Top UC Berkeley leaders on Tuesday will face an influential Congressional committee alongside President Trump’s political goal of reshaping higher education by punishing campuses.
The arrival of Prime Minister Richlyons marks a key moment for the university. This is under multiple federal investigations into allegations of violating the civil rights of Jewish students and faculty members. The committee facing the Lions grew to one of the most rattles in the US campus protests on October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attacks in Israel, and US campus protests in Israel’s war in Gaza.
Grilling, by a Republican-led group of representatives, led to the dramatic downfall of Harvard and the University of Pennsylvania presidents, undoubtedly contributing to the resignation of the presidents from Columbia, Northwestern and Rutgers University. The Trump administration has accused these and other elite campuses of allowing Palestinian protests to thwart anti-Semitism since 2023.
The Lions, who became prime minister a year ago, is the first UC leader to face the House Education and Workforce Committee during President Trump as the White House moved to dismantle a major part of Harvard’s business over anti-Semitism allegations and withdrew research funds from it and other elective universities.
The Trump administration also has largely reversed actions after the lawsuit: canceling visas or canceling visas, despite continuing to be exposed to increasing State Department scrutiny.
Tuesday’s hearing will focus on the “role of teachers, funds and ideology” in anti-Semitism.
The Prime Minister’s campus is one of 10 universities under investigation by a task force that directed Trump to fight anti-Semitism on campus. The education department notified Lyon via a letter in February, saying Berkeley was faced with another investigation into anti-Semitism cases and poster allegations on campus. The campus is also part of UC-wide Department of Justice investigation into allegations of discrimination against current and future Jewish employees.
The Lions will appear alongside Georgetown University interim president Robert M. Groves and New York University Prime Minister Felix V. Matos Rodriguez. All three universities sparked controversy last year about how pro-Palestinian camps handled and how leaders navigated troubling questions about Verboten’s anti-Semitism and freedom of speech boundaries.
In a statement, committee chairperson Tim Wahlberg (R-Mich.) said the hearing will focus on “the fundamental factors that incite anti-Semitism turbulence and hatred on campus.”
“Anti-Semitism will last on university campuses until these factors, such as foreign funding and anti-Semitism students and faculty groups, are addressed,” Wahlberg said. “Our committee is based on a commitment to protect Jewish students and faculty, but many university leaders refuse to retain this appeal of bias, hatred and discrimination.”
A UC Berkeley spokesman defended the university’s actions on anti-Semitism before the hearing.
Campus “is working towards the fight against anti-Semitism and all forms of hatred, and has taken meaningful actions to achieve this,” said Danmoglov, Deputy Prime Minister of Executive Communication. “Prime Minister Lions looks forward to testifying before the committee to share how the campus is investing and continues to invest in resources and programs designed to prevent and address anti-Semitism on the Berkeley campus.”
According to Berkeley leaders, the actions include increased anti-Semitism training for students, resident assistants and administrators, as well as participation in programs with the American Jewish Commission, Hillell, and the American Council of Education. Last year, the Campus Centre for Jewish Studies and the Middle East Studies Centre launched the Berkeley Bridging Fellowship Program.
Last year, the university also established programs and chairs that were donated to Palestine and Arab studies. At the same time, some faculty, staff and students accused Berkeley of paying more attention to anti-Semitism concerns on campus and failing to equally address reports of anti-Muslims and anti-Arab discrimination.
Almost a year ago, UC President Michael V. Drake directed the prime ministers of all 10 campuses to strictly enforce rules for camps, blocking routes and protesting masking that protects identity. Drake told the Prime Minister that the right to free speech and academic freedom should not “put community members into a reasonable fear of infringing personal safety and civil rights.”
The order of zero tolerance – a transition from loose allowances in 2024 – led to increased security and policing enforcement on campus, resulting in smaller and shorter protests. UC faculty and students are increasingly complaining that the system is pushing pro-Palestinian free speech under pressure from Trump.
Trump and his Republican allies also widely accused the campus of not being affected by foreign funding, while Harvard and Berkeley of not following US laws requiring educational institutions to disclose gifts of more than $250,000 each year. These accusations focus on the relationship between the Chinese government and the university with the Chinese organization.
Harvard and Berkeley said they are complying with the law.
Additionally, UC and other universities have been attacked by Republicans to allow the student chapter of Palestine, a group founded by UC student Hatem Bazian in the 1990s.
Conservatives accused the student group of having ties with Hamas, an extremist group, a US-designated terrorist group. The student group leader denied the charges.
Many of the UCS group chapters, including UCLA, have been suspended as recognized campus associations. The Berkeley chapter remains an official student organization. Groups that tend to have a significant Jewish population have also protected themselves from anti-Semitism accusations.
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