Rep. Lisa McClain (R-MI) holds a press briefing on efforts to combat antisemitism on college campuses.
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01:00I'm short on one end, so you got to use my box.
02:45America, does it? Our campuses, and they are happening on our campuses all across
02:52the United States. House Republicans on the Ed and Workforce Committee this week
02:59will demand accountability. As a member of the committee, I look forward to
03:04asking those presidents what they are doing and what they intend to do about
03:13the rise of anti-Semitism on their campuses. And if they're not doing
03:18anything, then I have a question. Why should they receive federal funding? My
03:28answer is clear. They shouldn't. Because you see, we have a choice too, and it's high
03:35time we start instituting our choice. If students like the ones behind me don't
03:42feel safe, then I can assure you maybe the university endowments shouldn't feel
03:48safe either. Hmm. Or maybe if the presidents aren't of these universities
03:55aren't willing to act, then perhaps I would offer them to take a tour of the
04:01Holocaust Museum right down the street so that they can be reminded of why we are
04:07so adamant that they do something to protect these students. These students
04:14that all they want to do is go to college to get an actual education and actually be
04:18allowed to go to class without harassment. Gee, that is so out of bounds, isn't it?
04:26Freshman Randy Fine, a Harvard graduate, is here to speak more on this. With him is
04:32his guest, Michael Kaminsky. Michael was unfortunately a victim of anti-Semitic
04:40violence. The president of that university will be at our hearing tomorrow, and the
04:45chairman of that hearing, a fellow Michigander, Chairman Tim Walberg, will lead that hearing.
04:54And I thank you for continuing to lead on this issue of holding these colleges and these
05:00universities accountable. There's no one better to lead that committee than you, Mr. Chairman,
05:07and I have all the faith and confidence in you that we will get to the bottom of this.
05:11And as vice chair of the Committee on Education and Workforce, we also have Mr. Owens here.
05:17Thank you, Mr. Owens, for being supportive of this as well.
05:21As you can see, this is extremely important to our leadership. And now, I want to turn it over
05:28to our chairman of the Ed and Workforce Committee, Chairman Tim Walberg.
05:37I thought I could come up in the world if you left that there.
05:41I'm going to add my grateful appreciation to each of you being here as well.
05:46That we stood in this room for a similar press conference last year and hoping that it would
05:54be the last one that we would need. I don't think that's going to be the case. History records the
06:00fact that, sadly, Jews are a useful whipping boy or girl for other ills that go on society that are
06:08hidden. And sadly, the Jews have to take that hit. My Jewish aunt, Della Goldberg, Larson,
06:15would be proud to have her nephew in the chairmanship of this committee and continuing to do what's
06:24necessary to make sure that liberty and justice for all is here, including for our Jewish citizens
06:31and those that long to experience what this great country has afforded, at least in word. And now we
06:39want to make sure it's done indeed and continues with freedom for all. Last Congress, this committee
06:45held multiple hearings on anti-Semitism. We brought in some of the so-called prestigious institutions
06:52to sit before us with their presidents. We saw shameful displays go on there with presidents that didn't
06:59understand at the very least. I hope they just want to turn their heads, but didn't understand
07:08at the very least the impact upon students and students' lives, their emotions, their stability.
