Haverford president gets the worst of the grilling at congressional hearing on antisemitism

Haverford College president Wendy Raymond seemed to get the worst of the grilling during a Wednesday congressional hearing on the handling of antisemitism on campus, largely because she was reluctant to answer questions about discipline, especially in specific cases.

The two other college presidents testifying before the Republican-led Committee on Education and the Workforce, from DePaul University and California Polytechnic State University, provided statistics on groups and students that were suspended or otherwise disciplined for antisemitic conduct since Oct. 7, 2023, the day Hamas attacked Israel.

Raymond did not. After repeated questioning, she acknowledged there were cases in which discipline occurred.

» READ MORE: Haverford president apologizes to members of the Jewish community as she faces congressional hearing on antisemitism

“I thank the two campuses here today, DePaul and [California Polytechnic] for being able to demonstrate at least in words, and of course we’re looking for the policy and outcomes, but you were able to tell us of mistakes and now what you‘re doing to remedy that,” Republican committee chair Rep. Tim Walberg said in his closing statement at the more than three-hour hearing held in Washington D.C.

But some of the questions Raymond faced focused on discipline in hypothetical cases that she said had not occurred on Haverford’s campus — such as someone calling for the genocide of Jewish people — and in other cases that Raymond said were not accurate accounts.

At least two lawmakers, Rep. Robert Onder (R., Mo.), and Rep. Ryan Mackenzie (R., Pa.), threatened Haverford‘s federal funding. The U.S. Department of Education has halted more than $2 billion in funding to Harvard after it rejected demands from President Donald Trump’s administration and $175 million to the University of Pennsylvania for allowing a transgender swimmer to compete.

» READ MORE: Penn president Liz Magill has resigned following backlash over her testimony about antisemitism

“I suppose it‘s your First Amendment right to be evasive, but it‘s also our right to decide that such institutions are not deserving of taxpayer money,” Onder said.

As a small liberal arts college, Haverford isn’t as dependent on federal funding as a large research university like Penn. A college spokesperson didn’t respond to a question on how much funding Haverford receives.

The exchange between Raymond and Onder happened as he alleged that an administrator on campus had said “Blacks and gays have in the past not felt safe on campus. It is now the turn of Jewish students to experience that feeling.”

“That is not a statement that she made,” Raymond asserted, adding that the administrator is as committed to combating antisemitism as she is.

Over the hours, Raymond, a molecular biologist who has led the college for nearly six years, faced questions about incidents ranging from missing fliers for Jewish community activities to a boycott of doughnuts from “a Jewish bakery” that were labeled “blood doughnuts” and were to be served at commencement. Raymond said the doughnuts were purchased and served.

“We appreciate the thoughtful questions and engagement from committee members and remain committed to fostering a safe, inclusive, and respectful environment for all,” Haverford said in a statement after the hearing. “... we look forward to continuing our work in partnership with Congress and our campus community to combat hatred in all its forms.”

Democratic lawmakers argued the hearing wasn’t about antisemitism, which Republicans have turned a blind eye to in other instances, but rather furthering a political agenda and an attack on universities.

U.S. Rep. Summer Lee (D., Pa.) noted the Trump administration’s dismantling of the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, which was tasked with investigating antisemitism.

“We shouldn’t fall for it,” she said.

» READ MORE: Federal education department office in Philadelphia is among seven to be shut nationally

If lawmakers were actually concerned about safety, Lee said, “in addition to acknowledging the real rise in antisemitism, we’d also be talking about the rise in Islamophobia and the persistent anti-Blackness, the degradation of the rights of trans students.”

Republican lawmakers, however, argued Jewish students have been harmed by antisemitism — including at DePaul, where there was a physical attack against two students supporting Israel — and colleges for too long have not taken action. Walberg said the civil rights office had not been doing its job and promised to create an office that would serve all students and faculty.

