The rise in antisemitism at several American universities has led some Republican presidential hopefuls to call for the removal of federal funds from the colleges whose officials refuse to handle the issue appropriately.
Harvard University and the University of Pennsylvania – two schools that both have received billions in federal payments over the past five years and billions more in federal tax breaks on their endowments – have found themselves embroiled in controversy over their handling of antisemitic incidents on campus following Hamas' bloody attacks on Israelis and Israel's response.
The issues have boiled over in recent weeks, leading to outside pressure from donors and top law firms to do more to protect Jewish students. Some politicians – now including multiple GOP presidential hopefuls – have questioned whether universities that don't do enough to restrain antisemitic actions on campuses should have their tax-exempt statuses revoked or face other financial penalties.