Newsletter
Newsletter Support JNS

House committee chairs ask Treasury for info on 20 groups in connection to campus Jew-hatred

The heads of the House education and oversight committees asked U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen for reports on “suspicious activity” related to the groups.

Janet Yellen
Janet Yellen, then chair of the Federal Reserve, testifies before the House Financial Services Committee, Nov. 4, 2015. Credit: Federal Reserve.

As they investigate the sources of funding behind antisemitic protests on U.S. campuses, the chairs of two House committees—on oversight, and on education and the workforce—are asking the U.S. treasury secretary to provide information on 20 groups.

Rep. Virginia Foxx. (R-N.C.), of the Committee on Education and the Workforce, and Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.), of the Committee on Oversight and Accountability, wrote a letter to Janet Yellen on Tuesday seeking “suspicious activity reports” on the groups.

“It’s no coincidence that the day after the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attack, antisemitic mobs began springing up at college campuses across the country,” Foxx stated. “These protests have been coordinated and well organized, indicating that outside groups or influences may be at play.”

The groups are Students for Justice in Palestine, Jewish Voice for Peace, Within Our Lifetime, American Muslims for Palestine, IfNotNow, Open Society Foundations, Rockefeller Brothers Fund, Tides Foundation, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Solidaire Action, Libra Foundation, Westchester Peace Action Committee Foundation, Muslim Community Network, Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), Center for Popular Democracy, Peace Action New York State, People’s Forum, Samidoun, Adalah Justice Project and Palestine Legal.

Comer called the encampment protests “disturbing,” saying they “appear to be anything but organic.” He cited reports that show that “multiple leftist organizations are leading efforts to fund and encourage these hateful and unlawful encampments.”

The committee chairs requested the information by May 28.

“We have seen what happens when hatred of Jews moves from the fringes of society into organized political power,” Rabbi Steven Burg, of Aish, told JNS.
“The reason we lost is the war,” the U.S. vice president wrote. “If you’d like to argue it was worth it, that losing the Senate for the next six years was worth it, then do so” but “that’s at least honest.”
“Aiding Hamas would require not just a single collaborator, but an extensive network,” Herzi Halevi said. “Yet, even after three years, not a single such person has been found.”
“They want to make sure that nobody else dares to put principle ahead of party,” Alyza Lewin, of the Combat Antisemitism Movement, told JNS. “That’s why I think they’re being particularly nasty.”