Second gentleman Emhoff condemns university presidents’ ‘lack of moral clarity’ on antisemitism

Second gentleman Doug Emhoff late Thursday joined the criticism of elite university presidents for their noncommittal remarks at a congressional hearing on antisemitism on college campuses.

Speaking at a lighting ceremony of the National Menorah, Mr. Emhoff said the presidents of “some of our most elite universities were unable to denounce calling for the genocide of Jews as antisemitic.”

“The lack of moral clarity is unacceptable,” said Mr. Emhoff, who is married to Vice President Kamala Harris and the first Jewish spouse of a U.S. president or vice president.

Harvard University President Claudine Gay, University of Pennsylvania President Liz Magill and Massachusetts Institute of Technology President Sally Kornbluth suffered withering criticism for their responses to a question from Rep. Elise Stefanik, New York Republican, about whether calls for the genocide of Jews would violate their schools’ codes of conduct.

Ms. Gay and Ms. Magill said it would depend on the context and whether the rhetoric turned into conduct, and Ms. Kornbluth said attacks on individuals would be considered harassment.

The presidents encountered blowback for parsing words instead of condemning antisemitism.

“I was not focused on, but I should have been, the irrefutable fact that a call for genocide of Jewish people is a call for some of the most terrible violence human beings can perpetrate,” Ms. Magill said in a video statement after the hearing. “It’s evil, plain and simple.”

The damage was already done. Some big donors withdrew gifts to the universities, and Ms. Magill was called on to resign. 

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said Ms. Magill’s comments were “shameful” as he showed support for Goldie, a Jewish-owned restaurant that was targeted by pro-Palestinian protesters.

Mr. Emhoff referenced the Goldie incident during his remarks at the menorah lighting.

“We’ve seen a restaurant owner accused of genocide because he’s Jewish, students afraid to go to class. We’ve seen it in our markets, synagogues, and in our streets,” he said.

The second gentleman made combatting antisemitism a core agenda issue even before the Oct. 7 terror raids by Hamas on Israel, which sparked Israel’s bombardment of Hamas-controlled Gaza in response.

Mr. Emhoff said he’s been reaching out privately to people “just to check in and see how they are feeling.”

“The common denominator of these conversations is that we’re feeling alone and we’re in pain,” Mr. Emhoff said. “President Biden and Vice President Harris have also been working to ensure Israel has the support it needs. Because of their leadership, more than 100 hostages, including four Americans, are home. Even as we face darkness today, I am hopeful. The story of Hanukkah and the story of the Jewish people has always been one of hope and resilience.”