Rep. Elaine Stephanik (R-N.Y.), 39, took down three Ivy League presidents in the House Education and Workplace Committee, confronting 53-year-old Harvard President Claudine Gay, 62-year-old MIT President Sally Kornbluth and 57-ter-old Penn President Elizabeth Magil. Stephanik held the meeting because all three universities permitted pro-Palestinian demonstration calling for “intifada” or genocide against Jews due to the Israeli-Hamas war. Pointing to the hypocrisy of Ivy League university free speech policies, Stephaik called the three university presidents out in a methodical cross examination, catching all three in profound inconsistency and non sequiturs. Harvard’s Gay, who happens to be black, would not respond to a simple question by Stephanik. “Dr. Gay, a Harvard student calling for the mass murder of African Americans at Harvard? Is that protected free speech?” Stephanik asked.
Stephanik was brilliant in her cross examination of Gay, catching her in the supreme hypocrisy over Harvard’s free speech or code of conduct policy. “Our commitment is to free speech,” Gay parroted back in memorized cliché. Gay knows that Harvard permits no speech in any way prejudicial or defamatory of Blacks and the LGBTIQA+ community, including anyone lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, queer/questioning, non-binary and pansexual, all of whom are protected classes of students at Harvard. Calling for discrimination or prejudice of any one of these groups would be strictly prohibited by Harvard’s code of conduct, warranting discipline and possibly expulsion, not for violence against these groups but only for speech. Yet when it comes to loud protests calling for “intifada” or genocide against Jews, Gay says that Harvard does not restrict free speech.
Stephanik showed she would have been a better choice for GOP House Speaker than Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.) who’s Evangelical beliefs too narrowly frame the GOP as a Christian political party, something so exclusionary it alienates a broad groups of today’s Republicans. When it comes to Jews, there seems to be exceptions when it comes to hate speech, most likely because they’ve been a part of America since colonial times. Jews have lived-and-died in every war since the Revolution and have been an integrated part of the American fabric, rising to the highest levels of U.S. government and socioeconomic status, as measured by income, but, more importantly, in the nation’s most prestigious jobs. So when it comes t, hate speech or even periodic anti-Semitic acts, including vandalism and murder, it’s more tolerated than other protected groups likes Blacks and LGBTQIA+.
Most of today’s protected groups or minorities do not consider Jews part of the U.S. minority classes, despite the fact they represent only two percent of the U.S. population. When it comes to Israel’s politics, especially ongoing issues with Palestinians and other Arab groups, it has nothing to do with American Jews or others whose diaspora is spread over other parts of the world. Pro-Palestinian protesters conflate American Jews with Israeli policies, when, in fact, they have nothing to do with anything in Israel. Yet the pro-Palestinian protests lump all Jews in the same category, all are Zionists, promoting and defending the State of Israel. When it comes to hate speech against Jews, it’s a different category of free speech when it comes to pro-Palestinian protests. Stephaik caught Gay in a hypocritical code of conduct policy, that tolerates hate speech for some but not others.
Stephaik got Gay to admit that some hate speech tolerated at Harvard was personally repugnant to her. “We embrace a commitment to free-expression even of views that are objectionable, offensive, hateful—it’s when that speech crosses into conduct that violates our politics against bullying, harassment, anti-Semitism,” Gay said. Gay knows that no speech that offends Blacks, Native Americas, or anyone on the LGBTQIA+ spectrum would be tolerated at Harvard or any other university. Gay’s response to Stephanik admits that Harvard’s code of conduct is arbitrary, singling out certain protected groups but not others. Gay admitted that the hate speech against Jews is personally revolting to her but is not part of Harvard’s code of conduct for whatever reason. When it comes to certain protected classes, First Amendment rights are routinely restricted.
Free Speech is something university presidents like to hide behind when it comes to arbitrary and capricious decisions
about codes of conduct. Yesterday’s hearing in the House Education and Workplace Committee demonstrated for all to see that University presidents are not lawyers, relying only on memorized clichés about free speech on college campuses. Stephaik demonstrated the hypocrisy of calling for the genocide of Jews, “intifada” or revolution when it comes to Palestinian rights. Stephaik’s hearings shows for posterity that certain protected classes involving Blacks, Native Americans or sexual orientation issues are off limits to Free Speech or University’s codes of conduct. Harvard’s former president Larry Summers, who happens to be Jewish, was hounded out of office for saying the women had less aptitude for mathematics, offending women faculty.
About the Author
John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He’s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.
