Gottheimer questions U.S. Secretary of Treasury Yellen

WASHINGTON, D.C. — During a House Committee on Financial Services hearing Tuesday, U.S. Congressman Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5) asked Secretary of Treasury Janet Yellen to investigate undisclosed contributions from foreign authoritarian regimes to college campuses, to freeze the assets of UNRWA employees who support Hamas, and to enforce Iran oil sanctions.

Gottheimer’s questions for Yellen:

• “Secretary Yellen, are you aware that from 2014 to 2019, 200 American colleges and universities illegally withheld and failed to report information on $13 billion in undisclosed contributions from foreign authoritarian regimes?”
• “Is the Treasury considering terrorism designations for UNRWA employees that have been found to be materially supporting Hamas or engaging in terror activities themselves?”
• “Why has the Treasury not enforced Iran oil sanctions, especially sanctions targeting China and its dozens of teapot refineries that are responsible for practically 100 percent of Chinese oil imports from Iran?”

Monday, U.S. Representatives Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5) and Don Bacon (NE-2) wrote to the U.S. Department of the Treasury, urging them to coordinate with the Department of Justice and Department of Education to investigate whether $13 billion in contributions from foreign authoritarian regimes — which American colleges and universities illegally withheld and failed to report information on — have funded antisemitic protest groups on our college and university campuses.

Many of these undisclosed contributions originated from foreign authoritarian regimes, and a recent report found that institutions that accepted undisclosed funds from authoritarian donors had, on average, 250 percent more antisemitic incidents than those institutions that did not.

A report recently published by the Network Contagion Research Institute (NCRI) found:

• A massive influx of contributions to American institutions of higher learning, much of it from authoritarian regimes, reflects or supports heightened levels of intolerance towards Jews, open inquiry and free expression.
• From 2015–2020, institutions that accepted money from Middle Eastern authoritarian regimes had, on average, 300 percent more antisemitic incidents than those institutions that did not.
• From 2015–2020, institutions that accepted undisclosed funds from authoritarian donors had, on average, 250 percent more antisemitic incidents than those institutions that did not.
• Campuses that accepted undisclosed money are, on average, 85 percent more likely to see campaigns “targeting academic scholars for sanction, including campaigns to investigate, censor, demote, suspend, or terminate.”

“We are deeply concerned that we have seen a resurgence of these malicious practices today. Given global campaigns to incite violence, there is reason to believe that terrorist groups may be funding antisemitic protest groups at our academic institutions,” wrote Congressman Gottheimer (NJ-5) and Congressman Bacon (NE-2) in a letter to Under Secretary Nelson. “We urge the Department of Treasury to coordinate efforts with the Department of Justice and the Department of Education to thoroughly investigate the sources of funding to our colleges and universities and to determine whether these groups are funding antisemitic organizations and protests on campuses across the country.”