Below is an official statement from Florida Senator Rick Scott in response to recent antisemitic incidents at Columbia University.
Following the ongoing antisemitic attacks against Jewish students at Columbia University, Senator Rick Scott sent a letter to the University’s Board of Trustees demanding it force leadership to take action that stops antisemitic actions and protects Jewish students, or replace the administration. Senator Scott has been adamant about protecting students at American colleges and universities who continue to be threatened by terrorist sympathizers calling for the eradication of Jewish people and the destruction of Israel. Senator Scott is fighting to pass his and Senator Tim Scott’s Stop Antisemitism on College Campuses Act, which he mentions in his letter. This bill would rescind federal education funding for colleges and universities that peddle antisemitism or authorize, fund or facilitate events that promote violent antisemitism.
Additionally, Senator Rick Scott joined Senators Bob Casey and Tim Scott to introduce the Antisemitism Awareness Act. The bill will help address antisemitic sentiment and action on college campuses—which has been rising across the nation for years and spiked in the wake of Hamas’ terrorist attack on October 7, 2023—by requiring the U.S. Department of Education to consider the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism when enforcing federal anti-discrimination laws.
Rick Scott’s letter is below.
Dear Columbia University Board Members:
The anti-Israel mobs that have taken over Columbia University in New York City are as disturbing as they are un-American. Jewish students no longer feel safe on Columbia’s campus given the persistent threats of violence. One student was assaulted by a pro-Hamas demonstrator over the weekend. This is not a peaceful demonstration supporting a social or civil cause. What we are seeing on your campus is mob behavior supporting Hamas terrorists. On October 7, 2023, these terrorists murdered more than 1,200 innocent people, raped women and young girls, burned families alive in their homes, butchered children, beheaded babies and dragged hundreds of people out of their homes and into Gaza, where they have been held hostage for nearly 200 days. I write today to demand immediate action that protects Jewish students and brings swift consequences to those who have threatened them while waving the banners of terrorist organizations and calling for the destruction of Israel and murder of Jewish people.
In the United States, we value free speech as a cornerstone of our democracy, but there can never be tolerance for violent hate on the basis of religion. It’s absolutely sickening that Jewish students on campus are terrified of simply leaving their homes to go to class or live their daily lives, knowing the risks they face. For the university to recommend remote learning instead of stopping these violent mobs is pathetic and unacceptable.
As members of the Board of Trustees for Columbia University, you must use the power of your position to demand action from the administration, or remove the current leadership and put in place an administration that will ensure the safety of your students. If you fail to do this, Congress will act. We will not sit silently while American students are threatened by terrorist sympathizers that call for the eradication of Jewish people and the destruction of Israel. This is not free speech, it is violence.
As a United States Senator, I will do everything in my power to hold Columbia and any college or university that fails to stand up to antisemitic behavior accountable. I am fighting to pass legislation, the Stop Antisemitism on College Campuses Act, with Senator Tim Scott and others that rescinds federal education funding for colleges and universities that support, authorize, or facilitate events that promote antisemitism. By failing to stop these violent antisemitic mobs from threatening and hurting Jewish students, Columbia is complicit in the harm they cause.
I sincerely hope that you will take the immediate action needed to bring safety, security and peace back to your campus. Failing to do so will be nothing short of an endorsement of the horrific hate and violence the anti-Israel mobs on your campus wish to spread.
