Dozens of lawmakers are calling on President Biden’s Education Department to act after student groups across the country posted messages supporting Hamas terrorists this week.
Rep. Tim Walberg, R-Mich., wrote the letter and signed it along with 43 other lawmakers on Thursday. The letter calls on Education Secretary Miguel Cardona to take action to protect Jewish students on college campuses across the U.S. as anti-Semitic incidents increase in the wake of the war between Israel and Hamas.
“Many student groups have issued statements condoning and even celebrating the terrorist attack, which should be viewed as a modern-day pogrom. Some student groups have even used images of a paraglider to promote their rallies, unmistakably celebrating the despicable tactics of Hamas…” a terrorist organization that President Biden declared was a “group whose stated goal is to kill Jews kill,” the letter says.
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Walberg accused universities of portraying themselves as “inclusive and tolerant” and speaking out on social issues while remaining silent on the current crisis.
CASUALS, KIDNAPPED AND MORE SINCE HAMAS’ ATTACK ON ISRAEL
Students held signs and read poems in support of the Palestinian and Hamas “martyrs” who attacked Israel. (Jon Michael Raasch/Fox News Digital)
“In recent years, schools have been quick to speak out on a host of social issues, but suddenly many fell silent as anti-Semitism raged on university campuses. This deafening silence and lack of moral clarity from college administrators comes from student groups. “Openly celebrate a terrorist attack motivated by bigotry,” Walberg said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “These schools pride themselves on being inclusive and tolerant, but it is clear that there is an anti-Semitism crisis on these sites. That’s why we’re calling on the Biden administration to take action to protect Jewish students and visit these schools to find out why. “They are such a breeding ground for anti-Semitism.”
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Several dozen student groups for Justice in Palestine at various universities across the country have released statements claiming that Israel is not a victim and that Hamas is fighting for liberation.
“We draw attention to the fact that the Israeli occupation has created a multigenerational diaspora that is inextricably linked to the insurmountable destruction of the Palestinian way of life,” wrote the University of California, Berkeley chapter leader. “As a settler-colonial state, Israel therefore inherently views the existence of the Palestinians as an act of resistance. We reject without exception the portrayal of Israel as a victim. Whereas demonizing and condemning indigenous resistance means overshadowing the decades of oppression, ethnic cleansing and destruction of the Palestinian people.
HARVARD STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS CLAIM ISRAEL “FULLY RESPONSIBLE” FOR GAZA ATTACKS
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The George Washington University chapter wrote, “GWU Students for Justice in Palestine fully supports the liberation of our homeland and the right of our people to resist the violent 75-year colonization of our homeland by any means necessary.”
The Israeli military is responding after Hamas terrorists killed at least 1,200 people on Saturday. (MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP via Getty Images)
“In recent days, Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and throughout occupied Palestine have mobilized against the Zionist entity and confiscated settlements established on our lands in violation of international law,” the statement said. “For the first time in our history, Palestinians have reclaimed land from which we were ethnically cleansed in 1948. Over 50% of Gaza’s population is under 18 years old. The vast majority of them have never left the colonial prison walls.” have never set foot on an inch of the land from which their families were forcibly ethnically cleansed. This past weekend we watched as they broke free, tore down the prison walls and announced to the world: WE WILL NOT BE CAUGHT ANYMORE.”
HARVARD LAW STUDENT RELATED TO A STATEMENT blaming ISRAEL DISCLAIMS THE CONTENTS, SAYING SHE HAS NOT READ IT
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The unprecedented attack by Hamas terrorists on Saturday killed at least 1,200 people in Israel, including at least 25 Americans. Hamas also took more than 100 people hostage, and President Biden’s administration says those hostages include Americans.
Palestinian supporters gathered in New York City to support Hamas’ terrorist attack in Israel. ((Photo by Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images))
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Cardona’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
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Fox News’ Landon Mion contributed to this report.