Washington, D.C. – Today, Concerned Women for America Legislative Action Committee (CWALAC) condemned the violence on college campuses and called on Congress to defund colleges that allow Jew hatred and violence and ban foreign countries from donating to them.  

“We are horrified and disgusted by the violence against Jewish students and the anti-American protests taking place at Columbia University, Yale, and on college campuses across the county. The real violence toward a female Jewish student reporter at Yale who was brutally stabbed in the eye cannot be tolerated,” said Penny Nance, CEO and President of CWALAC, the advocacy arm of Concerned Women for America, the nation’s largest public policy women’s organization.

“On the eve of Passover, a holy celebration for our Jewish friends, a Rabbi had to advise Jewish students to leave campus because it is no longer a safe place. Meanwhile, the cowardly university president refuses to act to protect them. These harassing and intimidating actions need to be dealt with swiftly, but the college presidents are incapable of leadership.

“Perpetrators must be arrested, and Columbia, Yale, and all the colleges that allow this Jew hatred must be defunded by their alumni, corporations, and the federal government. These cesspools for antisemitism are not worthy of taxpayer dollars, and we call on Congress to defund them now. Congress should also ban foreign entities from funding American colleges.

A Department of Education report indicates American universities and colleges received $21 billion in funds from foreign entities in 2023, and “more than 50% of this has come from authoritarian and antidemocratic Middle East governments.”

Countries like Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, and other Gulf states pour billions into these universities primarily to fund Islamic studies. Bloomberg reports Harvard has received $1 billion from China.

“What are these countries getting in return?” Nance said. “American kids who hate their own country and think Hamas terrorists who rape women, torture children and terrorize hostages are to be lauded.

“Young Women for America leaders across the nation continue to stand in solidarity with their Jewish peers, hosting prayer vigils on their campuses. This month, they hosted vigils in North Carolina, Missouri, and Arizona, with more to come. Each American needs to ensure they are on the right side of history. We must not stand by while our friends, neighbors, and classmates are brutally attacked.”

Support for Israel is one of CWALAC’s seven core issues. CWALAC has connected families of the October 7 hostages with Members of Congress, and its Young Women for America (YWA) leaders continue to hold prayer vigils for Israel on college campuses and at civic centers around the country to focus attention on the suffering of the Jewish people.

To schedule an interview with Penny Nance, please contact comms@cwfa.org.