“Today’s hearing echoes what Jewish students and faculty have been telling us for months: too many college campuses are failing to protect their Jewish communities from hate, discrimination, and harassment,” Andrew Goretsky, Philadelphia regional director of the Anti-Defamation League said after the hearing. “We have been ready to work with Haverford for 18 months and we continue to be ready … But that work must begin with an honest self-examination — and a willingness to act.”

» READ MORE: With ‘grace and invitation,’ Haverford’s new president has much to teach

But the Philadelphia chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations condemned the hearing for raising false antisemitism allegations against Haverford faculty and students.

“Conflating criticism of a foreign government with hatred of a people or religion is not only intellectually dishonest — it is dangerous,“ the group said. ”It silences legitimate political discourse, chills academic freedom, and contributes to an atmosphere of fear and repression on college campuses."

Raymond in her opening remarks apologized to Jewish community members “who felt as if the college was not there for you” and took responsibility for some mistakes.

“This is an example of a difficult period of learning where I did not get it right,” Raymond said when asked about an email sent to the Haverford community after Hamas’ attack.

The email highlighted “tragedies across the globe,” that took place since the semester began and mentioned earthquakes in Morocco and Afghanistan, wildfires in the U.S. and Canada, and a two-year long war in Ukraine, said U.S. Rep. Mark Harris, (R., N.C.) He said it only made a “passing reference” to what was described as “the outbreak of war in Israel and Gaza that had taken place just 48 hours before.”

“We all know in this room Oct. 7 was not a mutual ‘outbreak of war’ between two countries,” Harris said. “In fact it was a terrorist attack by Hamas on Israel.”

Raymond noted the college had made a plethora of changes to address concerns about antisemitism, including changes in the antibias policy and rules around protesting, steps to revise the honor code, and increases in campus safety at events.

But that didn’t lessen the sharpness of the questioning from lawmakers, including Rep. Elise Stefanik (R., N.Y.), who took the spotlight in 2023 after she asked former Penn President Liz Magill whether calling for the genocide of Jewish people would violate the campus’ code of conduct. Magill answered that it was a “context dependent” decision and resigned days later amid bipartisan backlash. (Harvard’s president Claudine Gay also resigned in the aftermath of the hearing, though she also faced allegations of plagiarism.)

“You were the one university president who failed to lay out if any disciplinary action has been taken, if any suspensions or expulsions,” Stefanik said to Raymond, referencing her testimony earlier in the hearing. “So I am asking you, was there any disciplinary action taken?”

“Disciplinary action can include expulsion,” Raymond began.

Stefanik cut her off.

“I’m not asking what it can include,” Stefanik said. “I’m asking was it taken?”

Raymond repeatedly said she would not discuss individual cases at the hearing, though she ultimately acknowledged there were some disciplinary actions taken regarding antisemitism.

At one point, Stefanik seemed to warn Raymond her answer could affect her employment.

“These university presidents who are former presidents failed to answer these direct questions,” she said, seeming to refer to Magill and Gay.

During the hearing, Raymond repeatedly was asked a similar question to the one Stefanik asked at the previous hearing about the genocide of Jewish people. Each time, Raymond gave a very different answer than the presidents did in 2023.

“Of course not,” Raymond said when asked if making a call for genocide would be protected speech on the campus. “We would use all of our disciplinary actions to follow through on any such call.”

She acknowledged that some events that occurred on campus have been “inconsistent with our values.”

When an ADL official presented a talk on “Antisemitism 101” during the fall semester, several inside stood and talked over him in the presence of college administrators and protesters outside banged on the windows and on cowbells and pots.

The ADL said the college “did not condemn this incident” as part of a 2025 “report card” in which the organization gave Haverford a failing grade.

Raymond said in written testimony she was “dismayed and disappointed” at the protest and that administrators “took quick action” to remove protesters from the room.

But she acknowledged at Wednesday’s hearing that those outside “created an atmosphere of intimidation.” It would have taken too much time to get personnel to remove them, she said.

“Shouting over speakers is counter to our values, and I am grateful that our guests from the ADL had the courage to ultimately finish their presentation,” she said. “In the aftermath, we conducted a full investigation consistent with our student conduct procedures.”