More than 100 pro-Palestinian students Wednesday occupied the main lawn of Columbia University, as college President Minouche Shafik defended before Congress her handling of rising campus antisemitism amid the Israel-Hamas war.

Members of the Republican-led U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce grilled Shafik on the administration’s response to campus protests and controversial chants, demanding greater discipline against students and faculty who defend Hamas or reject the state of Israel.

In a widely anticipated question, Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, D-Oregon, asked if calling for the genocide of Jews would violate Columbia’s code of conduct.

Shafik and other university officials answered resoundingly: “Yes, it does.”

The same query, from Rep. Elise Stefanik’s, R-New York, created a problem for two out of three college presidents during a December congressional antisemitism hearing, from Harvard University and the University of Pennsylvania. The clip went viral on social media and in the news, and both leaders later resigned.

“Columbia beats Harvard and UPenn,” remarked Rep. Aaron Bean, R-Florida. “Y’all have done something that they weren’t able to do: You’ve been able to condemn antisemitism without using the phrase, ‘it depends on the context.'”

Shafik, who acknowledged Wednesday she spent “many, many hours” preparing for the hearing, did not fall into the same trap. The new college president, who stepped into the role last summer, said she has spent most of her time since becoming president on these issues.

“Trying to reconcile the free speech rights of those who wanted to protest,” Shafik said, “and the rights of Jewish students to be in an environment free of discrimination and harassment has been the central challenge on our campus, and numerous others across the country.”

Shafik testified before the committee alongside board of trustees co-chairs Claire Shipman and David Greenwald, and antisemitism taskforce co-chair David Schizer. All acknowledged there are problems at Columbia, but they said many capable people are forming plans and working hard to address them.

The university president said she found popular slogans at pro-Palestinian protests, including “by any means necessary” and “intifada revolution,” to be “incredibly distressing,” and that whether they violate university policy is under review.

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