UC Berkeley Chancellor Tells Congressional Committee he is Committing to Fighting Jew hatred at the School

Facing multiple lawsuits and discrimination complaints over rampant campus anti-Semitism on campus, University of California at Berkeley Chancellor Rich Lyons told a congressional committee that he is committing to fighting Jew hatred at the school. Then he proceeded to repeatedly praise a Berkeley professor who has said he would have wanted to take part in the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel.

Along with the heads of the City University of New York and Georgetown University, Lyons testified before the House Education Committee and Workforce Committee hearing on campus anti-Semitism Tuesday.

In his opening statement, Lyons said that, “Berkeley unequivocally condemns antisemitism. Our commitment to our Jewish students, colleagues, and community is unwavering” but “I am the first to say that we have more work to do. Berkeley, like our nation, has not been immune to the disturbing rise in antisemitism. And, as a public university, we have a solemn obligation to protect our community from discrimination and harassment, while also upholding the First Amendment right to free speech.”

Under fierce questioning from Republican Committee members,  Lyons defended Berkeley and said things are hunky dory for Jewish students.  “Most Jewish students feel safe on campus,” he told Congresswoman Lisa McClain (R-Michigan).

He then blamed campus anti-Semitism on society. “Public universities are reflections of society, and I believe that anti-Semitism in society is present on our campus.”

McClain next asked if “actions that you or your staff or faculty members take have influence on that.”

“Yes,” Lyons replied. “I would agree.”

It is very easy to utter platitudes and talk in generalities. But when Rep. McClain asked Lyons about a specific faculty member’s Hamas slumming, he first dodged the question then heaped praise on the guy.

She asked about Berkeley Professor Ussama Makdisi, who tweeted in Feb. 2024 that he “could have been one of those who broke through the siege on October 7.”

“What do you think he meant by that,” McClain asked Lyons.

He started to say “I can’t speak to” that.

McClain again asked, “What do you think he meant by that?”

Lyons said, “I want to separate the phrase from the person.”

“We can’t do that,” McClain insisted. “He works at the University you are in charge of. I would like to know because you are so educated. What do you think the professor meant? ”

Finally, Lyons said, “I believe it was a celebration of the terrorist attack.”

McClain next asked Lyons if he had ever discussed the statement with Makdisi.

“I have had conversations with this professor, “ Lyons replied. “He is a fine scholar.”

Lyons repeated his praise for Makdisi when Congressman Randy Fine (R-Florida)  asked him about the professor.

When Fine inquired Lyons if Makdisi should be fired, Lyons called him a “fine scholar.”

Fine, who is Jewish, then yelled at Lyons and the other university leaders,  “How in good conscience can you tell my son that he would feel safe at any of your schools?”

“I don’t even need an answer from Berkeley, given your answer about that professor,” Fine thundered. “Jewish students do not feel safe on your campus.”

In other disconcerting comments that apparently did not appear in any press accounts of the hearing, Lyons refused to say if blocking a Jewish student’s access to campus would merit expulsion. He said a “tiered response” would be needed with “a lot of context and facts to investigate.”

Lyons’ performance at the hearing was blasted by the Los Angeles-based educational organization StandWithUs, which this March filed a harrowing federal discrimination complaint against Berkeley over the repeated assault and harassment of a Jewish student that was virtually ignored by campus police.

StandWithUs CEO Roz Rothstein told the California Globe that, “Chancellor Lyons’ testimony was deeply troubling. He stated that Berkeley unequivocally condemns antisemitism, but then minimized this by implying that concern over escalating hatred is just confusion of pro-Palestinian speech and antisemitism. No one, however, is conflating the two. StandWithUs’s Title VI complaint documents assaults, harassment, and the silencing of Jewish students that is enabled by the university. Lyons compounded this by admitting that a post by Ussama Makdisi, a Berkeley history professor, expressed that he wanted to join the October 7, 2023 massacre of Israelis by Hamas, sounded like a celebration of the attack. Lyons refused to criticize Makdisi and actually defended him as a ‘fine scholar.’ That response is a moral failure and emblematic of Berkeley’s refusal to take antisemitism seriously. Federal authorities must hold the university accountable and ensure that Jewish students are protected—something Berkeley has repeatedly failed to do.”

However, a different perspective was offered right before the hearing when  82 Jewish Berkeley faculty members sent a letter to the chairman and ranking member of the House Education Committee saying that despite “moments of unease and, at times, physical threats [and instances] of hostile speech and even isolated acts of violence [that] have occurred,” we “reject the claim that UC Berkeley is an antisemitic environment. We write to affirm that we feel secure on campus and support the administration’s efforts to balance safety with respect for free speech.”

Berkeley engineering professor Ron Goldberg, who organized the letter, told the California Globe that “we felt there was an important perspective that was not being represented” and “we felt it was important for the “silent majority” of Jewish faculty and senior staff to convey our experience that [the administration] has done an excellent job of managing protests and we object to the characterization of our campus as Antisemitic.”

Still, Goldberg said “it bothered me a little bit” that Lyons refused to condemn Makdisi’s statement about October 7. “It should have been condemned right off the top.”

Nevertheless, “It is possible for someone to be a fine scholar and have reprehensible views.”

That is certainly true. Not every anti-Semite is a buffoon.

But if Lyons can not even condemn a bloodthirsty Hamasnik ensconced on the Berkeley faculty, why should anybody believe him when he says he takes anti-Semitism seriously?

Makdisi did not reply to a request for comment.