U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn R-Tenn. and Cynthia Lummis R-Wyo. have criticized the Department of Education DOE for allowing federal funds to support university programs that promote anti-Israel views.
In a letter to Education Secretary Miguel Cardona, they highlighted an increase in harassment and violence against Jewish students on college campuses following the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack in Israel, which killed over 1,200 people.
The senators pointed out that since 2020, the DOE allocated $283 million in foreign studies grants, some of which funded Middle East studies programs at institutions like Columbia University and Georgetown University.
These programs, they argue, have included professors with extreme anti-Israel views. Specifically, they raised concerns about funding a course taught by Columbia University Professor Joseph Massad, who referred to the Hamas attack as a stunning victory of the Palestinian resistance.
Blackburn and Lummis demanded that the Biden-Harris administration stop funding professors who promote anti-Israel sentiment, warning that such allocations could violate laws requiring taxpayer money to support U.S. national interests. They called for a review of how federal grants are being distributed.