. Professors repeatedly share antisemitic content celebrating Hamas’s murder of innocent people. Meanwhile, students and faculty expressing support for Israel “are penalized through formal investigations and other disciplinary measures, as well as … stigmatization, harassment, and bullying campaigns.”
To name a few antisemitic incidents raised at the hearing: Jewish religious posters were torn down for a year before the administration admitted the poster disappearances were antisemitic incidents, and, perhaps not coincidentally, the administration admitted the poster disappearances were antisemitic in the weeks prior to our hearing; Haverford allowed an event invoking the antisemitic conspiracy theory of blood libel to be held on campus; and administrators have remained silent while Haverford professors post threatening and deeply antisemitic messages online — while a Jewish Haverford professor was investigated for his pro-Israel posts. When questioned about such incidents, Raymond repeatedly refused to provide any details, recycling phrases from her cheat sheet, such as “abhorrent,” instead.
Raymond and the college emphasize Haverford’s Quaker roots in rejecting punitive discipline and instead prioritizing “restorative practices” and “peer confrontation.” However, the faculty leaders of Haverford’s Restorative Practices group are supporters of the antisemitic boycott, divestment, and sanctions movement. One of the directors is also a member of Faculty and Staff for Justice in Palestine. While claiming they have discipline procedures on campus, Raymond did not discuss what those procedures looked like and refused to say if and when they were used.
Haverford’s double standard could not be any clearer. However, the school’s failure to address these incidents demonstrates a broader trend of liberal arts schools that are plagued by antisemitism and doing nothing to meaningfully confront it.
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Schools are legally required to create a learning environment in which students don’t have to fear for their safety if they attend class. Haverford is accused of failing to meet this requirement. What’s more, Congress provides billions of taxpayer dollars to postsecondary institutions every year. I will not stand by while these campuses are overrun with antisemitism.
Antisemitic harassment on our campuses should not be the reality for Jewish students and faculty — and yet, it is, everywhere. This week, we provided an opportunity for Haverford to take accountability and commit to following the law to ensure Jewish students have a safe learning environment. Unfortunately, Raymond rejected that opportunity.
Tim Walberg is the chairman of the House Education and Workforce Committee.
This article was originally published at www.washingtonexaminer.com
