The chilling impact of those investigations is already clear nationwide. Simply this week, the College of Southern California canceled the commencement speech of its valedictorian, Asna Tabassum, a Muslim criticized by some Jewish teams for her pro-Palestinian social media exercise. The choice, the college’s provost mentioned in an announcement, is “according to the elemental authorized obligation — together with the expectations of federal regulators — that universities act to guard college students and maintain our campus group protected,” making it clear directors are feeling authorities stress.
Such stress is the purpose: Republicans need to silence Israel’s opponents. In one of many listening to’s most farcical moments, Rick Allen, a Republican from Georgia, requested Shafik whether or not she knew Genesis 12:3. She didn’t recall the biblical passage offhand, so he defined it to her. “It was the covenant that God made with Abraham, and that covenant was actual clear: ‘When you bless Israel I’ll bless you, in the event you curse Israel I’ll curse you,’” he mentioned, explaining how this compact was confirmed within the New Testomony.
“Do you contemplate {that a} severe situation?” Allen requested heatedly. “Would you like Columbia College to be cursed by God?” Shafik responded, “Positively not.” Allen continued, “Younger individuals are being indoctrinated by these professors to consider these things, and so they do not know that they’re going to be cursed by God, the God of the Bible and the God over our flag.”
This wasn’t an alternate, I’d enterprise, meant to make sure that Jews really feel at dwelling in American establishments. One other Republican, Brandon Williams, in contrast D.E.I. statements to Nazi loyalty oaths. Naturally, nobody pushed again.
Simply earlier than the listening to started, a gaggle of scholars from Columbia and its sister college, Barnard, organized a “Gaza solidarity encampment” on Columbia’s predominant garden. On Thursday, Shafik took the extraordinary step of calling the police in to dismantle it, and over 100 folks have been arrested. The final time the college’s administration introduced within the N.Y.P.D. to disperse demonstrations was in 1968, and lots of on campus have been in shock.