A new bill would strip funding from universities that refuse to tackle anti-Israel protests on campus<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Two US congressmen have introduced a bill that would appoint independent \u201canti-Semitism monitors\u201d to federally funded college campuses across the country. The draft law comes amid a police crackdown on anti-Israel protests at dozens of US universities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Introduced on Friday by New York Representatives Ritchie Torres, a Democrat, and Mike Lawler, a Republican, the COLUMBIA Act would task the Department of Education with sending a \u201cthird-party anti-Semitism monitor\u201d to any college or university receiving federal money. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The inspector would release a quarterly report on \u201cthe progress that a college or university has made toward combating antisemitism.\u201d Schools that fail to sufficiently crack down on alleged hatred against Jews would then have their funding stripped.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cRising antisemitism on our college campuses is a major concern and we must act to ensure the safety of students,\u201d Lawler said in a statement. \u201cJewish students have told my office that they feel completely abandoned by their university administrators and they view Congress as the only avenue for accountability and safety,\u201d Torres added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The bill\u2019s title \u2013 an acronym for the College Oversight and Legal Updates Mandating Bias Investigations and Accountability Act \u2013 refers to Columbia University, where pro-Palestinian rallies and protests have been taking place for nearly two weeks. Similar rallies have broken out at around 40 universities and colleges in the US and Canada, including Harvard, Yale and UC Berkeley. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Protesters are demanding that their universities \u201cdivest\u201d from companies such as Amazon, Google, Microsoft, and Lockheed Martin that have contracts with the Israeli government. They also want the US to stop giving money to Israel, citing its \u201cgenocide\u201d of the Palestinians in Gaza.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jewish organizations claim that some of the demonstrators have openly praised Hamas, and that the protests have stoked a climate of fear among Jewish students. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu weighed in on Wednesday, claiming that \u201canti-Semitic mobs have taken over leading universities\u201d in scenes \u201creminiscent of what happened in German universities in the 1930s.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Police arrested hundreds of protesters on Wednesday in a crackdown targeting 21 universities across the country. In a raid at the University of Texas at Austin, Governor Greg Abbott ordered the deployment of heavily armed officers from the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS), who detained more than 30 people. Abbott \u2013 a Republican and professed free speech advocate \u2013 declared on social media that \u201cthese protesters belong in jail.\u201d Hundreds more were arrested on Thursday and Friday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While mainstream Democrats and Republicans have joined forces in condemning the protests and promising stiff penalties for those involved, members of the Democratic Party\u2019s progressive wing have visited campuses to encourage the demonstrators. \u201cContrary to right-wing attacks, these students are joyfully protesting for peace and an end to the genocide taking place in Gaza,\u201d Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar said after meeting protesters at Columbia on Thursday. \u201cI\u2019m in awe of their bravery and courage.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n