{"id":42362,"date":"2025-07-04T13:12:25","date_gmt":"2025-07-04T20:12:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=42362"},"modified":"2025-07-04T13:14:23","modified_gmt":"2025-07-04T20:14:23","slug":"uncertainty-looms-ahead-of-uc-berkeley-chancellors-congressional-testimony","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2025\/07\/04\/uncertainty-looms-ahead-of-uc-berkeley-chancellors-congressional-testimony\/","title":{"rendered":"Uncertainty looms ahead of UC Berkeley Chancellor\u2019s congressional testimony"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailycal.org\/users\/profile\/Aarya%20Mukherjee\">Aarya Mukherjee | Senior Staff<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Jul 3, 2025 (DailyCal.org)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"660\" src=\"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/image-11-1024x660.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-42364\" srcset=\"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/image-11-1024x660.png 1024w, https:\/\/occupysf.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/image-11-300x193.png 300w, https:\/\/occupysf.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/image-11-150x97.png 150w, https:\/\/occupysf.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/image-11-768x495.png 768w, https:\/\/occupysf.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/image-11-1536x990.png 1536w, https:\/\/occupysf.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/image-11-233x150.png 233w, https:\/\/occupysf.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/image-11.png 1800w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><em>The committee claimed UC Berkeley administrators did not adequately discipline students involved in pro-Palestine demonstrations on campus. (<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/wallyg\/\" target=\"_blank\">Photo<\/a>\u00a0by\u00a0<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/wallyg\/\" target=\"_blank\">Wally Gobetz<\/a><\/em>\u00a0under\u00a0<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-nd\/2.0\/deed.en\" target=\"_blank\">CC BY-NC-ND 2.0<\/a>.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In its first prominent Trump-era trial, the U.S. House Committee on Education and Workforce has summoned UC Berkeley Chancellor Rich Lyons to defend campus\u2019s handling of alleged antisemitism.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The July 9 hearing in Washington, D.C., is an escalation of previous antisemitism inquiries into the university, including a Department of Education investigation opened in&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailycal.org\/news\/campus\/department-of-education-announces-antisemitism-inquiries-into-uc-berkeley-and-4-other-universities\/article_ec4465a6-e389-11ef-b66c-03a9cd0727a9.html\">February<\/a>&nbsp;and a UC-wide probe launched in&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailycal.org\/news\/campus\/department-of-justice-to-investigate-antisemitism-claims-against-the-university-of-california\/article_7bc53322-fb31-11ef-85b8-8b9125661cf5.html\">March<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Antisemitism inquiries are not new to the Republican-led committee. Since late 2023, the committee has become known for toppling university leadership following contentious public hearings.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The presidents of the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard resigned in the wake of their committee appearances, and their universities were later hit with federal funding cuts from the Trump administration totaling $175 million and $2.2 billion, respectively. Many other university leaders who had previously testified to the committee no longer hold their posts, including the presidents of Yale, Rutgers, Michigan and Columbia as well as UCLA Chancellor Gene Block.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s difficult to convey nuance in these congressional hearings,\u201d said Faculty Director of the Center for Jewish Studies Ethan Katz. \u201cOn one hand, (Lyons) has to defend the importance of academic freedom and free speech, while on the other, show that the university takes antisemitism very seriously.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the announcement of the hearing titled, \u201cAntisemitism in Higher Education: Examining the Role of Faculty, Funding, and Ideology,\u201d committee chair Michigan Republican Tim Walberg said foreign funding as well as \u201cantisemitic student and faculty groups\u201d will be the focus of witness testimonials.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Alongside Georgetown University Interim President Robert M. Groves and City University of New York Chancellor F\u00e9lix V. Matos Rodr\u00edguez, Lyons will face a committee of 21 Republican and 16 Democratic representatives.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>These testimonies represent the most high-profile witnesses in Walberg\u2019s investigation into campus antisemitism; the committee previously heard testimony from university leaders from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, DePaul and Haverford in May.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While investigations into these universities are still ongoing, they have received little federal attention or calls for leadership to step down.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Moreover, the May hearing was the first in almost a year. Previous committee chair, North Carolina Republican Virginia Foxx, concluded a year-long antisemitism investigation in October.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In a 325-page final report, Foxx\u2019s committee accused many top institutions of \u201cdramatic failures in confronting antisemitism on their campuses.