Northwestern president says it would have been too 'impractical' to consult Jewish students amid negotiations with pro-Hamas agitators

The president of Northwestern University told Congress Thursday morning that consulting Jewish students on matters related to the school’s negotiations with pro-Hamas terrorist sympathizers would have been “impractical.”

Leaders from Northwestern University, Rutgers University, and the University of California, Los Angeles, appeared before a House committee on Thursday morning to discuss campus anti-Semitism.

When asked by Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) why Jewish and Israeli students were not involved in Northwestern’s negotiations with its anti-Semitic occupiers, President Michael Schill reasoned that it would have been “impractical” to do so.

”I’m asking you about what the university put out there is no mention of Israeli students or Israeli faculty. Isn’t that the case?” Stefanik asked.

[LIVE BLOG: Congress questions leaders of Northwestern, Rutgers, UCLA on campus anti-Semitism]

”In the the agreement that we reached that there wasn’t Israeli students there or Jewish students,” Schill responded.

”Because they weren’t consulted? Isn’t that the fact? Jewish and Israeli students were not consulted?” Stefanik asked.

[RELATED: Hamas thanks student protesters, dubs them part of the Oct. 7 ‘flood’ to annihilate Jews]

”Jewish and Israeli students were not consulted with respect to the agreement,” Schill responded.

Northwestern President Michael Schill said Jewish and Israeli students weren’t consulted during negotiations with the pro-Palestine protesters.

Schill even said it would have been “impractical” to do so. pic.twitter.com/c9JuiVxtiP

— Campus Reform (@campusreform) May 23, 2024

The Coalition Against Anti-Semitism at Northwestern (CAAN) National Co-Chair and Spokesperson Wendy Khabie told Campus Reform that the organization continues “to be horrified by Northwestern’s insistence that they are doing everything they can to stop antisemitism on campus and today’s hearing reinforces our fears.” 

Khabie also said that Schill “completely ignores the fact that the perpetrators with whom he was negotiating should be held accountable for violating codes he established the same day the tents went up.” 

”It’s astonishing that he does not see this as a capitulation,” she added. 

Campus Reform reached out to Northwestern University for comment about Schill’s position that talking to Jewish students is “impractical.”