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Anti-Semitism: prestigious American universities at the heart of a controversy
Anti-Semitism: prestigious American universities at the heart of a controversy – (France 2)
The presidents of American universities at Harvard and two other prestigious establishments caused an outcry. Asked at Capitol Hill about the resurgence of anti-Semitism on their campuses, their responses were considered evasive.
The scene takes place at the Capitol in Washington. The presidents of three of the most prestigious American universities are being asked to explain the resurgence of anti-Semitism on their campuses. The hearing is led by a Republican elected official. “Is explicitly calling for the genocide of the Jews a form of brutality or harassment for you?”she asks. “If it’s targeted and serious enough, then yes, it’s harassment.”responds Elizabeth Magill, president of the University of Pennsylvania.
Universities sometimes the scene of calls for murder
“Anti-Semitic rhetoric, when it then translates into action in the form of attacks, harassment or intimidation, is therefore subject to prosecution, and that is what we are doing”, then responds Claudine Gay, president of Harvard. These responses, considered technical and evasive, sparked an outcry, because since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas, American universities have been the scene of pro-Palestinian demonstrations, but also of anti-Semitic violence, and sometimes calls for murder. .