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Regarding UC Berkeley, the committee claimed administrators did not adequately discipline students involved in&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailycal.org\/news\/campus\/uc-berkeley-students-establish-free-palestine-encampment-outside-sproul-hall\/article_d3868ea8-00f5-11ef-82c7-0f1ae80fd478.html\">pro-Palestine<\/a>&nbsp;demonstrations on campus. Citing the peaceful&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailycal.org\/news\/campus\/24-hours-at-the-free-palestine-encampment\/article_c241907a-0343-11ef-a5a1-8f83cbfb2b18.html\">encampment<\/a>&nbsp;on Sproul Plaza,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailycal.org\/news\/campus\/group-of-pro-palestine-protesters-break-in-take-over-anna-head-hall\/article_6206c50e-130b-11ef-a209-2b1216039f67.html\">Anna Head<\/a>&nbsp;occupation,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailycal.org\/news\/campus-tears-down-sukkah-at-sather-gate\/article_47bdd452-8daa-11ef-a029-b7ee0ab6f0f3.html\">Sather Gate<\/a>&nbsp;blockades and Zellerbach Playhouse&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailycal.org\/news\/campus\/student-life\/protests-shut-down-event-with-israeli-attorney-ran-bar-yoshafat\/article_3107e976-d52e-11ee-bec1-1f866f1b32b7.html\">protesters<\/a>, the report concludes, \u201cThis pathetic record stands out for its weakness even in comparison to the deficiency of other institutions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Despite the allegation, the report spends little time \u2014 two pages \u2014 discussing UC Berkeley\u2019s record when compared to other institutions under investigation.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While the Trump administration has yet to pull federal funding or demand institutional oversight as they have at Harvard and Columbia, the DOJ&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailycal.org\/news\/uc\/department-of-justice-launches-investigation-into-uc-diversity-hiring-practices\/article_4277785b-f736-49df-b0ce-c1a7f2615b37.html\">recently announced<\/a>&nbsp;a UC-wide investigation into the university\u2019s hiring practices after a prosecutor for the department\u2019s Federal Task Force to Combat Antisemitism&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailycal.org\/news\/uc\/department-of-justice-hints-at-antisemitism-lawsuit-against-uc\/article_777fb8c9-0f1c-4d20-8c37-737714064dfb.html\">hinted at aggressive actions<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cUnlike the previous administration, expect massive lawsuits against the UC system,\u201d said task force lead&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailycal.org\/news\/uc\/department-of-justice-hints-at-antisemitism-lawsuit-against-uc\/article_777fb8c9-0f1c-4d20-8c37-737714064dfb.html\">Leo Terrell<\/a>&nbsp;in a televised appearance on Fox News. \u201cExpect hate crime charges filed by the federal government. Expect Title VII lawsuits against those individuals who are not being protective, simply because they are Jewish.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While Foxx\u2019s investigation was launched largely in response to pro-Palestinian encampments and protests, Walberg announced his probe will target, \u201cunderlying factors instigating antisemitic upheaval and hatred on campus.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Since Lyons has been in office for one year following the departure of previous Chancellor Christ, the committee may ask him to address campus structures and events predating his tenure, as well as incidents labeled antisemitic by campus staff and external media organizations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In February, campus law professor Steven Solomon published an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal titled, \u201cMr. Trump, Investigate My Campus.\u201d In the letter, Solomon, a co-founder of the Antisemitism Education Initiative alongside Katz, cited the description of a gender and women\u2019s studies department panel calling Israel \u201cgenocidal\u201d while claiming campus administration had not adequately addressed antisemitic behavior.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Solomon concluded the article calling for federal action against his university, saying, \u201cI invite Washington to make an example of my campus.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In response, Lyons published an op-ed of his own in the Journal titled, \u201cNo Need to Investigate My Campus, Mr. Trump.\u201d While Lyons did not directly combat Solomon\u2019s claims, he said university academic freedom policy and first amendment speech prevents campus intervention, even in cases that are \u201chateful and absurd.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Katz, who will be accompanying Lyons in Washington, said UC Berkeley has taken measures to support Jewish students on campus, including his founding of the Antisemitism Education Initiative in 2019 alongside Solomon and Berkeley Hillel Rabbi Adam Naftalin-Kelman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cHate speech is very often protected by legal standards of free expression,\u201d Katz said. \u201cYou can\u2019t start expelling people for objectionable speech. There are things you can do, but it\u2019s not simple.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The committee claimed UC Berkeley administrators did not adequately discipline students involved in pro-Palestine demonstrations on campus. (Photo\u00a0by\u00a0Wally Gobetz\u00a0under\u00a0CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.) In its first prominent Trump-era trial, the U.S. House Committee on Education and Workforce has summoned UC Berkeley Chancellor Rich Lyons to defend campus\u2019s handling of alleged antisemitism.&nbsp; The&#8230; <a class=\"continue-reading-link\" href=\"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2025\/07\/04\/uncertainty-looms-ahead-of-uc-berkeley-chancellors-congressional-testimony\/\"> Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr; <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42362"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42362"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42362\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":42366,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42362\/revisions\/42366"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42362"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=42362"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=42362"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}