Ten protesters were arrested Wednesday for interrupting a House Judiciary Committee hearing that focused on free speech on college campuses and the rise of antisemitism.
Protesters one by one leaped up at the hearing to interrupt the first witness, Connor Ogrydziak, a recent University of Buffalo graduate and former chair of the university’s Young Americans for Freedom, with chants of “ceasefire now” and “free Palestine.”
The demonstrators were removed by the U.S. Capitol Police amid calls for order from Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan, Ohio Republican. The Capitol Police confirmed to The Washington Times that 10 people were arrested — nine for illegally protesting inside a congressional office building, and one for assaulting a police officer.
The committee hearing examined how free speech is handled on a college campus, particularly in the wake of increased instances of anti-Israel rhetoric as the Israel-Hamas war continues to rage on.
One such instance put under the microscope by lawmakers was pro-Palestine protests that have become more and more common across college campuses.
One facet of the GOP-led hearing, with help from testimony from student witnesses Jasmyn Jordan, Amanda Silberstein and Mr. Ogrydziak, was to paint the picture that free speech enforcement on college campuses tended to skew against conservative viewpoints.
“Hostility towards conservative points of view has grown worse,” Mr. Jordan said.
That point was furthered by Mr. Ogrydziak, who said that his student group’s attempt to host conservative media personality Michael Knowles was met with pushback from the administration, students and New York state legislators.
Five of the six witnesses on the panel said that speech was not protected on college campuses.
“Conservative students currently face a relentless uphill battle for representation on campus,” Mr. Ogrydziak said.
The plight felt by the conservative students was paired with the heightened antisemitic rhetoric that has skyrocketed on college campuses since Israel launched a war against Hamas after the terrorist organization’s surprise attack on the Jewish state on Oct. 7.
Witnesses Pamela Nadell, director of the Jewish Studies Program at American University, and Stacy Burdett, vice president of government relations, advocacy and community engagement for the Anti-Defamation League, pressed lawmakers to fund the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights to help combat the antisemitic rhetoric and acts on campuses.
GOP lawmakers have proposed to slash the office’s budget by 25%.
Kenneth Marcus, chair of the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, said that antisemitism on college campuses was already high before the war broke out.
Mr. Marcus said that in the aftermath of the war, faculty, students, and administrations have been creating environments on college campuses that did not allow some Jewish students who identified as Zionists to fully express themselves.
“People were shunned, marginalized and excluded not just because of their political views but because of who they are and what their identity is as Jews,” Mr. Marcus said.
