Lankford Pushes to Defund Colleges and Universities That Promote Antisemitism

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK – Senator James Lankford (R-OK), founder and co-chair of the Senate Bipartisan Task Force for Combating Antisemitism, joined Senator Tim Scott (R-SC) to introduce the Stop Antisemitism on College Campuses Act, which would rescind federal education funding for colleges and universities that peddle antisemitism or authorize, fund, or facilitate events that promote violent antisemitism. Lankford supports the bill’s use of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism, which is widely accepted and relied upon nationwide.

“The brutal Hamas terrorist attacks in Israel demonstrate that antisemitism remains tragically on the rise worldwide, and American higher education institutions are feeding into that dangerous rhetoric with their soft approach on antisemitism on campuses, “said Lankford. “Oklahomans are fed up with run-amuck colleges and universities trying to brainwash young adults by encouraging wildly irresponsible ideologies like antisemitism and terrorist sympathizing. Students, professors, and faculty have freedom of speech, but American taxpayers should not compelled to pay for their incendiary events. Students can choose to attend other Universities, alumni can choose to donate to other places and Congress can save tax dollars by not supporting their hatred. If US colleges and universities want to push radical political agendas and incite violent protests, they can do it without federal tax dollars supporting them.”

“Any university or college that peddles blatant antisemitism, especially after Hamas’ brutal attack on Israeli civilians, women and children, has no place molding the minds of future generations, never mind receiving millions of taxpayer funds to do so,” said Scott. “We must not only call out this hate, but crush it wherever it rears its ugly head. If these schools don’t change their ways, my legislation hits them where it hurts – their pocketbooks. No college or university should receive a single cent from the federal government to fund violent antisemitism.” 

Some examples of universities pushing antisemitism include:

• Harvard University’s silence regarding over 30 Harvard student organizations releasing a statement blaming Israel for the Hamas terrorist attacks carried out against Israeli civilians
• A Cornell professor calling the Hamas terror attacks “exhilarating” and “exciting”
• A Columbia professor praised Hamas’ actions as “astonishing,” “astounding,” “awesome” and “incredible”

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