07:16The fact that they were at an institution to gain wisdom and understanding and ultimately present to
07:22the world, a completed student ready to carry on. And yet they were putting situations in Ivy League schools
07:29where that couldn't take place for them. We also saw anti-Americanism develop from that as well. We saw the
07:37ugliness of DEI that was propagated, that didn't encourage inclusion, didn't encourage diversity, didn't
07:45encourage anything that America offers. And so we're going after it again. This time we'll have the
07:52hearings tomorrow and I'll be meeting with all of the presidents today in my office. I'm just waiting
07:58with bated breath, whatever bated breath is, to hear what they're going to say to justify what they are
08:07doing. Some are just doing in the last couple weeks to prepare for this hearing. And yet up until this
08:14time it wasn't done, we have Haverford, a liberal arts college with 1,400 students in it, that has
08:21committed some of the worst atrocities that you could expect upon human beings, Jewish students,
08:28and supporters of Jewish students on their campus, and has given a lot of words but no action until
08:36the last couple weeks. At Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, with roughly 22,000 students. On the other side of
08:48the world from where we're at, the type of violence that has gone on there, the statements saying we are
08:56going to stop this and then more or less keep on doing it with the hand signal has carried on,
09:02with students being blocked out of classes, with faculty joining arms with protesters and blocking
09:11students from going to parts of the campuses and violent attacks. And then at DePaul University,
09:17the largest Catholic university in the United States, the largest Catholic university in the
09:23United States. Many people think it would be Notre Dame, but Notre Dame isn't, but Notre Dame's handling
09:30this issue appropriately. We believe that DePaul needs to do that. And you'll hear from a student
09:39today who is not only spurned for being a Jew, but also is assaulted. One who's preparing for military
09:48service wants to serve the country and serve his people. But it was beaten trying to defend another
09:59student, a friend of his who was knocked out, laying on the ground defenseless. You'll hear about that.
10:06People have said, why do you carry this on? And we said we have to. And we have to show it's not just at the
10:13elite Ivy League institutions or Northwestern University or some that we had in front of us.
10:19But it's all over. And because of that, even now we're seeing it go into K-12 settings.
10:28I just heard on a tele-town hall last night an incident in my district that we are checking out
10:33right now of anti-Semitic statements at high school level class that was allowed to go on.
10:41This can't be the case. Because I look around the room, every one of us, every one of us
10:49is impacted if we allow this to continue. If this is the education we allow to be fostered in this country,
10:57what takes place for all of us, whether Jewish, whether Protestant, Catholic, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist,
11:08America that is a place of freedom for all, we cannot allow one specific group to be that whipping boil.
11:15So whether it's Ivy League institutions or whether it's small private religious schools
11:21or polytechnic universities, we're going to take action on it till we go across the land
11:29and make sure that that is not acceptable across the land. And we begin to restore the greatness of
11:36America for its people and anyone here. It's a privilege.
11:44It's a privilege to have a vice chairman of my committee who also wears a Super Bowl ring.
11:49He's tough. He can deal with issues, but he has a compassionate heart over this issue as well.
11:55So Burgess, come ahead.
12:04Let me start off by saying this is 2025, my friends. Not 1960s when I grew up in the Deep South.
12:13See, I grew up in the Deep South. I know what hate looks like. I also know what it looks like when
12:20institutions turn it out of the other way. What we're seeing on college campuses today isn't activism,
12:26it's intimidation, it's harassment, and in many cases, pure, unfiltered hatred of Jewish people.
12:33Let me be clear, there's no justification, none, for chanting in support of the evil terrorist group Hamas.
12:39There's no gray area when it comes to glorifying rape, torture, and the murder of innocent men, women, and children.
12:50Colleges in the past have been dealing with, they have, they deal with speech they don't like.
12:55When it comes down to mobs calling for the destruction of Israel, they suddenly lose their spine.
12:59This is not a free speech issue. It's a public safety issue. It's a moral issue. And when every,
13:08and every, and every school that allows this chaos to continue needs to lose all federal funds.
13:15I'm calling for every university president, every trustee, every donor to take a stand and do your job,
13:25or step aside. We will not stand by while colleges become the breeding grounds for hate.
13:30We are the country of becoming a more perfect union. I've witnessed it since the 60s. We have become a
13:39more perfect union because we understood education was the core of our values, of our culture, and look at each
13:45other the way we, we, God looks at us from inside out, not outside in. And we'll get back to that, my friends.
