Most Republican senators are demanding federal law enforcement and the Department of Education “act immediately to restore order” on college campuses where anti-Israel and antisemitic protests have broken out, especially at Columbia University.
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) and 26 of his Republican colleagues penned a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland and Education Secretary Miguel Cardona on Tuesday demanding a plan to prosecute “pro-Hamas rioters” and to protect Jewish students:
These pro-Hamas rioters have effectively shut down college campuses and have literally chased Jewish students away from our schools. The Department of Education and federal law enforcement must act immediately to restore order, prosecute the mobs who have perpetuated violence and threats against Jewish students, revoke the visas of all foreign nationals (such as exchange students) who have taken part in promoting terrorism, and hold accountable school administrators who have stood by instead of protecting their students.
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You need to take action to restore order and protect Jewish students on our college campuses. President Biden issued a statement on Sunday, purporting to condemn the outbreak of anti-Semitism. If that statement was serious, it must be accompanied by immediate action from your departments.
The senators requested a report on these efforts by Wednesday at 5:00 p.m.
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO), who signed Cotton’s letter, on Monday called on the Biden administration to deploy the National Guard “at our universities to protect Jewish Americans.”
Demonstrations at Columbia University and elsewhere have persisted for days. Breitbart News noted more than 100 were arrested at Columbia last week, which saw anti-Israel protesters illegally occupying the campus and calling for the killing of Israeli soldiers.
The senators wrote that the “situation has so devolved that a prominent Jewish rabbi at Columbia University urged Jewish students to flee campus and stay away for their own safety.”
Columbia University Adjunct Associate Professor of International and Public Affairs Hagar Chemali told NewsNation’s Cuomo on Monday evening that if she had a child “who wore a yarmulke on campus, I really don’t think I would be that comfortable with him on the campus right now,” as Breitbart News reported.
The senators also underscored the happenings beyond Columbia University, including at Yale University. Yale Free Press editor-in-chief Sahar Tartak told CBS News she was “jabbed” with a Palestinian flag in the eye during a protest she was covering while wearing a Star of David necklace.
Police arrested dozens the next morning at the encampments where the protest took place, per CBS News.
Monday evening saw the New York City Police Department arrest anti-Israel protesters at a New York University encampment.
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