College Presidents Face Backlash for Dodging Antisemitism Questions

Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla criticized the presidents of Harvard University, MIT, and UPenn for their failure to condemn the rise in antisemitic rhetoric on their campuses following the recent conflict in Gaza. Bourla called their testimony before the House Committee on Education and the Workforce "despicable" and accused them of hiding behind calls for "context" instead of condemning hate speech. The presidents faced questioning about whether calls for violence and genocide against Jews violated campus codes of conduct, with each president stating that it would depend on the context and if it targeted specific individuals. Bourla, whose family members died in Auschwitz, expressed his disappointment and shared a photo of his sister who was killed in a concentration camp.