13:52We will not stand by while colleges become the breeding grounds of hate. Not on our watch. Not on Secretary of
13:58McMahon's watch. And certainly not on President Trump's watch. I just want to say for you courageous
14:05Jewish students, you remind me of the 1960s when it was the young black students that stood those
14:11counters and fought against the hatred at that time. Thank you for your courage. Our country knows it,
14:17knows it, and sees it. We have some called empathy, and we will respond accordingly. I can't say enough
14:23about our leadership. Our chairman is not only compassionate, he's wise, he has institutional knowledge,
14:31and he's the right man for the moment. So I'm excited about what you guys are going to witness.
14:36As we continue to get our country back on track, thank goodness we live near our time.
14:40We're seeing him with friends, so get ready. Appreciate it. And is it Randy? Randy, come on up, buddy.
14:50Well, thank you all for being here. You know, there's a lot of things where people could be spending this
14:54time this afternoon. But to be in a room like this, which is standing room only, is incredibly
14:59encouraging to me. My name is Randy Fine. I'm the newest congressman. I got elected one month ago.
15:05And I am many things in my life. I'm an American. I'm a father. I'm a proud Floridian. But among all of
15:11those things, there's one thing that I am most proud of, and that is that I'm a Jew. And as a Jew,
15:16and as a Jew, I have personally experienced the scourge of antisemitism. I experienced it my entire
15:25life, particularly as I grew up. And I made a solemn vow when my oldest son, who's now 17,
15:32was born that he would not have to go through what his father did. It is a vow that I have failed
15:41to live up to. You see, antisemitism today is as bad as it ever was when I was a kid. In fact,
15:47some can argue that it is even worse. So when I got elected to the Florida legislature eight years ago,
15:52I said I was going to solve that problem. And if you look at the antisemitism you see around the
15:57country, we don't have as much of it in Florida because I was willing to fight that fight, often
16:04alone. So imagine my surprise. Imagine my joy and my gratitude and my appreciation that when I showed
16:14up here four weeks ago, for the first time, I had leaders that were as committed, if not more
16:22committed to fight for this issue as I did. The two chairs that are right here, as well as our vice
16:28chair. Because the fact of the matter is Jewish kids today are afraid. It's never been easy to be
16:40a kid going to college. Ask anyone. But no child should walk through campus today and wonder if they
16:48will make it from their dorm room to their classroom or their classroom to the library or the library to
16:53the dining hall and they will be attacked. And that is not only happening, it is excused.
17:01And I would say encouraged at many of our institutions around the country. There are
17:08children that are scared to go to school and in America that is unacceptable. But for those of us
17:16that are Jewish, it is even more unacceptable because core to our faith and who we are is a belief in the
17:21power of education to take us from where we were to where we want to be. So I will say this to every
17:29Jewish student that is here. I am here. And I will fight for you. And I will fight along these amazing
17:39leaders every day to make sure that we solve this problem. And I will do it for one simple reason.
17:46My son is going to be going to college in a year and I'll be damned if he's going to be afraid to walk
17:53through that campus. Thank you all very, very much for being here. But it is now my privilege to talk
17:59about the horrors, to make it real, to talk about what actually does happen. This is not esoteric. This
18:05isn't something that you read on a page. Michael, who's going to speak, can show you the physical wound,
18:11the scar that he has, that he got not in a war on the other side of the world,
18:19a scar that he got on his college campus where his wrist was broken and he had to go to the hospital,
18:26not because he was being attacked because they wanted to mug him or any other reason. He was
18:31attacked and he was hurt for one reason, because he was Jewish. And so I want you to come and tell us
18:38your story. Thank you for your bravery in being here to do it.
18:48My name is Michael Kaminski and I'm a junior at DePaul University. On November 6th,
18:54my friend Max and I were attacked by two mass agitators simply for being proud American Jews.
19:01Prior to the attack, every week we peacefully advocated for Jewish students on campus. But that day,
19:07DePaul had just removed their security and previously put in place following an encampment,
19:12despite knowing that anti-Semitism was still a serious threat on campus.
