New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has issued a stern warning to state colleges and universities to comply with federal laws protecting students from discrimination amid a rise in anti-Semitism on campuses.
In a letter addressed to all colleges and universities in New York on Dec. 9, Ms. Hochul expressed her dismay at the failure of the presidents of “several prominent universities” to denounce anti-Semitism.
“The moral lapses that were evidenced by the disgraceful answers to questions posed during this week’s congressional hearing cannot and will not be tolerated here in the state of New York,” she stated.
Ms. Hochul, a Democrat, stated that she had discussions with chancellor of the State University of New York John King and chancellor of The City University of New York Felix Matos Rodriguez regarding the matter.
Both confirmed that calling for the genocide of any group of people would be regarded as a violation of the university systems’ code of conduct, she said.
Ms. Hochul also emphasized that failure to address anti-Semitism on campuses would constitute a violation of New York State Human Rights Law as well as Title VI of the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964.
“Under Title VI, any recipient of federal funds is responsible for keeping students free from a hostile environment based upon their ethnicity or national origin—a standard that has been applied to antisemitism.
“As Governor of New York, I want to reinforce that colleges and universities not in compliance with federal and state laws protecting students against discrimination can be deemed ineligible to receive state and federal funds.
“I assure you that if any school in New York State is found to be in violation, I will activate the State’s Division of Human Rights to take aggressive enforcement action and will refer possible Title VI violations to the federal government,” she stated.
New York has the largest percentage of Jews of all the U.S. states, with 21 percent of the nation’s 7.6 million Jewish people residing there as of 2020, according to the American Jewish Population Project at Brandeis University.
The governor’s letter followed the resignation of Elizabeth Magill as president of the University of Pennsylvania on Dec. 9.
Ms. Magill stepped down amid criticism for her refusal to affirm during a House committee hearing that a call for the genocide of Jewish people would violate the university’s code of conduct.
Ms. Magill walked back some of her comments on Dec. 7, saying she would consider a call for the genocide of Jewish people “harassment or intimidation.” She also pledged to start evaluating campus policy.
“I was not focused on, but I should have been, the irrefutable fact that a call for genocide of Jewish people is a call for some of the most terrible violence human beings can perpetrate,” she said in a video address.
Ms. Magill and chair of the University of Pennsylvania’s board of trustees, Scott Bok, subsequently announced their resignation on Dec. 9.
Meanwhile, Harvard University’s President Claudine Gay apologized in an interview with The Crimson student newspaper, saying that she got caught up in a heated exchange at the House committee hearing and failed to properly denounce threats of violence against Jewish students.
“What I should have had the presence of mind to do in that moment was return to my guiding truth, which is that calls for violence against our Jewish community—threats to our Jewish students—have no place at Harvard, and will never go unchallenged,” Ms. Gay said.
Several universities across the United States have been accused of failing to protect Jewish students amid reports of growing anti-Semitism following the Hamas extremist group’s Oct. 7 terror attack on Israel.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
From The Epoch Times
