Kamlager-Dove Statement on H.Res. 927 Vote

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - December 14, 2023

Media Contact: Maya Valentine | maya.valentine@mail.house.gov

WASHINGTON, DC — Congresswoman Sydney Kamlager-Dove (CA-37) issued the following statement on yesterday's Floor vote of H.Res. 927:

"Yesterday, I joined 124 of my Democratic colleagues in voting ‘No’ on House Resolution 927. There is no question that antisemitism on college campuses is real, rising, and must be rooted out. Just recently, I met with Jewish college students in my District who shared how isolated and terrified they feel in their place of learning. Universities should be doing everything they can to call out and educate their communities on the dangers of antisemitism — hate and discrimination should never be tolerated in educational environments. Statements made by the presidents of Harvard, MIT, and the University of Pennsylvania last week at a Congressional hearing were deeply hurtful to the Jewish community. Their equivocation in denouncing antisemitism and calls for violence against Jewish people was unacceptable and appallingly out of touch with the very real threats and fear that Jewish students are experiencing.

"However, Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik’s H.Res. 927, calling for the resignation of those presidents, was brought to the House Floor in an attempt to use antisemitism as a political weapon to advance the anti-education Republican culture war. I am disgusted to see Republicans manipulate Jewish pain to advance their extremist agenda of targeting schools for teaching Black history, supporting LGBTQ and trans students, and promoting diversity and inclusion. Given that these Representatives are people who traffic in antisemitic conspiracy theories, who have said there were ‘very fine people on both sides’ of the antisemitic Charlottesville protests, and who promote the white supremacist ‘Great Replacement’ theory, the opportunism and hypocrisy of this resolution is repulsive. Additionally, Congress has no place meddling in the hiring decisions of a private university, which would be the kind of gross federal overreach Republicans claim to oppose.

"If Republicans actually wanted to combat antisemitism, rather than forcing votes on politicized resolutions, they would pass bipartisan legislation I have advocated for, including bills to fully fund the National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism, to increase funding for the Nonprofit Security Grant Program that protects synagogues and Hebrew schools across the nation, and to resource the Department of Education Office for Civil Rights, which enforces laws prohibiting discrimination based on national origin or shared ancestry to keep Jewish students safe.

"I refuse to allow myself or my constituents to become a pawn in Republican culture wars that advance their own political agenda at the expense of meaningful action to combat antisemitism."

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