Congresswoman Claudia Tenney has sent a letter to the Presidents of nine universities, including the University of Buffalo, the University of Rochester, Rochester Institute of Technology, Syracuse University, Cornell University, SUNY Geneseo, SUNY Oswego, SUNY Brockport, and St. John Fisher College calling for them to answer a simple question: Does calling for the genocide of Jews violate their university’s code of conduct?
Tenney’s request follows the recent House Education & Workforce Committee hearing entitled “Holding Campus Leaders Accountable and Confronting Anti-Semitism,” where Congresswoman Elise Stefanik (NY-21) asked the Presidents of Harvard University, the University of Pennsylvania and the Massachusetts of Technology if calling for the genocide of Jews violates their school’s code of conduct. None of these Presidents would unequivocally say yes, sparking national outrage.
“Since October 7th, anti-Semitic attacks and protests have been on the rise, causing 73% of Jewish students to say they’ve felt unsafe on their own campuses,” said Congresswoman Tenney. “Yet this week, Presidents from esteemed institutions like Harvard, MIT, and Penn failed to condemn blatant anti-Semitism. It is now more important than ever that we show our unwavering support for the Jewish community. That’s why I am sending a letter to the Presidents of universities in our region, asking them to answer this simple question: Does calling for the genocide of Jews violate your school’s code of conduct? We cannot continue to allow genocidal, anti-Semitic, and pro-Hamas speech and demonstrations to spread across campuses, endangering Jewish students and faculty. Every university President in our region must condemn this anti-Semitism.”
The letters appear below:
