The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee on Thursday addressed the rise in antisemitism on U.S. college campuses after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks.

Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-LA, chairman of the HELP Committee, has pushed for discussion on this issue since November 2023.

“On Oct. 7, 2023, the world watched in horror as Hamas terrorists invaded Israel and slaughtered 1,200 innocent men, women and children. Hundreds of victims, including babies, as young as nine months old were taken hostage and subjected to abuse and torture,” Cassidy said in opening remarks during Thursday’s hearing. “It should have been a time for unity, standing with the Jewish people against hate, instead for over a year, violence and antisemitic demonstrations rocked our country.”

During the hearing, lawmakers alleged Jewish students are being harassed and attacked for who they are.

According to the Anti-Defamation League, there were 1,200 reported antisemitic incidents on college campuses between 2023 and 2024. That’s a 500% increase from the previous year.

“Instead of standing up for Jewish students, too many university officials failed to respond or refuse to even condemn these horrific occurrences,” Cassidy said.

He said the Department of Education must hold universities accountable for failing to address discrimination against students on campuses under the Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Cassidy said the Biden Administration failed in penalizing universities who violated the law.

“It’s disappointing that previous help Democrat leadership refused to consider any legislation or hold even one hearing on this bipartisan issue. But President Trump in office and a Republican majority in Congress, the time of failed leadership is over,” he said.

The Trump administration has threatened U.S. universities to implement change on campuses or risk losing billions of dollars in federal funding. Earlier this month, $400 million in research grants and other funding was pulled over Columbia University’s handling of protests against the war in Gaza. Last week, federal officials demanded the university enact nine separate reforms to its academic and security policies. Since then, Columbia University has agreed to change its policies and crack down on demonstrators targeting Jewish students.

The Trump administration has investigated 60 universities concerning allegations of antisemitic discrimination and harassment on campuses.

Cassidy said he’s launched an investigation into the American Muslims for Palestine, demanding answers about the group’s activities on college campuses.

“Jewish students still feel unsafe to go to school,” he said.

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, said, “Hate and discrimination of any kind is beyond acceptable and has no place in our society” during the hearing.

“In the United States of America in the year 2025 it should not be a controversial statement to say that antisemitism is horrific and must not be tolerated any place in our country,” he said.

The hearing is the second focused exclusively on antisemitism in the Senate since the Oct. 7 attacks. Earlier this month, the Senate Judiciary Committee, chaired by Grassley, held a similar hearing.

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