19:18Well, Max and I engaged
19:23from the front and ambushed us behind. They left us with injuries that required me having to get surgery
19:31on my wrist. All the while, a campus safety officer employed by the university, so just a few feet
19:38away, did absolutely nothing. As the attackers fled, other students did not come to our aid. In fact,
19:46you know what they said? They said, we deserved it. To this day, only one person has yet to be arrested,
19:54and it is clear that Jewish students are still unsafe on their campus. Now is the time we finally
20:02hold our institutions accountable for festering Jew hatred and anti-Semitism on their college campuses,
20:09and I'm looking forward to the committee hearing tomorrow. Never again is now. May God bless the United
20:17States of America.
20:27We talk about bringing stories to life. Unfortunately, that is a story that
20:30is true. And not only for Michael, but for several other college students. And we are here to bring
20:40an awareness, but an end and accountability. So I appreciate you coming, Michael. I know that took
20:47some courage, but thank you. Because with you and with all of us, we will put an end to this. So for
20:53right now, I'll just take a few questions before we leave. Kelly?
21:16Well, I'm an optimist by nature, so let me start with that fault. My hope, my
21:23expectation is that things begin to change. That's what my hope is. My hope is it's not
21:32about the university presidents. It's about restoring our college campuses to what they
21:40were intended to do. And that was educate. We should not be here talking about anti-Semitism,
21:48but we are. And what I can tell you is through Chairman Wahlberg, you already began to see
21:55actions, right? DePaul University is taking a little bit different stance on anti-Semitism right
22:02now. Unfortunately, it took us to call a hearing for that to happen. So my goal isn't to get these
22:09presidents fired. My goal is to get them to do their job.
22:28I am prepared, or I'll speak for me, if it's all right, if you disagree with me, is we're prepared to
22:34do whatever it takes to restore the college campuses. So Jewish students and all students,
22:41I don't care what your race, your creed, your color, your religion, so all students feel safe
22:47on campus. That is part of their responsibility. So I can speak for me, and I think I speak for the
22:53people behind me. We will do whatever it takes to make sure that anti-Semitism is eliminated,
22:59it's addressed, but not just for Jewish students. I think we need to take a look at the safety of
23:04all college students. So one more. I think we'd add, I'd add one thing there as well,
23:09that we are prepared to do what's necessary, but we have a president who's already doing that.
23:14Just look at what's being done with schools. And we're not wanting presidents to resign unless they
23:24need to resign. I sat in office several times and on the phone with Colombia's president this year,
23:31hoping, hoping that we would see some courage to take action to start changing it. That didn't happen.
23:38Now the president is in negotiations with Colombia for receivership. So there are aggressive actions
23:48being taken already, and we'll continue to do what's necessary. But I think that what this says,
23:54no institution is free from the oversight that we are going to give on this committee. Whether large,
24:00small, whether a religious school or a private school, you're all under the gun to do what's
24:08right. We will support the right. We will oppose and push back on the wrong.
24:14One more? Yeah, I'm going to go to Mark in the back. Mark in the back.
24:17Following up on that last question, obviously, if you all have had an experience for a number of months,
24:25going back to 2020 now that we've made reports on the last Congress, the administration,
24:31like General Walters said, has been thinking of the unilateral action. Are there certain additional
24:36kind of test reports that we can do all in the community as well? When do you all sort of see the
24:41government? Again, we're going to do whatever it takes. It's a shame that we have to legislate
24:52safety. It's a shame that we have to legislate against anti-Semitism. I mean, think of what we're
25:00doing. But I think, as you heard the chairman say, we're prepared to take whatever actions necessary
25:07to make sure that the students are safe. So thank you. Thank you all for your time. Thank you again,
25:13Michael, for your courage. Thank you, Representative Fine and Chairman and Vice Chairman Walberg and Owens.
25:19But most of all, thank you for attending. And thank you for caring enough about this issue
25:25to report upon it. Be safe out there.