discussion when protests veer into criminality, and those who commit such acts are doing nothing to convince others that their cause is just. it is also unacceptable when jewish students are targeted for being jewish, when protests exhibit verbal abuse, systemic intimidation, or glorification of the murderous and hateful hamas or the violence of october 7. as i said in my speech here on the floor last november and many times since, that is anti-semitism. it is loathful. with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: for months, lead corners of american education have made headlines for all the wrong reasons. unfortunately, they're still finding new ways to embarrass

themselves with vile anti-semitic radicalism. beginning of course with yet more alarming declarations like "burn tel aviv to the ground." freedom for palestine means death to america. the 7th of october is going to be everyday for you. the student radicals behind hateful chants like "from it the river to the sea -- from the river to the sea" have proven to be incoherently ecumenical. they've chanted "long live hamas." sunni terrorist group.

and waved flags supporting a shia terrorist group hezbollah and the terrorist group the popular front for the liberation of palestine. they've been joined on the picket lines by faculty members, for whom radical anti-semitism is merely an extension of their day jobs in post-modern indoctrination. last week columbia's encampment was even visited by a member of congress who accused some jewish students of being, quote, pro-genocide. it's unclear whether the student radicals or the shadowy groups organizing these disruptions are

actual fifth columns for adversaries trying to corrode american society from within or just unwitting pawns. what is clear is that basic comprehension of history, theology and geography is in very short supply in the ivy league. so-called elite universities aren't just in the news for a well-documented decline in academic rigor. they're not drawing the nation's attention just because another generation of students has decided to test the limits of the first amendment with grotesque hate. no. no, they're in the news because weakness and inaction from campus leaders has allowed universities to become called

rons, cauldrons of criminal chaos. in in recent days, an orthodox jewish student at yale was assaulted by organized hatem hatemongers. at mit, there's a so-called liberated zone of radicals occupying the very center of campus. at ucla, an aspiring commisars blocked jewish students from walking to class or even entering the library. another california school is reporting millions of dollars in damages after radicals vandalized campus buildings. and last night brought yet more evidence that administrators at columbia have utterly, utterly failed to bring order to their manhattan campus.

in the wee hours of the morning, the mob that has disrupted daily life from a tent encampment on the quad broke into a campus building with hammers and has barricaded itself inside. not long ago columbia's president was sensibly calling in the new york police department to dispense and arrest these disruptors. this is the responsible thing to do, because the vast majority of students at columbia want to go to class, study for exams, and lead productive lives. but then her resolve appeared to give out. a minority of radicals and their faculty allies have used continued threats and intimidation to maximize the disruption and extend the reach

of an odious ideology. the administration caved. the campus is now closed. but law enforcement remain outside the gates. and it remains to be seen whether administrators' latest threats of expulsion will actually be carried out. the situation at columbia is so bad that a prominent rabbi urged jewish students to leave campus out of fear for their physical safety. this is particularly discouraging at a university that for decades has been known as a welcoming home for jewish stu students, even when the rest of the ivy league systematically discriminated against them. yesterday, a member of columbia's jewish community filed a class action lawsuit

against the university, alleging sustained harassment and incitement of violence against jewish students. in the absence of leadership from administrators, the community has had to take protection of their basic rights on campus literally into their own hands. of course, today's campus radicals did not invent this brand of aggressive lawlessness. here in the united states, they trace hair roots back to the -- trace their roots back to the 1960's. other country have had their infamous history of student intimidation and violence. most notoriously, the student nazis of weimar, germany. this is about dangerous radical

politics. but just as the roots of this hate are not a mystery, near is the -- neither is the way forward for college administrators. leaders at columbia might do well to note the approach of the administration over at princeton, which has upheld clear prohibitions on activity like forming encampments, and responded swiftly and severely to an attempt last night to occupy a campus building. they might also take a cue from our former colleague ben sasse. thus far, radicals at the university of florida have largely heeded, heeded his prohibition against unlawful disruptions because they know he means it. and last night, those who failed to obey repeated warnings from

campus police were promptly arr arrested. as an official statement put it, quote, the university of florida is not a day care, and we do not treat protestors like children. they know the rules. they broke the rules. and they'll face the consequences. it's not enough for administrators to lament campus disorder. strongly worded warnings only carry weight when they're backed up by action. the hateful ideas pouring out of campus encampments are not new to america's universities. the world's oldest form of hate has been alive and well in higher education for quite some time now.

from the vial boycott divest and sanction movement that began over a decade ago, to the establishment of outfits like the rutgers center for security, race, and rights, the forces of bigotry have been on the move. and those forces have powerful friends. president biden's nominee for the third circuit, adeel abdullah mangi, has long been a patron of the rutgers center. in fact, as new evidence indicates, he's played a much more active and enthusiastic role than he described to our colleagues on the judiciary comm committee. apparently, every progressive organization in the country is furious, furious that my colleagues and i dared to call attention to these disqualifying

facts. so let's get it straight. radicalism has no place in higher education or on the federal bench. unfortunately, the president doesn't seem to agree. while he defends mr. mangi and his radical associations, he refuses to render an unqualified rejection of campus anti-semitism. in fact, whip asked about it -- when asked about it, he seemed to say, well, there are good people on both sides. hard not to see this mealy-mouthed equivocation for what it is -- the president prioritizing the feelings of his political supporters over moral clarity.

anti-semitism is not a nuanced academic theory. it's not just one of many different viewpoints, as the white house press secretary seemed to suggest yesterday in reference to campus disruptions. it is not justified by political disagreements with israel and its government. it is not entitled to take over campuses and make life miserable for jewish students. luckily, some reasonable observers are getting mugged by reality. just as a growing number of democrats are rejecting mr. mangi's nomination, a growing number of ivy league alumni are rejecting the surging radicalism of their alma maters. but that will only go so far. leaders must lead.

administrators must take charge of their institutions. the basic objectives here couldn't be clearer. on campus, protect jewish community members. clear the encampments. let students go to class and take their exams. and allow graduations to proceed. here in washington, witt draw radical -- withdraw radical nominees, enforce the department of justice and education to investigate civil rights viol violations. if moral clarity does not pre prevail, in the ivory tower and the biden administration, this could go down as a particular